Chapter 5

FIVE

ALEXA

Brunch with my parents was canceled due to Mom feeling under the weather.

We all know she is hungover given how much she drank last night. According to Dad, it’s been a while since she’s let loose and enjoyed herself. As long as he was holding her hair back over the toilet and not me, I say live life to the fullest.

Will, Millie, Ava, and Austin flew back this morning because of their kids. So, I’m glad to have some quality time with Addy who is sitting across from me drinking her second cup of coffee.

“What a night,” she recalls, blowing the steam away from the cup. “You missed the almost strip show.”

“Um, who?”

“Rocky, Eric, Nikki, and even Nash got in on it.”

I pinch my lips shut, not at all surprised it nearly got out of hand.

“Sounds like I left at the right time.”

“Yeah, about that. Dad said you were tired.”

“Just been studying a lot,” I half-lie.

Addy focuses her gaze then pauses to examine me. Unlike Millie and Ava who have zero filters, Addy will think before she speaks.

“The truth is, you were avoiding someone at the party. Someone you are very close with and had a fight with?”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because I studied Pysch. Reading body language is part of my job. You barely spoke to Beau, and I caught you looking at him with your jealous face.”

“I wasn’t jealous,” I contest.

“Well, you weren’t happy he brought someone to the party.”

Of all my sisters, Addy is the one I trust with my life. Millie and Ava have this bond, plus they tell each other everything. Maybe all I need is to get this off my chest once and for all.

“I accidentally slept with Beau a few weeks back, and we haven’t spoken since.” The words vomit out of my mouth like I’ve got no control whatsoever. “We agreed it was a one-time thing. I was so angry at Hunter and… yeah, we had sex.”

Addy lets out a long breath. “You broke the friend zone rule. No wonder there was so much tension last night.”

I lean in, desperate for her opinion. “So, what do you make of it?”

“Beau’s ego is bruised because as much as he wanted to sleep with you, the reason was to get back at an ex. It explains why he brought a girl. He wanted to get under your skin which he did, right?”

“Yes,” I mumble.

“Okay, so the only way to move forward is to talk to him amicably. Friendships can be tricky, but if it’s worth it then being honest will save what you guys have.”

My head nods in agreement, but my lips remain shut. Addy is right, I need to talk to Beau but maybe I’ll wait a few days. Let the storm pass, and hopefully, we can talk like two rational people.

As Addy finishes her coffee, I observe her with curiosity. She’s so beautiful, always has been. Though, it’s this underrated beauty. She doesn’t know how pretty she is to look at. Even in high school, I remember how boys would crush on her and she had no clue. Millie is a lot like Mom with her features and lighter brown hair, and Ava is more like Dad with darker hair and olive skin. Addy is in the middle, kinda like me.

“I’m guessing with all the drinking last night and coffee, you’re not pregnant like Millie and Ava assume you are?”

Addy laughs. “Those two are impossible. No, I’m not. Masen and I have decided to wait. We have a lot of things we want to do first before welcoming a family. Not everyone has to have babies straight away you know.”

“I bet Dad said that.” I chuckle.

“He sure did.” Addy grins then breaks out into laughter with me. “I think for once you and I are his favorites.”

I raise my glass of juice to toast with my sister, but the second my arm is mid-air, a sharp pain hits my lower back.

“Ow,” I scowl.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just got this sharp pain in my lower back. Like a cramp but worse.”

Addy scrunches her face almost instantly. “Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh, what?”

“Could be kidney stones.”

“Kidney stones?” I question in a raised voice. “How?”

“I don’t know, but Masen had them about six months ago, and it wasn’t pleasant. It started with the same pain in his lower back. He had to pass them and let me tell you, I’ve never seen a grown man cry like a girl before. Well, except for Eric.”

I shudder at the thought and pray it’s not because the last thing I need is to pass something through which I can only assume would hurt like hell.

“What should I do?”

“Just monitor over the next few days. If the pain stops maybe it was a one-off thing. If it persists, make sure you see a doctor straight away.”

“Okay, I will do just that.”

The pain went away, or so I thought. It came and went over the last week, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

I’m sitting in my economics class, trying to write down notes so I don’t miss a thing. The professor is a fast talker, making it even more challenging to keep up. Just as my pen runs out, a sharp pain stabs my side.

My eyes close immediately. Usually, it disappears so I just ride the uncomfortable wave.

The pain refuses to subside, forcing me to grab my side to stop it. I wait a few minutes, breathing in and out, but it stabs my side again.

“Hey, Alexa, are you okay?” Beau’s roommate Joel is sitting behind me. He leans over, placing his hand on my shoulder. “You look really pale.”

“I don’t know.” I almost cry. “I just have this pain that won’t go away.”

“Maybe go to the student health center or something.”

The professor stops his lecture, fixating his attention on me. I quickly tell him I’m going to see the nurse, ignoring everyone inside the room looking at me. Just fucking great.

My hands reach out for my things to pack them into my bag, but I suddenly lose strength.

“I’ll help you,” Joel insists.

I don’t even argue, thanking him for helping me, but also holding my arm as I barely manage to walk out. Instead of heading to the student health center, I ask Joel to help me into a cab and head straight to the hospital. If what Addy said is true, a hospital is just what I need to pass these damn stones, which I’m assuming it is.

The cab ride is only supposed to be ten minutes, yet it feels like three hours. By the time we get to the hospital, my body has grown hot and feverish, with waves of nausea threatening me.

Inside the ER, I rush toward the person behind the desk and tell her my symptoms. Thank God she is nice, taking me straight to the back and a spare bed. I don’t care where I go, I’m just grateful to be surrounded by doctors who will hopefully take this pain away.

There’s a doctor and a nurse, both lost in conversation before examining me. They suspect it’s kidney stones but insist on taking some scans. Before I know it, they send me to the x-ray room, then quickly back to bed where I’m forced to wait and drink a lot of water.

My eyes close, willing the pain to stop. I’m praying the scans will tell them it’s in fact stones and they can get these fuckers out of me. At this point, I’ll do or take anything to make it go away.

I find myself drifting in and out of sleep, despite all the noise around me. Time is lost on me, but then a hand touches my arm, forcing me to open my eyes. Beau is standing beside the bed with a panicked expression. How did he even know where I was? Or even allowed in here.

“Alexa, what’s happening? Joel told me you took yourself to the hospital,” he questions in a high-pitched tone.

“Pain… here…” I mumble, with a dry mouth. “It hurts. Doctor says it’s probably kidney stones.”

“Ah, fuck.” Beau winces, running his hand through his hair like always. “Can they give you something?”

“I’m begging. If they don’t listen to me, please beg them for me. It hurts.”

The doctor comes back with his chart, offering a warm smile. Why the fuck is he smiling when I’m dying? I’m about to tell him to shove his smile up his ass but also realize I have no energy to do so.

“The good news is the kidney stones are small enough that you’ll be able to pass them.”

How is that good news? The urinary tract isn’t exactly wide, long, or whatever you want to call it. IT’S SMALL!

“Can I have something for the pain?” I plead.

“We can administer pregnancy-safe painkillers.”

I glance at Beau for guidance, unsure what it means since I’m not following the doctor’s medical jargon. Beau’s face looks incredibly still, not at all confused like mine.

“Is that because I’m under twenty-one or something?”

Dr. Clarkson, which is his name on the badge, gazes at me oddly. He reads the chart again before looking at me again.

“No, Miss Edwards. It’s because you’re pregnant and can’t take certain medications like Ibuprofen.”

A sudden feeling of cold expands in my core, numbing my entire body as I stare at him in silence. His voice repeats in my head like a broken record. “No, Miss Edwards. It’s because you’re pregnant and can’t take certain medications like Ibuprofen.”

I shake my head, desperately needing to scream but nothing comes out of my mouth. This is just a bad dream. You will wake up from this.

Then, the heavy feeling inside my stomach takes a drastic turn for the worse. My body jerks forward, followed by a loud sound escaping my mouth. The room suddenly turns hot, and out of my control, I jerk forward again and vomit all over the bed.

Not once or twice, but three times.

And when I’m finally done, the tears fall upon my cheeks as I scream, “No!”