Chapter 58
Sapplure
Flashback…
The book I was reading blurred in front of me as my eyes struggled to focus. I’d been sitting in this chair for hours, surrounded by textbooks and notes. Finals were coming up, and had to be ready, I couldn’t afford to fail, not now. I shifted uncomfortably in my sea, feeling the weight of exhaustion settling in my bones. My back ached, and I placed my hand over my belly, giving it a gentle rub.
“Come on, little one, just a few more days and then I rest,” I whispered softly to my unborn child. The past few months had been a whirlwind, with me trying to juggle school and preparing for motherhood alone. The thought of the word “alone” made my chest tighten. I but my lip, willing the tean not to fall. I didn’t have time to break down, not right now.
It was a decision I had made on my own and I was determined to stick by it. It has been difficult but knowing I would meet my baby was everything
Just as I turned the page, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen. I gasped, dropping any pen, and instinctively clutched my belly used to breathe through it, telling myself it was just another Braxton Hicks contraction. I’d had a few already, but this one felt different deeper, more intense. I closed my eyes, taking slow, deep breaths like Ed practiced
But when the pain retired, stronger this time, I knew it wasn’t just a false alam. My heart raced as the realization sank in. This was it. The baby was coming. Panic washed over me, and I stood up ton quickly, causing the world to is. I grabbed the edge of the desk to steady myself, the room spinning around me for a secon
“Okay, okay, breathe.” I muttered to myself, running through the steps in my head I needed to get to the hospital, but who would take me! I looked around my small apartmes, the silence deafening. No one. There was more here. Ed pushed everyone away, thinking I could handle this on my own. And now, in my homent of need, I realized how alone Itruly was
The tears that had been holding hack began to blur my vision as another contraction ripped through me. I grabbed my phone with trembling hands, debating whether to call someone–anyone–but then remembered but I didn’t want anyone to see the like this. I didn’t want pity or judgment adn’t want to bear their whispers about how I’d gotten myself into this station in the first place
Neighbours do talk
With a deep breath, I wiped my tears away and forced myself in move. I grabbed my hospual bag, which had been packed and ready for weeks, and slang it over my shoulder. My car keys sat on the counter, tausing me with the short drive that felt like an impossible journey. I had no choice bui to get myself there. Alone,
The contractions were coming closer together, and each one stole the breaths from my lungs. But I gritted my teeth and stumbled out the door. locking it behind me. The cool night air hit my face, and I took a second to compose myself, leaning against the ring of my spartment building. “You can do this.” I whispered, trying to steady the shaking suny hands,
I fumbled widamy keys, finally getting the door open, and collapsed into the driver’s seat tried to remember the breathing techniques fren the birthing classes, but everything was a blur. My only fncis now was getting to the hospital turned the key in the ignition, the engine sputtering to life. The drive wasn’t far, but every red light and every passing minute felt like an eternity,
By the time reached the hospital, I was gripping the steering wheel is hard my kmkles were white, Sweat dripped down any temples, and I could barely catch my breath between contractions. I parked haphazardly in the lot and dragged gyself out of the car, the weight of everything crashing down on me all at once. The contractions, the fear, the loneliness–1 couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Tears streamed down my face as I made my way through the sliding doors of the emergency room. A mane at the front desk glanced up, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of me,
“Are you in Labor?” she asked already reaching for a wheelchair
I could barely nod, too overwhelmed to speak. The nurse rushed over, guiding me into the chair, and I collapsed into it, my body shaking with wohs “Don’t worry, we’re going to take care of you,” she said softly, wheeling me through the halls
But her words didn’t comfort me. I wasn’t crying because of the pain. I was crying because I had no one to be there with the. No one to hold my hand, no one to tell me everything would be okay. I had thought I could do this on my own. I had convinced myself i didn’t need anyone, but now, in the middle of it all, I felt the crushing weight of my isolation.
The nurse guided me into a delivery room, where another nurse and a doctor quickly (nok over. They checked my vitals, asked me questions, but I could barely respond. All I could think about was how alone I was
Is there anyone you want us to call for you?” one of the nurses asked gently,
I shook my head, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks. “No. There’s no one,” I whispered
me settled, adjusting the monitors and
The nurse gave me a sympathetic look, but she didn’t push the subject, stead, the focused on genting me preparing for the delivery
to be there with me. I wanted to hear a famor voice, to feel a hand squres inine in reasuarance. But I The minutes blurred together as the contractions intensified, and lined to focus on the task at hand. But with every wave of pain, the ache in my
Komeone–anyone-
Chapter 38
The hours dragged on, and I lost track of time, lost in the agony of labor and the weight of my loneliness. Every now and then, a nurse would ask if I needed anything, but I didn’t. I just wanted it to be over.
And then, after what felt like an eternity, the doctor said it was time to push barely had the strength left, but I pushed with everything thad, tears
face the whole time
streaming down
arms. I looked downs al
Fusilly, a tiny, desperate cry filled the room. 1 collapsed back onto the bed unterly exhausted, as they placed my baby in my arm the small, wrinkled face, and for the first time in what felt like forever. I sundled through my ears.
“You’re here,” I whispered. “My little angel, it’s just you and me now.”
It wasn’t the way I had imagined, but in that moment, holding my baby in my arms, I knew I would never be alone again
