Chapter 21

Amber

When I come back from the bathroom, I start helping with the cleanup. In the kitchen, I grab a towel and start drying the dishes Bri is washing. "He makes you happy," she says so softly I almost don't hear her.

"What?"

"Rico. He makes you happy."

Sebastian comes in to drop off a platter, yelling over his shoulder the entire time. Bri shakes her head and waits for him to leave. Neither of us say anything as we finish up. "I'm glad, Amber," she says, putting her hand on my arm. "I never saw that with Adam."

"Never saw what?" I ask.

"You laughing or even smiling, especially not the way you do with Rico." She pats my hand and then leaves the kitchen, leaving me staring after her.

Rico comes around the corner moments later. "You good?" he asks casually. I turn toward him and think about what Bri said. "What?" he asks curiously.

"I don't know. I just..." my words fail me, and I'm not sure what to say.

"What is it, Amber?" he asks, stepping closer.

I go with the truth. "Bri just told me that I was never happy with Adam."

"You weren't," he says with a shrug as if it's totally obvious.

I can't help my scowl, suddenly irritated. It's one thing for my sister to say but a guy that barely knows me? "How would you know?" I bite out.

He smiles ruefully. "Amber, I've been watching you a whole lot longer than you realize."

I laugh sarcastically. "No, you haven't."

He crosses his arms, studying me. "Do you remember the first time we met?"

I pause. "At the wedding?"

He laughs. "No, Amber. It was wayyyy earlier than that," he says, stepping even closer.

"No, it wasn't," I argue, suddenly feeling off my game.

"Ask Brielle," he says softly. I don't say anything in response; I don't know how to handle him right now. He's not flirting with me exactly, but he's...I don't really know. "So, it's a girl," he continues just as softly.

I startle at the jump in conversation. "Yes," I say quietly.

"I'm glad," he repeats his words from earlier. "Amber—"

"I need to get going," I say suddenly. It's an escape. I know it, and he knows it. But he doesn't try to stop me as I brush past him and leave the kitchen. I make my way over to where Bri and Stephanie are talking. "Hey, I'm going to get going; it's getting late. Thanks for everything. I had such an amazing time." I hug Bri first and then Stephanie.

"Love you, Squirt," Stephanie says affectionately, even as I shake my head.

"Love you too."

When I don't see Aiden anywhere, I make my way outside and to my car. I don't turn on the radio for the drive home. I'm confused and tired and...overwhelmed. It was a really good night, and I'm really glad I went. But I'm confused with Rico. I take a deep breath and push away any feelings that I may or may not be developing for the guy. I can't have a man in my life right now. I rub my belly subconsciously. It doesn't take me long when I get home to get settled in bed and fall asleep. I'm so glad tomorrow is Saturday, and I can sleep in.

I wake up during the middle of the night in the middle of a tight cramp. I roll into a ball and try to catch my breath. Panicking, I finally climb out of bed and stumble into the bathroom to pee. When I pull down my underwear and see the blood, I panic completely. I don't even bother changing my underwear and move as fast as I can back to my bedroom. I grab my phone and search for Rico's name. I don't stop to think. "Amber, are you okay?"

"Rico, I'm bleeding and cramping and—" Panic makes me choke.

"I'm on my way."

I won't think about it until much later that I never even considered calling Bri or Stephanie or asking my mom for ride, just like Rico never hesitated. In my muddled state, I manage to grab my wallet and phone and a sweatshirt and make my way to the front door. My stomach cramps again, and I double over and manage not to cry out. It's not terribly painful, but it's scaring me. I hear the knock on the door, and I throw open the door.

The next few hours are a blur in my mind. Somehow Rico gets me to the hospital. He never leaves my side, not for a minute. It takes a little while but finally I'm placed in a room in the ER, and the questions begin.

"Are you diabetic?"

"Do you have high blood pressure?"

"A history of passing out?"

"Any pelvic infections?"

I answer each question to the best of my ability, but it's hard for me to come up with the answers. "I just need to know if my baby is okay," I say more than once. I feel like my world is spinning out of control, and I don't know how to stop it. They take my blood and give me an ultrasound. When I see my little girl moving around, I take my first full breath in hours. "Why is she moving so much?" I ask the tech.

"She's responding to your panic right now. The more you can calm, the more she will calm."

I take a deep breath and dig deep for some kind of calm, not for me, but for my baby. When I'm wheeled back into the room, I realize Rico is still here. He helps me back into the bed. "You don't have to stay," I tell him.

"Yes, I do."

And that's that. It's nearly morning by the time we finally get to see a doctor. "Hi Amber, I'm Dr. Kennedy. It sounds like you've had a long night." I nod. "Let's get this figured out, so we can get you home for some sleep, okay."

Her calm demeanor helps me to calm down. "Sounds good."

"Now, I first want to say that baby girl is okay. She's healthy and whole, nothing to worry about there."

I take a deep breath. "You, my dear, are a different story." I stiffen and turn my panicked gaze to Rico. Without saying a word, he picks up my hand and puts it in his bigger one. I cling to it like a lifeline as I wait for the doctor to say more. "Have you had a rough pregnancy?" she asks. I hesitate. "Have you been unable to eat much because of being sick?" she asks, and I nod. "Okay. Well, let me give it to you straight. You're dehydrated, and you're anemic, meaning your iron levels are low. You're underweight, and your baby is underweight." It feels like a vice is gripping my heart, making it hard to breathe. "And your blood pressure is sky high. Have you been stressed for this pregnancy?" She looks up at me, and I can't find words to answer.

"Yes," Rico answers for me, squeezing my hand. "She's been really stressed. She works too hard, doesn't eat or drink enough, and is working full time and taking classes full time."

The doctor's face tightens in concern, and I suddenly feel like it's all too much. Tears burn the backs of my eyes. "I'm sorry; I'll do better, I promise. Just tell me what to do."

The doctor studies me a moment, and I feel like she's seeing too much. "It's not an issue of trying harder. Sometimes, you need help. That's okay; that's where we come in. Now, what can we do to rectify these issues?"

She spends at least thirty minutes with me. By the time she finishes, my mind is whirling. I barely remember to thank her before she leaves, promising a nurse will be in to follow up. Rico squeezes my hand; I didn't even realize he was still holding it. "How are you doing?" he asks softly.

"Overwhelmed," I answer honestly.

"I get that. Let's just take it one thing at a time, okay. Let's get finished here and get you home and then go from there."

I close my eyes wearily. It sounds like a good plan. I hear a soft knock on the door and open my eyes. When Bri and Aiden walk in, my eyes widen in surprise. "Oh, Amber," Bri says walking over to me. I glance over at Rico.

"I texted Aiden," he says softly, right before Bri gives me a gentle hug.

"Are you okay?" she asks softly.

I shrug, feeling so overwhelmed. "I don't know how to do this." To my horror, tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. Bri's eyes immediately tear up as well.

"Oh, Amber." She leans close and pulls me into a tight hug. Something comes over me at the feel of my older sister's arms around me, and the tears begin to flow in earnest.

"I'm doing a terrible job of this." My voice is muffled against her shirt, but she hears me.

"Amber Nicole," she says in warning.

I can't help the smile that tugs at my lips. "You sound like Mom."

She gives a small smile at that. "Whatever it is, Amber, we'll work through it with you. You're not alone."

Fresh tears come at her words, and I nod, unable to say anything for the emotion clogging my throat. There's a quick knock on the door, and it opens as the nurse strolls in. If she's surprised by the extra people in our room, especially now that there are not one but two rather large males in here, she doesn't show it on her face. "All right, Dad. I'm going to give all the discharge paperwork to you to work on. Mom, you and I are going to go through these papers."

Silence descends on the room, and I don't dare look over at Rico. I make the mistake of looking at Bri. Her eyebrows are nearly to her hairline. I look back at the nurse and see Rico take the papers from her without saying a word. "We'll, uh, wait in the hall," Bri says, and she and Aiden leave the room.

"All right, let's go through these forms," the nurse says.

We go over diet, proper hydration, what vitamins I need to add and blood pressure medication, how to eat more even when I'm not feeling up to it, and how to minimize stress. I'm told what to do if the bleeding continues. She also advises me to follow-up with my OB next week. We finally finish, and I'm left depleted and exhausted. I'm really feeling the night of no sleep.

Rico quietly hands me the forms when the nurse is working on the laptop and points to a few questions he doesn't know the answers to. I fill in the rest of it and hand it back to him. "Okay," the nurse says once she gets everything from him. "We'll start the discharge process. You should be cleared to leave in the next half hour or so." She disappears, and I take a deep breath.

"How are you feeling?" Rico asks softly.

"Okay."

"Are you still cramping?"

"No." The IV they hooked me up to must have really helped with that.

"And the bleeding?" he asks.

Surprisingly, I'm not even embarrassed by his questions. "I'm not sure, but I need to go to the bathroom. I can check then."

He stands to his feet. "I'll help you there." I take his hand and let him guide me to the bathroom. I'm very aware of the fact that the back of me is barely covered in this hospital gown, but he doesn't say a word to make me feel awkward. He leaves me in the bathroom and closes the door behind him. When I pull down my underwear, I'm relieved to see that the bleeding has stopped. I finish and open the door. His worried gaze meets mine. "It stopped."

A look of relief crosses his face. "Good. Here are your clothes if you want to change so we can get you home."

"Thank you." I look up and meet his gaze. "Thank you for everything, Rico. I—" I don't even know what to say.

"I'm glad you called me." That's all he says before he closes the door, so I can change. And just like that, there's a connection between us, deeper than before.