Remember Me: Oakville Series:Book Two (18 page)

“You doing okay, Son?” Beasley questions, nervously. I know he’s worried about his daughter and grandbabies.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Just worried about Amber.”

“I know you are. I am too. Who worries about you though? Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to call you my son-in-law, you take excellent care of my daughter and make her happy, but you also need to take care of yourself. Don’t get too overwhelmed or worn down taking everything on by yourself. We’re all here and are happy to help in any way we can,” he states as he looks around. They are all nodding their heads in agreement. I can’t ask them all to put their lives on hold to help us out for the next six months. This is something we will have to figure out on our own.

“Thank you all. Believe me, we are going to need your help over the next several months. We have a long road ahead of us.” I listen as the girls start right in on making schedules up for who’ll do what and when. I have to laugh. To think I thought I actually had a choice in whether or not they’d be helping. Even the guys are getting in on it. What did I ever do to end up with this group of amazing friends?

After a while, I glance at the clock and realize it’s been over forty minutes since they wheeled Amber from her room. The procedure was only supposed to take fifteen minutes. Why haven’t they come to take me to see her yet? Dread creeps into my veins, consuming me with the thought that something went wrong. Dr. Monty appears only a few moments later with a somber look on his face. My heart stops and my breath whooshes out of my lungs. Beasley comes up and puts his hand on my shoulder, not missing the doctor’s expression.

“Kyle, we had a complication during the procedure. The amniotic sac surrounding baby A was ruptured. The baby had moved further down due to Amber being in preterm labor yesterday. When I was suturing the cervix, the needle hit the sac and put a pinhole in it. Unfortunately, once that happens, there’s nothing we can do to correct it,” he informs us. Fear turns my veins into ice.

“What does all of this mean?” I ask, unsure of whether or not I want an answer.

“It puts Amber at a greater risk for infection. It also puts baby A at risk. The baby can’t survive once the fluid is gone. I’m sorry, but it’s very unlikely that baby A will make it.”

“Does Amber know yet?” The question barely makes its way past my lips before I fall back into the chair. My head is spinning and my heart…my heart is broken. I knew I loved our babies, but until now, I had no idea just how much.

“Yes, she was awake during the procedure so she was aware of what was happening. I also discussed it with her in more detail after she was brought to the recovery room.”

“I need to see her.” He nods. I look back at everyone. The girls are crying while the guys try to console them. What do I say to Amber? She’s gonna be heartbroken. Hell, I’m heartbroken. How do I hold us both together when I’m not sure how to hold myself together? I follow the doctor to the recovery room. There are about ten beds separated by curtains. Most of the curtains are open and the beds empty. That’s when I see the closed curtain and I hear her. She’s crying. My heart shatters into a million pieces at the sound. My poor girl. I have to get myself under control. I need to be strong for her. If she sees my pain, it will cause her more. I pull back the curtain and see her body shaking from her sobs.

I walk over to her and rub her back. She looks up at me and her sobs become harder. She slides over in the bed, allowing me to slide in next to her. I wrap her in my arms and hold her as tight as I can, trying to give her the security she needs while she lets it all out. Luckily, she doesn’t notice the tears streaming steadily down my face.

S
EVEN WEEKS.
It’s been the longest and scariest seven weeks of my life. At the same time, it’s also been amazing. I go to the doctor every week to have my cervix measured and to check the fluid levels for baby A. Who, by the way, is still hanging in there nice and strong. When we went to our appointment at my sixteen-week mark, we found out the sex of the babies. Baby A, my little fighter, is a girl, baby B is a boy, and baby C is a girl. Poor Kyle almost passed out at the thought of two daughters starting to date the same time. I told him not to worry; I have my grandpa’s shotgun in the attic. Now, we are trying to figure out names. We thought trying to decide on one was hard; three are going to kill me. I want the names to be perfect and special, just like the babies they are going to be.

At eighteen weeks, I went into preterm labor again. Luckily, I was in the doctor’s office for my weekly appointment when the contractions started. I was rushed across the street to the hospital. We spent hours in pure agony, not knowing what was going to happen. Neither one of us was naive enough to think everything would be okay. Finally, the contractions stopped, but I spent a week in the hospital. Not only was I confined to bed with a catheter, but my bed was also placed in Trendelenburg position, where the head of the bed is lower than the foot. Talk about awful, it feels like you’re standing on your head. The doctor wanted to keep me in the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy. Thank God for Becky. She spoke to him and convinced him to let me go home. She promised to keep an eye on me and make sure I stay on complete bed rest.

Bed rest is absolute torture. Really, the military should start using this as one of their interrogation techniques. You start this whole bed rest thing out thinking this might not be so bad — people waiting on me all the time, plenty of time to read and catch up on the shows I love to watch. It wasn’t bad, for about the first three days. I’m as big as a house. I imagine most normal women wouldn’t be too uncomfortable at this stage of pregnancy, but with triplets, it looks like I reached forty weeks about two months ago. It’s even more uncomfortable when you’re only allowed to lay down. Of course, laying down is even a chore. When I lay down on my right side, the baby on that side starts to kick and wiggle until I move. So, I roll to my left side, but the baby resting on that side kicks and wiggles until I move. My only option is to lay on my back. This isn’t comfortable for me to begin with but it’s my only option. Then there’s my sweet little girl Baby A, she doesn’t like this position. She usually gives me a little more time than her brother and sister do, but eventually she starts to kick and wiggle until I move. This is how most of my day and night are spent — rolling around like a rotisserie chicken.

All of our friends have been great. They take turns coming over and keeping me company or bringing me food. Not that I can eat a whole lot lately. There’s not much room in my stomach these days and if I eat too much, it just makes me sick. Even Jax has been coming over, acting like he’s my best friend again. Kyle tries to cook, but he’s been working a lot at the bar. At first, I thought maybe he’s staying away more because he’s too tempted when he’s near me. The doctor told us we couldn’t have sex after the cerclage was put in, but I think there’s more to Kyle’s absence. Something just feels off between us lately. It’s almost as if he’s trying to put distance between himself and the babies. He used to talk about what things might be like in the future, but that has completely stopped. Something is definitely bothering him and I need to know what it is.

“Morning, princess. I’ll make you some breakfast before Holly gets here. I have to get to the bar early today,” he says as he quickly makes his way to the kitchen. This just isn’t like him. I don’t understand why he’s being so distant. When he comes back in thirty minutes later, he has my omelet and juice. He places it on the tray next to me, kisses my forehead, and starts to walk away.

“Kyle! Wait, can we talk about something?” I ask before he can make it out of the room. Instead of the smile that he usually has when he sees me, he looks like he wants to be anywhere but here with me.

“It will have to wait until later when I get home. I don’t have time this morning,” he states. He gives me a chaste kiss on the lips and walks out of the living room, leaving me alone and hurt. He didn’t even tell me he loves me. He always says he loves be before leaving for work. My heart breaks when I hear the front door open then slam closed. A minute later, his truck roars to life and drives away. The tears start to flow and I don’t even try to stop them. Maybe all of the drama and stress that comes along with this pregnancy is too much and he wants out. What am I gonna do if he leaves me? I’m so lost in my own head that I don’t even realize Holly is here until her arms are wrapped around me.

“Hey there, what’s this all about?” she asks, concern in her voice. How do I explain my fears to her? She’s gonna think I’m crazy. Hell, maybe I am.

“Kyle seems so distant ever since I came home from the hospital this last time. It’s really starting to worry me. I’m afraid he doesn’t want to be here anymore.”

“There’s gotta be an explanation. Kyle loves you, nothing is going to change that. You just need to talk to him.”

“I tried this morning. He told me he didn’t have time then left without saying I love you. Holly, he always tells me he loves me.” I sob harder and she holds me tighter.

“We’ll figure it out. I guarantee it’s some stupid damn male insecurity that he doesn’t know how to deal with. Right now though, I think we need a pamper Amber day.” Who am I to argue? She’s on her phone calling Becky and Taryn before I have time to object.

A little while later, I’m sprawled out on the couch with Holly painting my toenails and Becky painting my fingernails. Taryn is in the kitchen making banana split milkshakes. That has been my one and only pregnancy craving.

“Here you go, momma! One tasty milkshake just the way you like it!” Taryn exclaims. I take a long sip through the straw and immediately feel so much better. A little girl talk, painted nails, and a milkshake, the perfect combination. What would I do without these girls? For a few hours, I actually feel normal. I forget that I’ve been living on bed rest the last several months, spending every second fearing that I might lose my babies. My earlier worries about Kyle have even left my mind for now. The girls have decided our girl’s day isn’t enough and have now turned it into a slumber party. Taryn can’t stay because she needs to get home to the kids and Holly leaves for a little while to get some clothes and go by the bar to tell Paul what her plans are. I also have a feeling she’s going to have a talk with Kyle. Normally, I wouldn’t be too thrilled with that idea but in this instance, I don’t mind. I need to know what’s going on with him and Holly may be able to get the answers I need.

“So, what’s the story with Clark? Is he as nice as he seems?” Becky asks.

“Yes, he’s as nice as he seems and he loves his boys more than anything.”

“Why’d his wife leave?”

“He wasn’t married as far as I know, but the boys’ mom left because she didn’t want to be a mom anymore.”