Page 89 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends
“They’re going to be here in an hour! Andrew has forty minutes left in his shift, and he’s heading straight over. Ethan is finishing up brunch with a friend. We don’t have time to sit down,” Emma scolds me.
I frown as I watch her dodge past me again. I don’t like seeing her like this, especially when she should be taking it easy for herself and for the baby. All of this stress isn’t good for her.
“Em, please,” I say. “You’re worrying me.”
“I just need things to go well, Ryan. I was up all night thinking about today and what I’m even going to say to them,” Emma tells me, her voice wavering.
My eyes widen. “All night? You didn’t sleep?”
Emma reaches out and grabs the back of the couch as she walks behind it, swaying a little. She presses her other hand against her face as she hangs her head. “I don’t feel good.”
Panic pierces my chest like a blade as I realize just how pale she suddenly looks. “Come sit down.”
Emma blinks slowly as I start to head toward her. She opens her mouth to speak, but her words slur just as she slumps forward.
“Emma!” I shout as I lunge toward her, catching her in my arms before she hits the ground. I slowly lower her down before cupping her face, my heart pounding wildly. “Emma? Emma!”
I lean down next to her slightly parted lips and listen, trying to hear through the rapid thumping of my heart. Eventually, I hear a slight exhale. She’s still breathing. She’s alive.
For a second, I freeze, my scrambled brain unable to think of a next step. What the hell do I do? What the hell just happened?
I’m supposed to protect her. Not let her break under the weight of this. What if I’m too late? What if I lose her and the baby because I pushed too hard? “Fuck. Think,” I tell myself as I stare down at her.
The hospital. It’s not that far away from her apartment at all. I can get her there faster than it would take to wait for an ambulance.
I pull her into my arms and stand, quickly carrying her out of her apartment and down to my car parked on the side of the street. “I’ve got you. Just hang in there.”
As carefully as I can, I put her into the passenger’s seat and buckle her up, my hands shaking. My chest is so full of anxiety that it feels like it’s about to burst, but I keep moving. I keep acting because something is wrong with her.
I hurry to the driver’s side and get in, forcing my brain to remember how to even turn on the car. As soon as the engine is cranked, I pull onto the road and speed to the hospital, fear pulsing in my veins.
What if something is wrong with the baby too? What if they’re both in danger?
What if I lose them?
My knuckles turn white as I get us to the hospital as quickly as I can without endangering her even more. I don’t even bother trying to hunt for a parking space. I pull up to the emergency room exit and shut off my car, leaving the keys in the ignition. Someone will move it.
I run over to the passenger’s side and throw open the door to see her still out cold. I unbuckle her and pull her into my arms, distress written all over my face as I charge into the emergency room.
“Someone help!” I shout.
All of the people in the emergency room freeze as they stare at me. A nurse nearby jumps into action and hurries over to me. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. She passed out,” I tell her, unable to keep my voice steady. “She said she wasn’t feeling well.”
“Has she taken anything?” the nurse asks as she motions at someone nearby. “Get Dr. Blake!”
“No, I don’t think so,” I say as a gurney is rolled toward us. I tighten my grip on Emma at first, not wanting to release her. She feels safer in my arms, but I’m not a medical professional.
I don’t even know what the hell is going on!
Andrew suddenly bursts through the double doors leading into the ER, his eyes wide with shock. He hurries over to me with another nurse behind him. “What in the world, Ryan? What happened to her?”
I let him take Emma from my arms and place her on the gurney. “She passed out. She wasn’t feeling well.”
“Emma, can you hear me? Emma,” Andrew says as he gently lifts Emma’s eyelids and shines a light in them. “Pupils are dilating. Let’s move her to a room. Ryan, follow me.”
I nod as I trail them out of the ER and down a hallway, my pulse racing.
