“Well, good.” Luke pulled his arm away from her hand. “Because that’s all we are. We’ll live together. We’ll raise our son together. But there can’t be anything more between us.”
“Yousaidthat.” Bella took a step backwards. “You’ve made yourself clear.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Something flickered behind Luke’s eyes before his expression grew steely again. “But this is the best thing for both of us. We need to focus on our son.”
“I…” Bella let out a breath. “I’m…”
“I have to go.” And with that, Luke brushed past her. This time, Bella didn’t try to stop him. A few moments later, she heard the front door slam closed and the sound of his car starting outside. She stayed standing in the kitchen until she was sure he was gone, then she sank onto one of the stools. Tears burned at her eyes, her chest was very tight, and her stomach ached.
Luke didn’t want a romantic relationship with her. He’d been clear. Very clear. What she didn’t understand was everything that had come before this — all the moments that he’d held her arm while they’d walked, and joked with her about baby names, and hugged her close after she’d hung the pictures, and asked personal questions, and kissed her goodnight on the forehead, and talked about a future together. None of those had been the actions of a platonic co-parent… had they?
Maybe Bella had completely misread the situation. Maybe Luke really didn’t think of her as a romantic partner. Maybe he’d just been being friendly. It had just been pregnancy hormones making her think there was more to this, to them.
Bella had been silly to think that there was something between them. There never had been. She’d been on her own for years, and the moment someone was the slightest bit kind to her, she’d fallen head over heels. She’d started to count on Luke, not just to help her with the baby, but to be there forher,to care abouther.
And she’d been wrong. Luke didn’t care about her.
Bella forced herself to take a deep breath and wipe her tears away. She’d wanted to stay here because she’d thought it was best for the baby to have two parents, but she wasn’t so sure now. Was it really best for the baby to grow up living with two parents who didn’t feel anything for each other?
I have to get out of here.
That might help. For months, she’d been living in Luke’s home, eating his food, and growing closer to him. Standing on her own two feet again, at least for a little while, might help her see things more clearly.
Bella got up and went upstairs, slowly but surely. There were boxes under her bed, the boxes she’d used when she’d moved in, but she didn’t reach for those. She just grabbed her backpack and started loading it with clothes and toiletries. Her stomach twinged a little as she bent and reached, but she ignored it. She needed to get out of here.
I’ll stay with Stacy.Bella dismissed the thought as soon as it came. Stacy had been a great friend to her, but Bella needed to rely on herself right now. Only herself. She’d seen what could happen if she tried to count on someone else. No, she would go to a hotel, just for a night or two, until she could figure out where to go from here.
She packed her laptop and her book, then set the backpack on the bed. As she did, pain gripped her abdomen, reminding her of the time she’d ended up in Luke’s ER with Braxton-Hicks contractions. She’d had a few more practice contractions since then, but this was more intense.
Bella took a deep breath and sat on the edge of her bed. She got out her phone and started looking for hotels, wanting to have a place to go. There was one nearby for a reasonable price, so she started filling out her personal information to book.
Another wave of pain gripped her, and Bella put her phone down, her eyes scrunching closed at the pain. Could this be labor? Olivia had said she could go into labor anytime, but this seemed to be happening fast. When she’d looked up what to expect, she’d seen that contractions usually started slowly and weren’t quite so painful at the beginning.
“It’s just Braxton-Hicks contractions again,” Bella said aloud. “Stay in there a little longer, baby. I just need to figure some stuffout before I meet you.” She didn’t want her son to come into a world where she was uncertain and scared.
The baby didn’t seem to be listening, though, because another contraction hit her, this one stronger than the last. Bella bent over, rubbing her stomach, trying to breathe like Luke had shown her.
Luke. Tears filled Bella’s eyes again. She’d imagined going into labor with him by her side, holding her hand, but maybe that was silly. Maybe he wouldn’t even want to be there — he didn’t want to be more than a co-parent, right? It wasn’t like he was going to feed her ice chips and stroke her back like a regular husband and father-to-be.
Bella stood. As she did, a rush of water cascaded between her legs, soaking the carpet. Bella’s first thought was that it was going to be annoying to clean, like the time she’d dropped a plate of spaghetti with red sauce on a white carpet as a child.
Her second thought was that this was her waters breaking. It was a clear sign that she was actually in labor, and that these were no longer Braxton-Hicks contractions. Panic gripped her, making her heart race and her hands tremble. She was having her baby today. Now.
It was time to put aside her fight with Luke. Whatever he wanted, or didn’t want, from her, he was a doctor, and he would know what to do. She sank back onto the bed, reached for her phone, and dialed his number. The phone rang before going to voicemail.
“Luke,” Bella managed, “I know we just fought, but I need you. The baby needs you. I’m in labor, I think. Can you come home?”
Then she set the phone down and took deep breaths. Olivia had told her that she had hours from the first contraction, even days for some women, so there was time. This felt big and scary, but it was natural, and it was going to be okay. Luke would get her message and come home, and they would go to the hospital together.
Another contraction hit, bringing tears to Bella’s eyes. Maybe if she could go downstairs, she could get her comb and her scented candles from her birth bag by the door. That might help with the pain. She forced herself to her feet, but another contraction hit, and she bent over. Picking up her phone, she tried to call Luke again, but there was no answer.
“Luke, please come home,” she repeated. “I think I need to go to the hospital. My waters broke.” Then she hung up.
“Okay. It’s okay. I can do this.” Bella took a deep breath and stood again. Her phone in one hand, the other hand bracing herself against the wall, she waddled down the hallway, stopping once in the middle for a contraction. When she reached the top of the stairs, she grabbed the railing and tried to lower one foot down, but a contraction hit. She cried out in pain and dropped her phone, which fell, bouncing, down the stairs.
Bella sank to the floor at the top of the stairs. There was no way she could get down there and get her phone back.
Which meant there was no way she could call for help, either from Luke or from an ambulance.
