Chapter 6

6

C laire waited in the hotel room as the tour doctor ushered the men out. Ben tried to argue that he needed to stay, but Dr. Patrick was firm in demanding privacy for Claire, which she appreciated.

Once they left the room, Dr. Patrick sighed and gave her a warm smile. She was in her thirties with dark hair that was pulled into a tight bun. She dressed in plain clothes, but carried a small bag with the items she needed to do a proper check-up.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Claire. I've heard so much about you."

Claire looked at her, startled. "You have?"

Dr. Patrick smiled as she pulled a stethoscope out of her bag and looped it around her neck before she dug into her bag for more items.

"Ben has mentioned you several times and how he hoped you'd come to a show when they were near you."

Guilt crept up Claire's back. She had avoided all the shows because Charles wouldn't let her go. One time she had tried to sneak out to go see it once Charles had passed out from drinking too much, or so she had thought. He caught her before she could leave the driveway. She never made that mistake again. That was the first time she realized how horrible Charles could be. She hadn't thought she'd survive it.

"I wish I had," she whispered. "Thank you for seeing me today, Dr. Patrick. I planned to go find a doctor in town while the guys were busy. I didn't realize they had a doctor on tour with them."

Dr. Patrick pulled up a chair in front of Claire at the little table in the hotel room.

"My name is Celine. You don't need to call me Dr. Patrick. We're pretty informal around here."

Claire smiled. "Can I just say I'm thankful you're a woman?"

Celine laughed. "I want to check your blood pressure and listen to your heart and lungs. I'd also like to do a physical on you to make sure there isn't anything we need to be more concerned about."

Claire nodded. "There's something I need to tell you, but I don't want it getting back to Ben yet. I want to tell him when I'm ready."

"Of course. Nothing you say will leave this room. It's between us."

Claire set a hand on her stomach. "I'm pregnant. I think I'm around three months. Charles, my…" She hesitated on how to describe him. "… baby daddy, did this when he found out. He tried to force a miscarriage."

She lifted her shirt and showed Celine the line of bruises around her midsection from where she had been kicked repeatedly.

Celine's arms wrapped around Claire and held her, being careful not to squeeze. Claire hadn't realized it, but she was crying.

"I'm sorry you've had to go through this. I think it would be wise for us to file a police report, so you have it on record in case he ever comes back. But for now, let's get you checked out and then I'll ride with you over to a clinic to check on your baby."

Claire nodded and wiped her eyes with the corner of her sleeve when they pulled apart.

Celine did a thorough exam of Claire and asked several questions. She told Claire that she thought her ribs were badly bruised and possibly fractured, but there wasn't much they could do for it as they would heal on their own in six weeks.

Then Celine made a phone call and an appointment for a clinic in town to get Claire checked out. She also warned Claire that the clinic would call the police when she arrived because of her condition.

The two of them stepped out of the room to find all the guys leaning against the walls in various positions. They all stood up straight and waited like dogs for a bone.

"Well, hello, men," Celine said. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Claire knew immediately she liked Celine, but now she liked her even more. She bit her lip to hide her smile. They knew exactly why the guys were there.

"So?" Ben asked.

"So, what?" Celine said.

He gestured wildly at Claire. "Is she okay?"

Celine mimed zipping her lips. "You know I have a doctor patient confidentiality agreement. It's up to Claire what she wants to tell you. But she doesn't have to say a thing if she doesn't want."

Celine gave them all a meaningful look with an eyebrow raised.

The guys all grumbled before turning their attention to Claire.

Claire only shrugged. "I'm good."

Ben's hands planted on his waist. "You're… good? Good?" He gestured wildly at her face and then the rest of her body. "You're not good."

She caught Jake's eyes over Ben's shoulder, and the worried look on his face softened her heart. Despite not wanting to give them all the information, she knew she couldn't keep them completely in the dark. Showing up the way she looked after four years of near silence, she had to give them something.

Liam, Theo, and Will also stood back, watching patiently. They were all like brothers to her. They had all grown up in the same school district, and while they had been Ben's friends, they had all treated her like their younger sister. The concern on all of their faces had her briefly closing her eyes before opening them again.

"Celine thinks my ribs might be fractured, if not just badly bruised, but there isn't anything they can do for it. They'll heal on their own. Otherwise, everything else is just surface wounds. I'm okay."

A collective sigh went through the group. Lonnie stood off to the side listening, and his eyes seemed to bore into her as Will shuffled the guys off toward the elevators to get to a radio interview they had scheduled that morning and were now running late for.

Claire's eyes snagged on Jake's as the elevator doors closed, and his question of asking if they could talk later nagged at the back of her mind.

"All right. Now that we're rid of the peanut gallery, shall we go?" Celine asked.

Lonnie raised an eyebrow. "You know I'm coming with, right?"

"Of course," Celine said as she threw an arm around Lonnie.

Claire smiled at the two of them and followed them over to the elevator. When the doors closed, Lonnie looked over at Claire.

"Claire, you don't have to tell me anything, but I know there's more to this than you're letting on. I don't expect to be let in the loop, but know I'm here if you need me."

Claire looked up into his eyes. "Thank you, Lonnie. I appreciate that."

They came out into the quiet lobby. The guys had already been whisked away to their radio show, so the paparazzi and fans had followed. Very few people were left to give them any attention as they made their way into a waiting car.

The drive to the clinic was short. They hurried through to a back room in case anyone was to recognize any of them. Claire was checked over again, and the doctor relayed the same information Celine had.

Then they wheeled in an ultrasound machine and checked on the baby. As Claire had suspected, she was around three months along at twelve weeks. She heard her baby's heartbeat and was assured the baby looked perfectly healthy, despite Charles attempting to kill it.

Claire breathed a sigh of relief. The technician gave Claire a website where she could download digital images of the ultrasound pictures, and also printed one image for her to take with her that day.

Lonnie had waited outside the door in the hallway and spotted the image in Claire's hand before she could tuck it away. He shifted his eyes away, pretending he hadn't seen it, but Claire knew better.

"I'm pregnant," she said when they were back in the car.

"Congratulations," Lonnie said, setting a hand on her knee. "I'm very happy for you."

"Please don't say anything to anyone else."

"I won't. I promise."

Claire smiled at him and shifted her gaze out toward the streets. When they got back to the hotel, Claire said goodbye to Celine and went back toward the elevators with Lonnie when a voice called her name.

She turned to find the wardrobe lady, Miranda, waving excitedly. Claire's face broke into a smile as she took the last few steps toward Miranda and wrapped her arms around her. Miranda lightly hugged Claire and pulled back.

"Girl, I heard you were here, but I had to see it for myself to believe it," Miranda said.

"It's been a while."

"It has." Miranda looped her arm through Claire's and nodded back toward the front doors of the hotel. "We're going on an adventure."

"Uh, uh, uh," Lonnie said. "Only if it's approved by me and if I come."

Miranda rolled her eyes dramatically. "Of course you're coming. Let's go."

Claire looked back at Lonnie, who rolled his eyes and followed them back out of the hotel and into the car.

Once the doors closed behind them, Miranda grinned. "I have a few hours off and a little birdie told me you might need some more clothes."

Tears sprang to Claire's eyes. "Ben sent you?"

Miranda bumped her shoulder into Claire's. "Jake."

Butterflies suddenly fluttered wildly in her stomach. Miranda gave Claire a knowing look and Claire blushed. Out of everyone in her life, Miranda was the only person who knew what happened between Claire and Jake. Miranda had been her best friend on tour. Often, Claire would hang out in the wardrobe room and help her get the guys ready for events. She really enjoyed it and considered pursuing a career in fashion, but after things with Jake happened, she left the tour and her life seemed to unravel from there. From the moment she met Charles.

Claire pushed the thought back. "Miranda, I don't have any money."

Miranda held up a credit card. "Courtesy of Jake."

Claire took a deep breath, attempting to force back the emotional wave that hit her. "I've missed you."

I've missed him.

Miranda smiled. "I've missed you, too. We need to do some serious catch-up, so I expect you to hang out with me during the show tonight."

"Deal."