This Is Wild

by Natasha Madison

  “I need ice!” I yell to someone, and the trainer comes over to look at my hand.

  “What in the fuck?” he says, and then Matthew comes in to look at my hand.

  “Stupid son of a bitch,” he says, then looks at me. “Can you move it?”

  I make a fist a couple of times. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  Then he looks at Evan. “Zara told me to tell you that you’re and I quote ‘you’re a punk ass bitch and a stupid fucking idiot.’” Evan laughs. “Okay, boys, let’s get home,” he says, and for the first time in a long time, I can’t wait to get home.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Zoe

  “I’m so not talking to him when he gets home,” Zara says from the couch beside me as we sit up way past our bedtime. I’m trying to get my heart to beat normally. It’s the first time I’ve actually sat with her and watched the game. He’s back in LA. “He is such an idiot.”

  We are watching the game, and I swear the ​number of times I almost threw up is over five. The minute he got hit in the back, I knew this game would not go well. I knew the tension was high, and he looked so much better than the last time I saw him. His eyes sparkled when he played, and when he scored, it took everything I had not to jump up and celebrate with him.

  For the whole game, I heard Zara gasping and shrieking, and I pretended not to even care, but when Evan got into the fight, she rolled off the couch and dialed Matthew.

  “Get him off the ice now!” she yelled into the phone and then put it on speakerphone so I could hear Matthew laughing.

  “It doesn’t work like that, Zara,” he told her. “Just let him do his thing.”

  “Let him do his thing?” she yelled. “I’m having his baby. He doesn’t get to do his thing while I’m doing this thing.”

  “I have to go now,” Matthew said.

  “Give him a message. Tell him he’s a punk ass little bitch and that he’s also a stupid fucking idiot.”

  “I’ll see if I can remember all that.” Matthew laughed and disconnected.

  “I’m not talking to him if he calls,” she says, sitting down, and we both know she’s lying. The announcer and the cameraman keep going back to Viktor every chance they get, and when they finally show footage from the last game he played for LA, and I sit here cringing for him. He literally fell into his own goalie after trying to get the puck right in front of him.

  “Oh my God,” Zara says. “That’s hard to watch.” I agree with her, and then for the rest of the game, they comment on his every single move. “It’s like a brand-new player.”

  “Yeah,” I whisper and put my head down on a pillow, and by the time the game ends, it’s almost two a.m.

  “This baby is going to be a night owl. I know it,” Zara says. I get up to feel her belly, and sure enough, the kid is everywhere. “One more month to go and I can finally fucking see my toes when I stand.”

  “One more month and I can finally have my sane sister back,” I joke with her, and her phone rings from beside her.

  “I’m not talking to you,” she says and puts the phone on speaker. “Punk ass bitch.”

  “Sweetheart,” Evan says. “I’m fine.”

  “I don’t care if you’re fine, Evan,” she says. We all know she’s lying, and he just laughs. “I’m not even kidding.” Then she starts on him. “It’s not WrestleMania; it’s a hockey game.”

  “It’s not even our fault. They are the ones who said they would make it rain,” he huffs.

  “How’s Viktor?” she asks him, and I know she’s doing it for me. I look up at her.

  “He’s been better. Fucker hurt his hand in the fight and didn’t tell anyone, so now it’s the size of King Kong’s.” I try to hide my feelings that I’m worried about him, but Zara just puts her hand on mine on her belly and the baby kicks. “Anyway, we should be home at eight. Go get some rest and rub the belly for me.”

  “I love you,” she whispers, so I don’t hear her, and I just smile.

  “Let’s get to bed,” I tell her, turning off the television. Holding my hand out, I help her up the stairs. “Not going to lie. I’ll be happy to sleep like a starfish tomorrow night.”

  “Lies,” she tells me and slides in bed with me. When the front door opens, and I hear footsteps coming up the stairs, I open one eye.

  “Morning, Zoe,” Evan says quietly and walks right to Zara’s side of the bed. He gets down on his knees and kisses her softly and then rubs her stomach.

  “You’re home,” Zara says to him and then I feel the bed move. I get up and go to the bathroom and then when I come back out, they are both in the bed.

  “This is really getting out of hand,” I tell him, and he just laughs and hugs her closer. “I’m going to make coffee,” I say and ignore the ping in my heart. Knowing that Viktor is at his place with a swollen hand, I wonder if he’s found someone. I wonder if he has someone now who is there for him. Maybe he has met someone who is also like him, and they have more in common than we did.

  I start my coffee, and the day is a blur after Zara and Evan wake up and leave. I have my own routine now, or at least, I say I do.

  If I’m not at work, I try to hit up the gym and meet with Vivienne a couple of times but for the most part. I just stay home and try to binge a new series on Netflix.

  Vivienne: Are you becoming a nun?

  Vivienne: Why are you leaving me all alone with married people and all the sex they are having while I’m here thirsty?

  Vivienne: Come back to us. It’s not the same.

  I answer all of her texts with my standard I’m exhausted and so busy at work. We all just communicate via text until ​it’s time for me to attend another hockey game.

  I don’t want to go, and I tell everyone ​who is going to listen ​to me that I don’t want to go, but Justin is finally in town to play against New York, so it’s not an option. “Sorry, honey, you have no choice. Your father is already starting to suspect something, and it’s just a matter of time until Matthew breaks.”

  “There is nothing to suspect, Mom,” I tell her. “I’m busy.”

  “He hasn’t seen you since the baby shower a month ago. You can’t push it off.” Okay, fine, it’s been a month, but I have been busy. I’ve closed on over thirty-three houses. If I continue at this rate, I’ll be the best-selling real estate agent in our firm.

  “Fine,” I huff. “I’ll come tonight, but, Mom …”

  “I know, honey,” she says softly. “And the minute you want to escape, you can, but just let him see you.”

  I roll my eyes, not wanting to go, not wanting to sit there and know he’s in the building so close ​to me and not be able to talk to him. I’m even getting annoyed with myself. I look for him when I go out, hoping to randomly bump into him. I watch every single freaking game just to get a glimpse of him and see that he’s doing okay.

  After the game in LA, he was injured for two days, and I ​found out from Zara ​that it was for his hand. I’m lucky that most of the home games have been during the week, so I have that excuse, but I can’t do it tonight. Standing in front of the mirror, I look at myself. I’m wearing my blue jeans with holes in the knees and a white T-shirt tucked into the front and going long in the back. A brown leather jacket completes the outfit with matching booties. Zara sends me a text that she’s outside, so I grab my purse and walk downstairs, turning off the lights and locking the door. The snow falls just a touch now, and when I get in the car, I look over at her, and she smiles just a touch tight.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask her, and the car starts to go.

  “I’ve been having cramps,” she says, and my eyes open. “But it’s nothing strong.”

  “Since when?” I ask her, now starting to panic. “We should just go to the hospital.”

  “No, no,” she says. “See, it’s gone.”

  “What does it feel like?” I ask her, grabbing my phone to check Google.

  “It’s like the first couple of days when you get your period. Kind of like a
little bit of cramps,” she says, and I google that.

  “I still have another week and a half to go,” she says, and I look at her. “You can’t tell anyone.”

  “Are you crazy?” I tell her. We get to the arena, and she grabs my arms.

  “Promise,” she says, and I glare at her.

  “I swear, Zara, the minute that I think it’s not okay, I’m telling at least Allison. She should know what to do, and if she doesn’t, Karrie will. She has like a litter of children.” I try to make a joke, and usually, Zara laughs at that one. This time, she just smiles.

  “Are you having another cramp?” I ask her, and she lies and shakes her head.

  We walk to the suite—at a snail’s pace, I might add—and I’m rushing to get there for someone else to see her but when we walk into the box, Zara is all smiles, and she literally doesn’t even show anything. “See,” she whispers. “It was a false alarm.”

  “How many false alarms are there before the full-blown let’s evacuate the building?” I ask her and look around to see if I can ask anyone else the question, but my father comes over.

  “There she is,” he says, grabbing me around my shoulders and pulling me in to kiss my head. “My beautiful girl,” he says, and then my mother comes over, and the whole time, I watch Zara. I see the times she closes her eyes, and then her eyes find me as soon as they open. My heart ​starts to speed up ​a bit, and when the second period ends, she comes over to me.

  “Don’t freak out,” she says softly. “But the cramps are back.” I sit up now and look over to see if I can get Alison to look at me when Zara grabs my hand and groans. “That one hurt.”

  “It’s okay,” I say to her, and I see the pain and fear in her eyes. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” I tell her, and I swear I can feel her fear. “It’s going to be okay.”

  The horn starts, and we know that the third period is about to start. “Oh my God,” she says and then looks at me and then looks down.

  “Holy shit, did your water just break?” I ask, and then I look around and see Allison watching us. “Her water just broke,” I say louder than I planned to. So much for keeping my calm. Everything and everyone spring into action. My father comes over with a chair, and my mother comes over and grabs her other hand.

  “We need to call an ambulance,” Matthew says, grabbing his hair in both hands. “Get the ambulance.”

  “No!” everyone yells at him.

  “She can’t have the baby here in the middle of the suite,” he says, and Karrie goes over to him. “Babe, she’s going to have a baby,” he tells her and grabs her close to him and kisses her head.

  “Okay, we need a plan,” Allison says, then looks at Zara. “How long have you been having contractions?”

  “Um …” She starts to talk and then stops to groan. My hand goes to her stomach, and it feels rock hard.

  “She was having them in the car on our way here,” I tell Allison.

  “Yesterday,” Zara says. “I mean, I wasn’t sure, and then, well, in the car, they came more regularly.”

  “How is your back?” my mother asks her, and I look at her confused.

  “It’s been killing me for two days,” she answers and then stops for another contraction.

  Allison starts, “Okay, Karrie, can you get the kids and make plans to get them home?” Karrie nods at her. “Mom and Dad are going to take you to the hospital.”

  “But you’re coming, right?” Zara says to me, and I just nod my head. “You have to come with me.”

  “Um, hello, favorite aunt right here,” I say and then look at Allison and Karrie. “Sorry.” They look at me.

  “Now you,” Allison says to Matthew. “You are going to calmly go get Max, who is downstairs with the team, and tell him that you need to speak to him.”

  “I can do that,” Matthew says at the same time Karrie says, “He’s not going to be able to.”

  “What the hell is going on in here?” Max finally says when he comes into the room. “Why is there water all over the floor?” he says, and then he looks at Matthew. “We need an ambulance, and someone needs to get Evan.”

  “No!” Zara yells. “It’s fine. I’m going to go with Mom and Dad and Zoe.” She then stops and looks at me, and I breathe in and out and she mimics me. “It’s twenty minutes, give or take, and by the time they put me in a room, he’ll be there.”

  “Okay,” Allison says. “Mom, Dad, and Zoe are going with Zara,” she says. “Karrie, Matthew, and I will follow you. Max is going to bring Evan there.”

  “We came in one car,” Matthew says. “Fuck, no more carpooling.”

  “Okay, so we are all going with Mom and Dad,” Allison says and looks at Max. “And then you bring Evan as soon as he gets off the ice.”

  “Got it,” Max says, and then we walk out with me holding one of Zara’s hands and my mother holding the other hand. Zara has to stop on the way there, and Matthew ​looks like he’s going to lose his mind.

  “Can I just carry her?” he says to Karrie. “She’s in pain, and it’s …” Karrie has to stop him, and I see the fear and pain in his eyes when she holds his face in her hands.

  “She’s going to be okay,” she tells him, and I have to blink away my own tears. “It’s fine. She’s going to make you an uncle again.”

  “But she shouldn’t be walking,” he says, and then Zara speaks up.

  “Matthew,” she says, looking at him. “Can you carry me?”

  He doesn’t say anything. He just walks to her and picks her up like she’s as light as a feather. “It’s going to be okay,” he says, and she just nods and tries to keep her tears at bay but fails when she wraps her arms around his shoulders and tucks her head into his neck. “It’s going to be okay, baby girl. I’ve got you,” he whispers. She sobs out, and one of her hands go to hold her stomach.

  “Son,” my father starts, “not going to lie, but you need to pick up the pace right about now. Those contractions are about two minutes apart.” Matthew almost runs to the car, and when we all get in, we hear the horn go off, and you know someone just scored. My father zooms out of the parking garage, and we make our way over to the hospital.

  “Someone needs to get my bag,” she says. “It’s in my car.”

  “The car that is at home.” Allison says. “We will get you the bag.”

  “I have one,” I tell everyone. “At my house. I had one ready in case.” Everyone looks at me, even Zara. “What? It was a backup.”

  She has five more contractions by the time we get to the hospital, and Matthew doesn’t even wait for the car to come to a stop before he jumps out and goes inside for a wheelchair. Zara ​starts to get out of the car when a big one rips through her, and she almost collapses. Matthew and Dad catch her. She screams so loud I’m surprised security doesn’t come out. She finally sits down, and another one hits, and now she groans. My father kisses her and then goes to park the car. We all run in, and everyone is asking for the maternity ward. I swear if anyone was looking at us flying through the lobby with Matthew pushing the wheelchair, they would stop and laugh.

  We get into the elevator, and then she looks over at me and then at everyone else. “I don’t feel so good.”

  “That’s normal,” Karrie says, and she just shakes her head. “If you’re going to barf, then barf.”

  “It’s not that. It’s my stomach.” We don’t have time to answer as the elevator door opens. Matthew’s phone lights up, and we see it’s Max.

  “Where are you?” he asks, and you can hear him pacing.

  “Just got to the hospital. Where is he?”

  “One minute left and it’s done,” Max says, and then Zara screams out again. “Text me the room number.”

  We get to the nurses’ station, and the nurse rushes around the desk and Zara sobs. “Something is wrong. It doesn’t feel right,” she says, sobbing. “I know something is wrong.”

  “Hey,” I say to her, getting down next to her, my own tears coming out. “You are go
ing to be okay,” I tell her, and she just shakes her head. “I promise you everything is okay.”

  “How about we get her to the room and get her undressed?” The nurse pushes the wheelchair now, and we walk into the room. “Can you guys get her undressed, and you”—she looks at Matthew—“are you the dad?”

  He looks at her with almost disgust. “That’s my sister,” he says, and the lady laughs, and his phone rings again. “It’s Dad.”

  “Okay,” she says to him. “You go get Dad.” Then she turns to us. “Undress her and I’ll get the doctor.” Matthew runs out of the room, and Karrie and Allison try to get her up and start to take off her top. I grab her tights and pull them down, and I stop midway and look over at my mother.

  “Is that blood?” Zara asks. “Why is there blood?”

  “It’s fine.” I swallow down my fear. “I remember Allison had this also. It’s like the plug or something.”

  “Yeah,” Allison says while Karrie now runs out of the room. “Can we hurry up and get you in the bed?”

  “Before another contraction comes,” my mother says, and she wipes away the tears dripping out of her eyes now. The nurse comes back in, rushing with Karrie behind her, and she sees the blood trickling out of Zara onto the bed’s white sheets.

  The nurse runs over to the button in the back of the bed and presses it. “We need an ultrasound machine in room three ten,” she says, and now she pushes everyone around Zara away as she puts on the monitor on her stomach. “This will get the baby’s heartbeat and tell us how strong the contractions are.”

  “What’s wrong with my baby?” Zara asks right before the contraction rips through her again and this time, ​more blood comes out. The sound of the baby’s heartbeat fills the room, and I don’t know about everyone else, but I sigh out in relief. And from the look on the nurse’s face, she’s happy also.

  Matthew and Dad now come in the room, and Matthew gasps. “Why is she bleeding?” He starts to panic, unlike us, who were playing it cool. “There shouldn’t be blood,” he says. My father grabs his shoulder, and he quiets down.