Her head slightly tilted as she stared up at me. “Wren?”
She eased down on the couch, and I sat alongside her, steadily holding her hand for comfort. “There’s no easy way for me to say this, so I’m just gon’ say it. Wicked has been stabbed. They rushed him to the hospital, and they don’t know if he’s gonna make it.”
She snatched her hand away from me and asked, “You’re playing with me, right?” I slowly shook my head. Tears filled the brims of her eyes. “No… this can’t be true. This has to be a joke.” She rose from the sofa, covering her mouth with her hand. “Ifinally start liking someone again and they try to take him away. What have I done to not deserve to be happy?”
Getting up, I stepped behind her, soothingly rubbing her back. “You haven’t done anything. This right here… it’s a part of their lifestyle. I’ve had scares when it came to Maniac too.”
“How am I supposed to live like this?” Her head whipped around in my direction. Tears streamed her cheeks, dripping off her chin. “Every day I have to worry about him dying. I can’t live like that, Wren.”
“I understand.”
“What if he dies?”
Grabbing her, I pulled her into an embrace. “Then we’ll deal with that. For now, let’s just pray that he makes it. Let’s not think negative.” I stood there, holding her for as long as she needed me to.
LATER THAT NIGHT
I woke to the sound of my phone ringing. The last I checked, I was laying on the sofa watching television. I must’ve dozed off.
Grabbing my phone, I wiped the salvia from the corner of my mouth. When I saw it was Maniac, I struggled to pull myself up. Aria was knocked out on the other side of the sectional with her phone in her hand. Swiping the screen, I placed the phone to my ear. “Is he okay?” I wasted no time asking him.
“Yeah, he gon’ make it.”
I released my breath and replied, “Thank God.”
“When are you coming back home?”
“Probably later tonight. You good though?” Soon as he asked that, I felt a gush of fluid release. My mouth dropped to my lap.
“I think my water just broke.”
“What!” Aria jumped up. She stood to her feet and stumbled as she ran over toward me.
“Did you just say what I think you said?” Maniac questioned me.
“Uh, yes. I think my water just broke.”
“What the fuck, man.” I stuck my hand out in Aria’s direction, and she helped me up from the sofa. Damn sure where I’d been sitting was a wet spot underneath me.
“It broke, Maniac.” My heart palpitated. Never in a million years did I think that I’d be having my baby without him being there. He was over two hours away. There’s no way he’d make it back to me in time before the baby comes out.
“We gotta get you to the hospital,” Aria said and helped me out the family room. “Zion!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, but I don’t think he heard her. “Where’s your bag?”
“In the closet by the door,” I answered her just as a contraction hit me. It kinda felt like the Braxton hicks but it held a bit longer.
“I’m gonna grab Zion.” Aria took the stairs two at a time, and I turned my attention back to Maniac who was panicking on the other end of the phone.
“She’s in labor!” I heard him yell.
“Bae, calm down before you make me start overreacting. He should’ve been the one who was trying to keep me calm in this situation, not the other way around.
“I gotta go. I’ll be there.” The line went dead, and I pulled the phone from my ear and just stared at it. I can’t even believe that he’d got off the phone with me like that. The least he could’ve done was stayed on the phone to make sure I made it to the hospital.
“We’re coming!” Aria yelled as she ran to the staircase with Zion in her arms. His head rested against her shoulder. He’d gone up there and fallen asleep.
I unlocked the door and stepped out onto the porch. By the time I made it to the truck, Aria was right behind me. She placed Zion in his booster seat and then ran back into the house to grab the baby car seat and the bag. She could’ve left the seat and Maniac could’ve brought it up to the hospital later. I know that once I have the baby, I was gon’ be stuck there for a few days.
I climbed into the passenger seat and shut the door. Aria got into the driver seat and pulled off before she even put her seat belt on. She zoomed in and out of traffic, trying her best to make it to the hospital in time.
