It’s something else.
Something I haven’t been expecting.
Something I haven’t read about.
Something not normal.
I dump the contents of my purse out in the passenger seat to find my phone and then power it on.
Please have service. Please have service.
One bar. All I have is one bar.
I dial the three digits as tears start crawling down my cheeks.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
“My name …” My voice trembles, and I struggle to come up with the right words. “My name is Willow Andrews. I was driving.” I stop and double over, holding my stomach and groan. “I’m pregnant and having severe abdominal pain.”
“Okay, ma’am,” the woman says on the other side. “Do you know your location?”
I urgently search for a street sign, mile marker, anything that can help them. Nothing.
“I … I’m not sure. There’s hardly any traffic.” I open the Maps app on my phone to get the exact location and recite it to her.
“Thank you. We have an ambulance on the way. Stay with me, okay? Take deep breaths, Willow. Are you experiencing any bleeding?”
I’m sobbing louder. “I’m not sure.” I’m not proud of this, but I dip my hand into my panties and gasp when I drag it back out. There’s not much of it, but it’s there. And it’s bright red.
Tears fall down my face faster.
“You doing okay, Willow?” she asks.
“Yes,” I croak out, the words barely audible. “Yes, I’m bleeding.”
I should hang up and call Dallas. Call Stella. Call my mom. Somebody.
But I can’t move. I’m frozen to the spot, imagining every nightmare that could happen.
Please let everything be okay with my babies.
Please let everything be okay with me.
Please. Please. Please.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Dallas
I’ve been pacing the floor in my kitchen for what seems like hours. I fed Maven dinner, and she passed back out an hour ago. Her fever has gone down, which is a relief.
I’ve tried calling Willow countless times. At first, it was going straight to voice mail. It’s ringing now, but she’s not answering, so I get her voice mail again.
When my phone rings fifteen minutes later, I quickly hit the Accept button without even looking at the caller ID. “Hello?” I rush out.
“Dallas!” Lauren screeches. “You need to get to the hospital right now.”
“What?” I stutter out. “What’s going on?”
“Willow is here. They brought her in about ten minutes ago.”
My stomach drops. “How do you know? Did she call you?”
“Oh, gee, I don’t know, maybe because I work here. Get here fast, and I’ll explain everything. I’ve got to get back to my patients.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I hang up, and my hands are shaking when I dial Hudson. “You busy?”
“Nope, just parked on the couch, watching sports and waiting for Stella to get home. You want me to come hang out with you and my sick niece?” He must’ve not heard the urgency in my voice.
“Can you come watch Maven for me?”
He catches on now. “What’s going on?”
“Lauren said Willow got admitted to the ER.”
“Fuck,” he hisses. “What for?”
“I don’t know. Lauren wouldn’t tell me over the phone.” That means, it’s not fucking good.
“I’ll be there in five, sooner if I can.”
“Thank you.”
I call Willow’s phone again. It rings. Then, voice mail. A million reasons why she’s there flash through me. If it were contractions or something small, Lauren would’ve told me to ease my mind.
Why didn’t Willow call me? Why didn’t she let me know what’s wrong with our babies? It’s just as much my information as it is hers.
Because she’s fucking selfish, and I’m fucking pissed.
Thirty minutes later, I’m pulling into the hospital parking lot. A bad taste fills my mouth as I run through the sliding glass doors. The last time I was here was when I said good-bye to Lucy.
I nearly collide with the front desk and ignore everyone standing in line, cutting straight to the front. “Willow Andrews,” I blurt out. “I’m looking for Willow Andrews. Redhead. She’s pregnant.”
The middle-aged woman stares up at me in annoyance. “You family?”
“The father of the twins she’s pregnant with. My sister is a nurse here and will vouch for me. Lauren Barnes.” Never thought I’d use that to my advantage of getting in somewhere.
The way her face falls confirms it’s not good news. She picks up the phone. “Will you please tell Nurse Barnes her brother is here?”
The doors open, and Lauren comes sprinting into the waiting room. “Dallas!” she calls out, nearly out of breath, and waves her hand. “Come with me.”
We speed-walk through the crowded hallway, and she knocks on a door before opening it. Willow is lying in the bed, tears and mascara running down her face, while the nurse checks her vitals. Her eyes are puffy from crying. She’s exhausted. Broken. Worn out. Like she’s been through hell. I’m positive I’m about to go there, too.
I rush over to her side, take her shaking hand, and slowly massage it with my thumb when she starts to cry harder.
“I don’t know what happened. I was driving down the road, and all of a sudden—” Her free hand flies to her mouth, stopping any words from exiting.
“All of a sudden what?” I ask, swallowing hard, my voice breaking, my heart breaking.
The nurse hits a few buttons on the monitor and scurries out of the room. Lauren shuts the door and leans back against it.
Willow moves her hand, so I can understand her. “All of a sudden, I got these sharp pains in my stomach.” She plays with her admittance bracelet over my hand and glances at Lauren in torture. “Can you … will you …”
Lauren takes a step forward with a pain-stricken face. “They did an ultrasound. It’s the first thing we did when the EMTs brought her in.”
My eyes pierce hers. “The EMTs. An ambulance brought you in?” I’ve already heard more than I want to, but I know it’s only going to get worse.
“There was only one heartbeat,” Willow whispers.
A knot forms into my stomach, tightening every muscle, and I gag, positive I’m about to vomit. I squeeze her hand before pulling away to sit down.
“One heartbeat? What do you mean, one heartbeat?” I ask, practically begging for the answer I want even though I’m not going to get it. “We have two babies. Twins. I saw them with my own two eyes at our ultrasound!” My lip trembles, and I lock eyes with Lauren. “Tell them to do it again.” My tone is demanding.
“I already had them do it again. They showed me ten times!” Willow cries out. “I begged them to keep doing them, so I could prove them wrong. There were two heartbeats during our last ultrasound. I swear there was!”