Page 34 of Silver Linings
“I think I’ll just take a shower before I get in bed,” she said as she walked past Gunner in the kitchen.
“You need to eat,” Gunner grumbled, and her stomach rolled. The thought of eating while her whole body hurt was almost too much.
“Honestly, I’m not that hungry. I’ll get something after my shower if I’m feeling up to it.” She paused, waiting for him to argue with her, but he just looked at her with worry in his eyes. “I’m fine, Gunner. Is there anything you need help with before I go?”
“No.”
“Okay. See you in the morning.” Lily walked into her room and shut the door, sinking against it as another contraction ran its course. The hot water of a shower should help calm things down if it was just a false alarm. She’d been on her feet longer than she meant to be. It was probably just that. But if not, she’d try to sleep and call a taxi once things got unbearable.
Grabbing shorts and her favorite oversized shirt from the dresser, Lily made her way into the bathroom. The water flowed quickly from the shower head and filled the room with steam by the time she had locked the door from Gunner’s room and stripped off her clothes.
Pulling her wet hair up into a towel a few minutes later, Lily walked back into her room. There, on the bed, was a peanut butter and onion sandwich, a glass of chocolate milk, and two chocolate cookies. The gesture from Gunner was enough to let all the tears from the day finally break free.
Sliding the tray onto the table next to her bed, Lily curled up and let the tears fall. Tears of sadness for Jules. Tears of grief for Gunner and Gia. Tears of heartache for the marriage of convenience that she wished was real. Tears of thankfulness for the life that she was about to bring into the world, and the family that would surround her with love and support.
Twelve
She hadn’t come out of her bedroom. When he’d gotten back inside from installing the baby’s car seat into the back of his rental truck, she had still been in the shower. A few minutes after he sat on his bed, staring at the locked door to the bathroom, he heard the water turn off, and the door unlocked, but she didn’t knock or try to talk to him. He’d walked down the hall to check on her, but her door was still closed that way, too.
Gunner had wanted to knock. To see if she wanted something different to eat, or if she needed someone to talk to after the day they’d had. Lord knew he could use someone to talk to. But as he raised his hand to the door, he’d heard her sniffle. And then a cry hit his ears and he stumbled back. Should he try and give her support? Or give her space? Surely it was just because of how overwhelming the day had been.
Before he knew it, Gunner was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, begging sleep to come for him. Yet, there he was, wide awake as the clock ticked slowly towards midnight. That’s when Gunner heard the first muffled cry. Not of sadness. It was a cry of pain. Jumping from bed, he slipped the old shirt hanging off the edge of his laundry hamper over his head and nearly ripped his bedroom door off the hinges trying to get to her.
“Lily?” he called her name softly as he made it to the living room, where the small table lamp was on and he saw her kneeling, resting her arms on the seat of the sofa. “What’s going on?”
“G-Gunner,” he heard her breath whoosh out of her chest and knelt down beside her, his hand running large circles over her back. “I should have called a taxi.”
Why the fuck would she need a taxi? That’s when the reality of what was happening slammed into him.
“Lil? Is the baby coming?”
Her face crinkled up for a few seconds before he felt her body relax under his hand.
“I t-think so.”
“How long have you been having pains?” he asked.
“Since we saw James at the funeral home.”
Shit. She’d been having contractions for at least twelve hours. His stomach dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“They weren’t super regular, and I thought it was just the stress from the day. I didn’t think…“
“Didn't you think that maybe for a moment you shouldn’t be so stubborn? You were in labor all that time and you just thought you’d handle it all on your own?”
“I didn’t mean to…oh god.” Her eyes rolled back into her head and Gunner froze. That was definitely less than two minutes since the last contraction. He didn’t know a lot about what a woman went through giving birth, but he definitely knew that the closer the contractions were together, the sooner the baby would arrive.
“Just breathe, Lily Kate. You’ve got this,” he crooned into her ear as his hand ran over her back. It felt like every muscle in her body was pulled taut. He needed to get her to relax. “You need to loosen up your muscles. Don’t fight it, Lil. Move with the contraction if you need to, but don’t tense up.”
“Is everyone okay out here?” Gia’s sleep-filled voice startled him.
“G, Lily’s having the baby.”
“Lily! What did I say about giving birth on our couch?”
Lily laughed. “S-sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”
“Shit, I’m so excited to be an auntie! Okay, what do we need to do?”