by Dyble, S R
"I don't know, I'm calling an ambulance."
"No," I urged her not to, holding onto her arm.
"Eves, you're pregnant. You need to get checked for the baby’s sake."
I couldn't believe I'd passed out, I knew it happened sometimes during pregnancy but it was still a huge shock. Nodding, I started to get up but Lilly told me to stay put.
"I need to get my pregnancy notes, there's a number I can ring for advice."
"Where is it? I'll get it."
I looked at Lilly blankly before realising it was probably for the best and then I told her where my notes where. Shortly after Lilly returned with my notes and the house phone. I found the number quickly and dialled while Lilly disappeared into the kitchen. Shortly after she returned with a drink and a packet of biscuits for me and I couldn't help but smile.
"Hello, EPAU, Leanne speaking, how can I help?"
I wasn't sure how to start but I told the nurse my name and then proceeded to tell her how many weeks I was pregnant then what had happened.
"Okay, sweetie. This can be perfectly normal but just in case, we'd like to check you over. Do you have someone who can bring you?"
I looked at Lilly and nodded.
"Yes."
Then the nurse started to explain where it was that I needed to go. Thanking her, I hung up and placed the phone down before repeating what the nurse had said to me.
"You gonna call Kit?" Lilly asked. "I wanna get you there straight away so you can call him in the car and he can meet us there."
It was probably nothing, but yes, I was going to tell Kit, and after picking myself up I followed Lilly to her car and looked around for any sign of Bob and Phil. This wasn't a very big or busy street, they had to be here somewhere. Getting into Lilly's car I dialled Kit's number and got transferred straight to voicemail, so I rang again. The same thing happened and I remembered earlier what he’d said about his phone not working. The thought that something bad may be happening to him started to fog my mind and it made me feel sick and fuzzy.
"Eves, you okay?"
Lilly's voice didn't sound quite clear as I laid my head back and closed my eyes for a second.
"Eves?"
"Hmm?"
"Just keep your eyes open for me okay? I can't concentrate on driving with your eyes shut."
Nodding, I sat up and did my best to keep them open when I felt a cramping in my stomach.
"Are you hurting?" she asked.
I nodded and picked up my phone again, this time I was going to call Nick but as I started fiddling with my phone I felt odd again.
"Eves?"
"I'm fine, I just feel strange."
"Put the bloody phone down and just relax okay? Stop worrying about Kit."
How could I not?
Kit had left earlier with no word of where he was going, what if he was in danger?
The horrific memories of being trapped in an abandoned bar with Ralph started flooding my mind and I prayed nothing like that would ever happen to Kit. Then I prayed that nothing like what had happened to my family would ever happen to him. I closed my eyes tight as I thought of each of their faces and the exact moment. It made me cry, just like it always did. I started telling Lilly everything that had happened, and the reason why I wanted her to come over before I'd fainted.
"Just forget about all of that," she said. "What's important is having you and the baby checked."
I nodded, despite my panic, because what if this meant something really bad?
"Lilly, what if the baby isn't okay?"
"No," Lilly shook her head, "You can't think like that, Eves. This can be perfectly normal."
I nodded, trying to believe her words.
Lilly insisted on wheeling me into the hospital by wheelchair and I understood why. She didn't want me to pass out again and she got us both inside so fast it was hard to give her directions. Once we were inside the EPAU unit we were seen quickly and the nurse, Leanne, who I had spoken to on the phone wasted no time in hooking me up to a machine that measured my blood pressure.
"Your blood pressure is low," she said, then went on to check my pulse by holding her finger to my wrist and checking her watch.
"So, tell me a little bit about what's been going on recently Eve. Have you been taking it easy?"
At first, I didn't answer, I looked at Lilly, who sat on the edge of her seat.
"I think so. I haven't been doing any heavy lifting or anything..."
"That's good—"
"What about stress?" Lilly asked. "She's been under a ridiculous amount of stress recently."
I wasn't sure what to say but I tried to pie it off because I didn't want the nurse thinking that I wasn't strong enough to cope.
"What type of stress?" Leanne asked.
"A kidnapping not too long ago… She has nightmares about it. Also, she has a lot of family drama, let's say."
Leanne nodded while looking at me.
"I'm so sorry to hear that…"
"So, with you still being quite early in your pregnancy, I'd like to do a scan just to make sure the baby is doing well. Usually, we'd hook you up to something like this…" Leanne pointed to a machine standing up by the patient bed, "But I'm not sure we'd get the best reading."
I nodded, eagerly waiting for her to lead the way.
"I'm just going to double-check that there is currently a room available for us," she said before getting up and leaving us alone.
Lilly stared at me as we both waited.
"Were you gonna tell her about all the stress you've been under?" Lilly asked as we sat in silence.
It was agonising waiting.
"I didn't see the point. I can't explain everything to her..."
Lilly stood up and shook her head in anger.
"What?" I asked, feeling her mood change.
"You shouldn't be going through this Eves. Those fucking brothers are—"
"Hey, keep it down!" I said sternly.
"This isn't their fault, Lilly. It isn't any of their faults that I got kidnapped. It's not their fault that I'm still being hunted like a fucking key into my Dad's firm."
"Why can't you just drop it? Drop the full thing? Give Delta to someone else?"
"It's not that simple..."
"It isn't?"
I shook my head and was about to answer when the door opened and Leanne returned.
"Okay, if you'd both like to follow me."
"Do I need a full bladder for the scan?" I asked her, feeling my waistline tighten as if my bladder was being squeezed.
"Best to just wait until after, if I need you to empty during the scan I'll tell you."
* * *
I hated the ultrasound rooms, they were dark and I always felt like I was walking into my doom.
"Right, lay back Hunny."
I did as Leanne said and lifted my clothing so my stomach was bare.
"Maybe a bit cold," she said before using the gel and probe on my stomach.
"I'll just find the baby," she said applying pressure.
I tried to relax as much as possible, and Lilly offered me a small smile before returning her attention back to the nurse. We couldn't see the screen, and I knew why. Leanne, up until that moment didn't want me to see my baby in case she had some bad news to give me. When she turned the screen to face me I let go of a breath I'd been holding onto.
"There's the baby," she smiled, "wriggling about."
Lilly sat forward and gushed over the screen, reaching for my hand and giving it a little squeeze.
"You're not crying are you?" I asked her.
It made Leanne chuckle as she tapped her fingers on the keypad and moved the probe some more.
"God, I'm so relieved," I said out loud, allowing my head to fall back.
"So, what's causing her to faint?" Lilly asked.
"We'll talk about that, first, go empty that bladder."
"Thank you." I smiled and headed off into the room connected to the ultrasound room whilst cleaning the gel fr
om my stomach.
Once I was clean, I placed the tissue in the bin and took a seat to relieve myself when I glanced down and my heart stopped. I grabbed the fabric on my knickers and held them higher into the light before getting a ton of toilet paper and rubbing myself clean. Then I brought the toilet paper into eyesight to see the streak of blood. I instantly felt faint and held my hand to my chest before getting up quickly.
"I'm bleeding!" I said the second I left the toilet.
"What?" Lilly stood up and stared at Leanne.
"What does that mean?" she asked, panic clear in her voice.
"Calm down," Leanne said, looking at both of us.
"This can be perfectly normal. I need to do an internal and talk with you some more. We'll do this in another room."
Jesus, how many frickin' rooms where we going to see today?
Nevertheless, I nodded and followed after her.
"Here, honey," she handed me a sanitary towel and drew the curtain around me so that I could apply it to the insides of my knickers. I didn't realise until then that I was shaking and I felt so sick that I felt as if I was about to throw up at any second.
"I'm gonna be sick," I said holding my throat.
Points to Leanne—she was quick. Within seconds she had a brown plastic bowl beneath my chin, and the feeling of sickness became a reality as I threw up into it.
"God, Eves." Lilly rushed over to me and placed her arm closely around me.
Once I was done, I thanked Leanne and she placed the tub on the side.
"Come sit down, sweetie."
I did as she said.
The shaking stopped shortly after and Leanne left briefly to get rid of the brown bowl. When she returned she had a cup of diluted juice in her hand.
"Drink tiny amounts at a time," she said.
I nodded and took a sip from the glass. I really didn't want to drink anything, all I could think about was why I was bleeding.
"If you're comfortable with me doing an internal examination, I'll do that shortly. We need to take some blood before you leave, too."
"What for?" Lilly asked.
"We've done tests before to check for diabetes amongst other things, but we need to do them again because it can progress during pregnancy. I don't think that's what's happening here. I just need to rule everything out."
"What do you think it is?"
Good job Lilly's mouth was still working because mine had stopped, and she was asking everything that I was thinking.
"I think in all honesty that this is stress-related, are you worrying a lot?"
I looked at Lilly and her eyes urged me to tell the truth.
I nodded. "I have a lot happening right now and I have nightmares, I don't sleep well."
"Well, that won't help. Sounds to me like you're suffering from post-traumatic stress as well as anxiety. Both aren't good for your body or the baby."
It made sense. I felt a huge burden of guilt then, knowing I could potentially be damaging my baby by allowing this worry to consume me.
"Are you having counselling to help deal with your trauma from the kidnapping?"
Hunny, there ain't enough therapy in the world to cure me...
I shook my head. "It doesn't really work for me."
Looking from me to Lilly and back again, she waited before speaking. She knew there was more going on, she wasn't an idiot.
"Are you feeling a bit better now?" she asked.
I nodded and placed the cup down on the counter.
"Stress can cause your blood pressure to drop," the nurse explained as she began setting up the bed for me to lay down.
"You will need monitoring and you're going to need to avoid stress. I know that's easier said than done but it's needed."
Drawing the curtain around the bed Leanne left me after directing me to remove my clothing from the waist down and place a paper sheet around me. Laying down on the bed, I positioned myself and let her know I was ready. I hated examinations, they were the most uncomfortable things known to woman, and they were so cold. It wasn't natural to shove a stone-cold thing up ones chuff.
"Everything looks fine but I'm just gonna take a swab and send it off, just to ensure nothing sinister is going on that I can't see."
"Okay," I waited patiently and took a deep breath as she removed the equipment and told me to get dressed.
"Okay, Eve," she said from the other side of the curtain, if it's okay with you I'm gonna go get the equipment to take some blood so we can get it sent off."
"Okay, that's great, thank you."
It wasn't great, no one liked having their blood taken and I was thanking her for it. I rolled my eyes, pulling my bottoms back up my leg.
"How long will the blood tests take to come back?"
"We can have them back within an hour, if you can wait in the waiting area once I've sent them, they'll be done as soon as possible."
I pulled the curtain back once fully dressed and watched as Leanne left. Lilly took out her phone, and I jumped straight onto her case.
"Have you heard anything from them?"
"No,” Lilly answered quickly, "stop worrying about him, Eves. You need to stop."
"How can I stop?"
"Because it's hurting you, Eves, and possibly the baby too."
"I can't just turn it off Lil', I love him!"
"And if he were here, he'd be saying the same as me. Stop worrying."
Silence grew for a short while until Leanne returned to take my blood.
* * *
"I hate this," Lilly said out loud.
"Yeah..." I agreed, stuck in a daydream.
"In this day in age, we have apps that can turn the heating on for us before we even get home, surely there's a quicker way to test blood."
Truth be told, I wasn't even thinking about the bloods coming back. I was too busy worrying about if I was still bleeding or not. Then, getting out of this hospital and finding out if Kit was okay. I had Lilly ring Nick's phone a bunch of times but each time, he didn't answer. I didn't have anyone else to ring.
How did I not have any of their god-damn numbers?
I cursed inwardly and sat even more impatient. I wanted to go to the toilet again, just to triple check that I had indeed stopped bleeding but my skin was legit starting to feel sore from the rubbing of tissue paper. I had only bled a little, and the nurse said that bleeding during pregnancy could be normal as could the fainting. I still had to lower my stress levels. I needed my blood pressure checked regularly and if my blood test came back as normal then I'd be able to go home. Holding onto my stomach, I glanced around the room and noticed the one other woman in here, she was further on in her pregnancy and she sat alone. Completely alone, not even a friend was with her. I felt sorry for her, without even knowing her circumstances. Then a man rushed in and sat beside her, looking around and apologising to her.
"Finally got parked," he grinned before kissing her and it made me close my eyes so that I wouldn't start crying over the fact that Kit wasn't here.
A name was called and they both stood up together and I placed my head in my hands. I heard the door to the waiting room opening but I made no attempt to look, it was only when I heard fast-paced footsteps followed by the sounds of Australian accents that I lifted my head so fast that I jolted my neck.
"Eves," Kit breathed and I stood up to take him in. As I did I felt my eyes widening, filling with tears as I stared at his battered face. I was terrified just from looking at him.
"What the hell happened to you?" Lilly asked from my side as we both stood there, totally gobsmacked.
Kit didn't answer me, he just came towards me and wrapped his arms around me as I looked over his shoulder at the rest of his brothers. Nick's face was as equally battered as Kit's. Once he pulled away I brought my hand to Kit’s face. Speechless wasn't even the word. Pure fear ran through me as I took him in and traced my finger over his busted eyebrow.
"It's nothing," he said, but I just couldn't speak.
"Wha
t are you waiting for?" Jax piped up from behind.
Each of Kit's brothers were making their way to a seat.
Were they all planning on staying?
"She's waiting for blood results back," Lilly answered him, her eyes constantly flicking back to Nick as he dabbed at his face with his sleeve. Once Kit had heard her, his eyes searched my face. I just couldn't speak, I was in total shock.
"Who did this?" was the first thing that came to my mind, running my eyes over his wounded face.
"Eve, please, just forget it."
"What takes so long for a damn blood test to come back?" Nick said quietly and then stood up to scout around.
"You shouldn't even be here," Lilly said bitterly.
It was like the more she saw him, the more she hated him. The look she’d revealed seconds earlier, seeing his face so busted up had disappeared.
Nick looked at her, trying to hide the wound she'd just created with her words.
"Lilly," I urged for her not to start here.
"No. It's precisely this that the nurse said you need to get away from. This stress, it's making you ill."
"We don't know that—"
"They waltz in here battered up like a damn wounded army and god knows where they've been. You don't need this." Lilly pointed and waved her hands a lot to get her point across.
"Do you know she's been bleeding?" she then asked, directly to Kit.
"Lilly, please!"
She'd spoken quietly and directed her question fully at Kit. I still didn't want her to discuss this here, and I could see she was only getting more and more riled.
"No, Eves," she started to well up.
"I love you, and I'll fucking die before I let you cave in because of this bullshit. You have to think about the baby. They're supposed to be protecting you—shit job at that!"
We all stared in awe at her as she took a deep breath.
"I'm gonna leave… I'll be outside getting some fresh air. Get someone to text me when they have your results."
I nodded and tried to hold back the tears as Lilly left the waiting room.
Jason let out a breath. "She's a fucking ankle biter," he said and Nick nodded in agreement whilst staring at the door that she'd just left through, before following after her.
