Page 85 of Coach Sully
“Have you had any cramping?”
Kendra shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’ve been achy, but it just seemed like normal discomfort from pregnancy. Maybe I didn’t know they were cramps?”
“Are you still bleeding?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. I don’t know.”
“And roughly how much blood would you say there was when you found it?”
Kendra makes a shape with her hand, and the nurse nods. The woman passes her a thin polyester gown and closes the curtain that draws across the glass doors. “Let’s have you putthis on. While you’re doing that, I’m going to get a fetal doppler so we can check for a heartbeat.”
The nurse exits the room, and Kendra begins undressing. With each layer she removes, I take them from her and fold them into a small pile. She slips the gown on, which has a bunch of snaps and fits like a robe.
She sits on some pad the nurse put on the bed, then we wait. A minute goes by, and she speaks.
“I didn’t even want to be a mom until a couple months ago. And then I wanted it. I wanted it so fucking bad.” Her voice is hollow, and I wrap my arms around her. Grateful that she’s letting me be here to support her. I clench my jaw and swallow. I’ll be strong for her right now. “Lay back and relax.” I pull a chair close to the bed and sit, holding her hand in mine and rubbing circles on the back of her palm. “We’re going to leave this room together, regardless of the results. Is that clear?”
She rolls her lips together and nods.
Before long, there’s a knock on the glass.
“Come in,” I answer.
The sliding doors part, and the nurse returns with a physician’s assistant. They introduce themselves and put on gloves.
Kendra lies on the bed, and they unsnap some of the buttons around her belly.
“Bleeding doesn’t always mean miscarriage, though you are past the time we usually see it,” they explain. After squirting this clear jelly stuff on her stomach, they push a small microphone-looking thing around on her belly. The sound of static fills the room. We’re all silent while we listen. I don’t even want to fucking breathe. They continue to move the device. So much static. Waiting, waiting, waiting. What the fuck is happening right now? The blood drains from my face. I have never hatedthe sound of empty static so much in my life. I squeeze her hand tighter.
Then a galloping thump fills the room.
“There it is!” both the staff give small cheers.
Kendra exhales a sob, and I take my first full breath since we got here.
Leaning forward, with an elbow on my knee, I blow out another shaky breath. I kiss her palm and stand, wrapping my arms around her trembling body, then press my lips to her temple. “It’s okay,” I whisper, trying to soothe her. She nods but doesn’t answer.
They pass me a paper towel, and I wipe the clear gel from her skin. While I’m doing that, the nurse hands her a plastic cup. “We’re going to take a urine sample to check hormone levels, and then we’re going to put in orders for an ultrasound to cover all our bases. Sometimes these things happen, other times there’s a cause for the bleed, so this way we can know if there’s anything else going on.”
There’s a shitstorm waiting for us when we exit those doors. I will make sure everything is secure with our jobs, but all I care about are the health and safety of my family. Because that’s what Kendra is, she’s my family. She needs to be healthy, and our baby needs to be healthy. Everything else can wait.
This scare has sent Sully into the deep end. I doubt he’ll let me out of his sight until the baby is here. We stopped at my place to pack a bag, and now he’s making me stay with him. Which is probably good because who the hell knows if I even have a job anymore.
I feel a lot better knowing our baby is healthy. Other than sending Rachel an update letting her know everything is okay, I’ve been avoiding every call that comes through my cell phone. Something I’ve never done in my life. His deep sofa swallows me up, and I’m wrapped up in a blanket and watching the fire crackle ahead of me. Sully hands me a cup of peppermint tea. I take a deep breath, hoping to calm my nerves.
He curls up next to me. “Whatever happens, happens. We’ll figure it out. This mess is temporary, baby.” I want to believe him, but this only ends badly. “I’m not giving up on us. You’re it for me.”
“They’re going to fire me,” I say, looking into the steaming mug. The show is toast. Sully’s heart was in the right place, but he might as well have thrown a grenade on our careers. I’m not innocent in this either. I agreed to sneak around with him. For now, I’m thankful the baby is okay. I’m sure I’ll wake up tomorrow and mourn the career I lost, but for now, I’m just thankful Bo is healthy and Sully cares enough to possibly destroy his own career or team sponsor for the sake of my safety.
What’s done is done, and there’s no coming back from it, so we might as well stick together.
“We don’t know that.”
I do. I know that. “This isn’t one of those glass half-full situations, Sully. I’m going to be fired. My only hope is that my reputation isn’t destroyed beyond repair. This will follow me for a long time.”
“We can prove that you were pregnant before the show began.”
I nod. “It doesn’t matter. I’m the villain in this story.”