8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Davina

"I'm early. This can't be happening." To say I panicked when my water broke at work was an understatement. My boss, Mr. Avery, had to bring me to the hospital. Thankfully, he was a sweet, older gentleman who believed the father of my baby had abandoned us.

I hated lying to him, and assured myself it might not be a lie, depending on which club member fathered my child. Still, he took a chance on me while I was in school, and I didn't want to repay him by being untrustworthy. I interned with him, in a paid position, to be a paralegal. Once I graduated with my degree, I would get a nice bump in pay plus the ability to work from home sometimes. There was also the added bonus that Mr. Avery happened to practice family law, which might come in handy if anyone from the club ever found out about my baby.

"Your due date is July 13th. You're not that early. Everything will be fine," the nurse assured. "It's less than two weeks off."

"July 2nd. It's only July…" I had to stop arguing to breathe through another contraction. "July 2nd."

"Should I wait?" Mr. Avery asked. I shook my head. There was no telling how long labor would last, and I already knew the hospital would keep us for at least one night, if not two. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anything wrong with the baby because I didn't think I could afford an additional bill on top of what I already had to pay for my visits to the OB.

"Okay, I know your car is at the office, so give me a call when you need to get home, and I'll make sure Mrs. Avery gets the car seat installed."

"It's already installed in the back," I told him. "I just need someone to drive it to me when it's time to be discharged."

"We'll get it done."

"Keys are in my purse," I glanced down at the large bag beside me, and the nurse reached in to grab the keys. There was a single key to my car and one to the apartment that Mr. Avery and his wife also rented out to me. They had been a Godsend to me from the very beginning.

When I answered an ad in the paper about a small apartment space for rent in the same building where Mr. Avery's law practice was, I had to tell them that I was looking for a new job, too. When I mentioned that I was in school to get my paralegal degree, everything just fell into place. It almost restored my faith in humanity. Unfortunately, when you've lived the life I have, it's hard to turn everything around completely.

By the time Mr. Avery turned to practically run out of the hospital, I was wheeled straight back to a birthing suite.

By myself.

It was just me and the two lovely nurses who continually monitored my progress.

Just before they did a final check and told me I was ready to push, one of the nurses, Sarah, asked if there was anyone she could call for me.

"It's just me," I told her. That admission made me heave out great big sobs for how lonely I felt. It was the first time I wished to know for sure who the father of my baby was. It would have been nice to have the whole club here in the waiting room ready to welcome another member of their family. I wished Dee was in here with me. She was always my closest friend among the club women. I wished I had someone. Anyone.

The truth was, I hadn't had anyone truly in my corner since my mother died when I was fifteen. I never knew my father. The foster parents who were supposed to protect me failed and I ended up on the streets of Atlanta because of it.

I was on the streets for three years until I turned eighteen. Then, I moved up to living in squalor in apartments that shouldn't be available for humans or any other life form. Every time I tried to get ahead and get out of that situation, something would happen to keep me chained to the impoverished life. I was twenty-eight when the club took me in and had just turned thirty when I got pregnant.

I was about to turn thirty-one in two months, but not before my little one came along. At least I could say I beat teen pregnancy; despite the lifestyle I led early on while trying to survive. I didn't beat the odds at becoming a single mom, though.

"Okay, Davina, you can do this." Sarah coached me as she used a tissue to wipe my face. "It's okay to cry in here, but I want you to know that you are amazing and you're being so brave. You have Neva and me in here and Doctor Harrington will be in shortly. We're all going to get you through this."

"Thank you," I whispered before another contraction hit. When it subsided, I grabbed her arm and pulled her close. "If something should happen to me, you need to contact the Savage Vipers MC. I'm not sure who the father is, but the baby belongs to the club. If anything happens, promise me you will let them know, so that I know the baby will be taken care of."

"You think a motorcycle club will take care of a baby?"

"Better than the foster care system ever will. I ran from that system after I was hurt, please, promise you won't let my baby go there."

"I promise to notify the club if anything happens, but there won't be any need. We're going to get you through this just fine."

A few hours later, I cradled my daughter in my arms while trying to get her to latch on to my breast.

"How are we doing in here?"

"Just fine. It was awful when they took her away," I admitted.

"Aw, sweetie, we would never let anything happen to your daughter."

While I wanted to believe the woman, I knew better. Portia was my new nurse. When they took my daughter to clean her up and do all the things they do to newborns, I'd been moved to a different room for recovery, which meant the labor and delivery nurses were no longer with me. Maybe it was na?ve of me to think that I had bonded with Sarah during my labor experience. I was sure that happened to all new mothers, but still, for some odd reason, I expected her to travel with me to the other side of things.

"How is she doing?"

"I'm not sure." I tried to shrug my shoulders and Coral's mouth popped off my breast. She appeared to be sound asleep.

"You need to try to burp her, and then see if she'll try the other side. Always try to get her to take a little from each."

While I burped Coral and swapped her to my other breast, Portia looked over my chart. "As long as everything looks good tomorrow morning, Dr. Harrington will most likely release you both."

Her puckered expression let me know that she didn't like that idea. "Medicaid won't authorize another day unless there's an issue."

"I know." My sigh was heavy enough to disturb Coral. She pulled off my breast and started to whimper. "It's okay, sweet baby. Momma has you. Hush now, we've had a big day and it's time for you to rest up. You're going to need your strength for this life, so enjoy all the quiet moments while you can."

"Isn't that the truth?" Portia asked before smiling and heading back out into the hallway. "I'll be by in a couple hours. If you need me or feel too tired and want the baby to go to the nursery, just buzz us." She pointed to the call button that was positioned on the arm of the bed.

The nurse from the nursery tried to convince me to get rest and leave the baby with her earlier, but I demanded that my daughter be brought to me. I didn't trust them with her, and if that meant I got no sleep while I was in the hospital, then that was what would happen. I would sleep when my little angel slept after we got home.