This Is Wild

by Natasha Madison

  Another nurse comes into the room with the ultrasound machine, and now my mother is standing beside him, trying to hide her tears. The doctor walks in and smiles at everyone, trying to hide the worry in her face also.

  I stand next to Zara with my hand in hers as we share a look. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”

  I put my head next to hers, and she whispers, “It hurts so much, Zoe, and …” She holds her stomach with the other hand as she has another contraction, and now the baby’s heart rate goes lower than before. “Where is Evan?” she asks after the contraction.

  “On his way,” Matthew says. “He’s on his way,” he says and holds Karrie beside him who tries to hide the fact she’s crying also.

  The doctor puts the gel on Zara’s stomach and then turns on the machine. “There is your baby,” she says, and we all look at the screen, and Allison sobs out in happiness that the baby is moving. “Well, don’t we have a stubborn little one. Your baby must have had a party in there and moved everything around.”

  “Oh my God, the head was down last week,” Zara says.

  “Okay, folks”—she turns the machine off—“we are going to have to do an emergency c-section to get the baby out.”

  “I can’t do this without Evan,” she says, and the contraction comes again. Blood now just comes out in a puddle.

  “Okay, people, we need to get her in there,” the doctor says, and the nurse moves everyone away.

  “What’s going on?” Zara asks and looks at me, and I just look at her and then I shout at the doctor.

  “Someone needs to tell her what is going on!” I shout. “She is scared and about to give birth, and she should have some answers.”

  “Zoe.” I hear Allison beside me, and I just shake her hands off me.

  “Now can someone please tell her what is going on?” I say in a lower tone.

  “Your baby has turned, and your placenta has detached, so we need to get your baby out of there now,” the doctor says, and then they wheel her out of the room ​at the same time as Evan runs through the door. He’s still in his full uniform; the only thing he took off was the skates and he’s wearing his Adidas flip-flops with no socks.

  “Evan,” Zara cries, and he rushes to her. He looks down and sees the blood, and his face goes white.

  “The baby.”

  “Everything is going to be okay.” I follow her down the hallway on one side while Evan is on the other side. We get to the entrance of the two doors, and it says authorized personnel only. “I promise you it’ll be okay,” I say to her, and the door closes in my face. My hand flies to my mouth to stop the sob from echoing in the hallway, and my legs suddenly give out, and I feel myself falling except I never hit the floor. Instead, I’m picked up into strong arms, arms that hold me close.

  And through the tears and the sobs, all I hear is his voice. “It’s okay, Zoe. It’s going to be okay.” I look up to see his blue eyes. “I’ve got you, baby,” he says to me, and I don’t question it. For the first time in a long time, it’s where I’m supposed to be.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Viktor

  We skate off the ice, and the minute I see Max’s face, I know something is up. “Where’s Evan?” he says, and his hair looks like he has been running his hands through it like a madman.

  “What?” I ask and look behind me to see Evan coming off the ice. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Zara,” he says, and I’m already taking off my skates when Evan comes into the room, throwing his stuff everywhere.

  “I have to go,” he says and takes off his skates and slips on his Adidas flip-flops, and I do the same.

  “There’s a little bit of a problem,” Max says, and I see the worry on his face. “Allison has the keys to my truck.”

  “Oh my God,” Evan says, and he ​starts to panic and freak out.

  “Mark!” I yell into the room for the goalie. “Zara is at the hospital; give me your keys.” He doesn’t even bat an eye and tosses me the keys to his truck.

  “Let’s go,” I say and walk out with them.

  “You don’t have to come,” Max says, and his phone keeps blowing up.

  “You have that thing going nuts,” I tell him, “and this guy can’t drive anywhere because he’s shaking,” I say, getting into the truck.

  “The only reason I’m shaking is because you assholes left me on the ice when she was in fucking labor,” he hisses. “Did you not think it would be important to be at the hospital?”

  Max gets into the back and closes the door. “What hospital?” I ask, and I plug it into the GPS.

  “Her water broke at the beginning of the third period,” Max tells him. “She didn’t want us to tell you.”

  “Here’s an idea,” he says, turning in the front seat. “Don’t listen to her.”

  “I was given orders, and I’m not about to fuck with a woman in labor.” He puts his hands up, and the phone rings. “Matthew, we are on the way.”

  “Where is she? How is she?” Evan starts to freak out and grabs the phone from Matthew. “Let me talk to her.”

  “They kicked me out of the room,” Matthew says, and I’m not surprised at this not one little bit. I’m surprised he lived to tell us about it, if I’m honest. “Um.’ He starts to talk, and I hear the quiver in his voice. “You guys need to get here as fast as you can, okay?”

  “Where the fuck is my wife, Matthew?” Evan yells now. “Put my wife on the fucking phone now!” he screams the last part. “I want to talk to my wife.”

  “Evan,” Max says silently. “Why don’t we get there, and you can see her for yourself.”

  “I swear on everything I have—”

  “Don’t,” I tell him. “If there is one person who will take care of her, it’s Matthew.”

  “I want to talk to her,” Evan says softly. “I want to hear her voice.”

  “Evan,” Matthew says, and you know he’s crying right now. “You need to get your ass here now,” he says, and he disconnects, leaving Evan just staring at the phone.

  “She’s fine,” I tell him as I speed the whole way there. We get there in under seven minutes, and I run out with him. Security is there, and once he sees us in our jersey, he starts to fan all over us. “I parked my truck at the curve, can you take care of it?” I ask him and then turn to look at him. “Maternity?”

  “Third floor!” he yells, and the elevator ride is the longest of my life, but it must be longer for Evan. He bounces on his feet, and the tears are in his eyes. He runs out of the elevator ​at the same time as I spot everyone, and then the gurney comes out of the room with Zoe standing beside the bed.

  I don’t know what is going on as Max stops beside Allison and takes her in his arms. I spot Cooper and Parker in the same position. By the time I look down the hallway, Matthew is giving me a nod to Zoe, and I ​start walking to her when her sob rips through her, and ​nothing will stop me from getting to her. I make it to her just in time to catch her.

  “It’s okay, Zoe. It’s going to be okay,” I say when I wrap my arms around her and bring her close to me. She must sense that it’s me. She looks up, and I see the pain in her eyes, the fear, everything that she has gone through has led to this moment with her in my arms. “I’ve got you, baby,” I finally whisper. She just buries herself in my neck, and my arms go around her waist. Her tears run down my neck, and all I can do is hold her.

  “What is going on?” I finally turn and ask everyone. Cooper ​doesn’t do anything except look at me with his eyes almost glaring at me. ​I know we ​will have a conversation at another time, and I’m ready for it.

  “She started bleeding,” Parker says, and then the nurse comes right out.

  “If you want to wait in the waiting room, we will come out as soon as we have some news,” she tells us, and Zoe now looks at her.

  “Is she okay?” she asks her. “You need to tell me she’s okay.” I put my arm around her and pull her to my side.

  “She’s fine, but she is
losing a lot of blood,” the nurse says, then looks at Zoe. “I’ll come out as soon as I know anything.” She turns and walks back into the restricted area.

  “We should sit down,” Parker says, coming over to Zoe. “You should sit down.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Zoe says, her eyes still on that door. “I’m staying right here.”

  “Do you want me to get you a chair?” I ask her, and she just shakes her head. “Someone get her some water or something,” I start to say to Matthew, and she turns to look at me.

  “I can’t lose her,” she says, and the tears pour out of her eyes. “I can’t lose her.”

  “You aren’t going to lose her,” I tell her, and I stop talking and start praying. I don’t know how long we stay in that hallway, but I never move away from her. I stand next to her, giving her all the strength I have.

  We see Evan walking down the hallway, and he walks out of the sliding door wearing his scrubs. He’s sobbing, and I grab Zoe. “We have a daughter,” he says, and Parker sobs out along with Allison and Karrie.

  “What about Zara?” Zoe says, her chest quivering as she tries to get the words out.

  “They are taking her to recovery,” he says, and then goes to Zoe. “She’s going be okay,” he says to her and takes her in his arms. “And wait till you see our little girl,” he says, sobbing with her. “She’s so beautiful,” he says, now smiling so big it’s going to break his face. “I’m going to go and get her,” he says, turning around and walking back inside the doors.

  “Her clothes,” Zoe says. “She needs her clothes.” She looks around. “I need to go get her clothes.”

  “You need to stay here with Zara,” I tell her. “I can go and get all the stuff. Just tell me where it is.”

  She looks at me and nods. It takes her ​a couple of minutes to tell me where everything is because every single time the door opens, she stops talking, and the tears come again. “She’s here,” Evan says, tears running down his face again with a megawatt smile. The nurse pushes a cart on wheels with a clear plastic box on top, and in the middle, wrapped up in a white blanket and matching hat, is the baby.

  Zoe just drops her hand, and her keys fall to the floor as she walks over to the little bed. Her hand goes to her mouth as she cries out. “Oh my goodness, look at you,” she says, and the nurse just looks at her with a smile. “Isn’t she the most beautiful baby ever?” she says, laughing and crying at the same time. “You can lie.” She stands, and Evan hugs her around her shoulder and pulls her to him and kisses her temple.

  “She really is,” the nurse says. “Mom is going to be out in thirty minutes if all goes well.”

  “Can I go and see her?” Zoe asks. “I promise not to be in the way.” The nurse nods, and she turns around to look at Parker. “She’s going to be okay.” She rolls her lips to stop from crying and tries to smile, but the tears come anyway.

  Parker goes over to her, followed by Cooper, and I stand ​in the middle of the hospital wanting to ​hold her. Matthew comes over to me and slaps my shoulder. “She’ll be okay.”

  I just nod my head. “I should go and get the stuff,” I say and then look at Parker consoling Zoe.

  “Do you want company?” Max says, and I shrug. “We can get some coffee and stuff to bring back.” He looks at Allison. “It’s not like you guys are going to let me hold the baby now anyway.”

  Matthew’s phone now rings, and he looks down and then up. “Did no one get Justin?” And just like that, everyone laughs. “Hello,” he says, walking away from us as he answers the phone.

  “So, get Justin, the bag, and coffee,” Max says, kissing Allison and then looks at me. I take one more look at Zoe and then walk out.

  We step onto the elevator, and both of us sigh in relief. The security guard sees us as soon as we step out of the elevator and walks over. “Here are the keys. You are parked just to the right.” He hands me the keys, and I just nod at him.

  The doors open, and the crisp air hits us right away. “I don’t really need to come back,” I tell Max when we step out and walk toward the truck.

  “You think that’s a good idea?” He looks over at me, stopping at the passenger door.

  “It’s not time yet,” I tell him and look down and then up. “It’s not the time. I had a plan.”

  “Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but sometimes, plans change,” Max says. He gets in the truck, and I follow him, getting in the driver’s side of the truck. I start the truck. “Do you know the first time I saw Allison again, I ran right over her and then called her a bitch under my breath?”

  I chuckle. “Did she not hand you your balls on a platter?”

  “No.” He laughs now also as I make my way over to Zoe’s. “I mean, she definitely didn’t like me much.”

  “But you won her over with your charm?” I ask him, and he just shakes his head.

  “Fuck no,” he says and then looks at me. “I didn’t even know that I was in love with her until she showed up at a bar and saw me talking to another girl.” He puts his hands up. “It wasn’t my finest moment, but it made me see that she was the one. She is everything.”

  I ​don’t say anything else as I park in front of Zoe’s house and walk in. Without her here, ​I feel like I’m invading her space. “Do you want to run up and get the bag?” I ask Max, and he looks at me.

  “Are you insane?” He looks at me. “What if I see her bra or, fuck it, something more personal? That is not my woman,” he says and motions me with his head. “You go get it, and I’ll wait for you here.”

  I walk up the stairs and then turn the light on in her room. I look around, and I can smell her all around me. I walk to her bed and see that her pajamas are in a puddle at the end of the bed. I pick it up and bring it to my face and smell her. I sit on the bed now and take in her private space. A space I’ve never been invited into, a space that is hers. Her little touches are everywhere. Pictures on the side table of her and Zara and another of her whole family that looks like it was taken at the baby shower. And then a little picture in the back of the ultrasound of Zara’s baby.

  I sit on the bed and wonder if I’m going be the one who will ​have this picture with her. Will I be the one who makes her my wife? Is waiting ​really going to change anything? Will our baby look like her? The thought of her having this with someone else makes my heart stop beating right.

  “What is taking so long?” Max says from the doorway. He sees me sitting on her bed, still in my fucking gear from the game. “You okay?”

  “No,” I answer him honestly and put the picture back where I took it from. “Not in the least.”

  “Do you need me to call someone?” he asks, and I look up at him.

  “What if she’s with someone?” I ask him the question no one has answered for me or talked about. “What if she’s dating, and she’s with someone but hasn’t told you guys?”

  “She would have told her sisters,” Max says. “Trust me, she isn’t with anyone.”

  “What if she doesn’t want me?” I ask him. “What if all this is too much of a burden for her to carry or too much for her to handle?”

  “You aren’t giving her enough credit.” He leans against the doorjamb.

  “What if she freaks out when I wake up gasping for air in the middle of the night?” I ask him. “What if she gets tired of always wondering if I’m going to fuck up today?”

  “What if she holds your hand during all that?” he counters. “What if she is the one who makes tomorrow a better day?”

  “Yeah,” I say. Getting up, I go into the closet and see all her clothes hanging, and then there in the corner is the Burberry bag she told me about. “We should go,” I say to him and turn off the lights.

  We walk out into the night, and the roads are almost empty. I park now, and I get out of the truck with the Burberry bag in my hand. It feels so heavy, and my mind is playing tricks on me, going back and forth about me being here.

  But when I step off the
elevator and walk with Max down the hallway and into the room, I see her turn to look at me, her eyes full of tears and a huge smile on her face while she holds her niece in her arms. ​I know that the decision was already made for me.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Zoe

  The nurse takes me back to see Zara, and she looks exhausted. Her face is still very pale, and after she cries ​she wants her baby, I semi threaten the nursing staff until she was sitting in bed holding her daughter to her chest.

  “You are so perfect,” she says, kissing her hand. “Look at her,” Zara says to me. “Look at her eyes.” Then she takes off her hat, and we see that she has blondish hair. “I wonder if she is going to have our hair color.” I don’t say anything because I can’t. The words are stuck in my throat over the huge lump. Zara looks at Evan. “Should we tell her?”

  “Yeah,” he says and smiles at me.

  “I’d like you to meet Zoey with a y Richards,” she says, and I put my hand in front of my mouth. “Aka your goddaughter.”

  “Oh my God,” I whisper and go closer to her. Right before I am about to take her, the nurse comes back in.

  “Okay, let’s get you back into your room, so we can clear out the hallway,” she says. “We are going to make an exception for one hour, but then your family has to leave and come back tomorrow,” she says, and I roll my eyes at her. She pushes the bed, and when the doors open, I see that everyone is exactly where I left them. Justin is now ​there in his suit, and he just looks at us and smiles.

  “Figures you couldn’t just give birth and be on the down low.” He laughs and comes over to hug me, and I try not to cry. Matthew is the next one to come ​to me when the coast is clear.

  “Are you okay?” he asks me quietly. “I know you two are two peas in a pod.”

  “Yeah,” I tell him and hug him around his waist. “Not going to lie, I almost throat punched the nurse.”

  “We heard,” he says, putting his hand around my shoulder, and we walk into Zara’s hospital room.