Beyond Broken (The Bay Boys #3) (51 page)

FORTY-FIVE

Maddie sighed and tossed her paperback onto her night table in frustration.
 
Groaning, she tried to push into a more comfortable position.
 
The baby felt like she was practicing for the Olympics inside her uterus and even though Maddie had just gone to the bathroom ten minutes ago, her bladder already felt like it was close to bursting.

Pregnancy was no joke.
 
And she was only twenty-seven weeks in.
 
Another three months like this?
 
When everyday she would just get bigger and bigger and her body would ache more and more?
 
She already felt overwhelmed but reminded herself to just take it one day at a time.

After relieving her bladder once again, she returned to bed and flipped off the light, in an attempt to go to sleep for the third time.
 
It was two in the morning and she had class at eight.
 
Her mom had gone to bed hours ago and Maddie had tried everything from reading one of her driest textbooks, to reading an old Penguin Classic, to listening to soothing music, to drinking a glass of warm milk.
 
Her brain would just not shut off.

That and she’d been having some abdomen pain lately.
 
She’d called her doctor the day before, but since her appointment was coming up, he just told her that she might feel some discomfort since the baby was two pounds now and that he’d give her a thorough check-up when she came in.

It had been almost two weeks since she’d seen Caleb, the longest two weeks of her life, it seemed.
 
That day, sitting with him in his car as he told her about his aunt’s abuse, had been rough and emotional.
 
Just thinking about it brought another flurry of anger towards his aunt.

And what he’d said…how could she not feel a flutter in her chest every time she thought about him saying he wouldn’t give up on them?
 
Just remembering that familiar look of determination in his eyes made her pulse soar.

But so far, he’d done nothing and Maddie battled with the potent disappointment she felt, which only served to confuse her even more.
 
She’d wanted space, hadn’t she?
 
She’d been convinced that they weren’t right for each, that they should try and live separate lives, but then he’d done the one thing that she’d been trying to get him to do for months…he’d opened up to her about his abuse.
 
It had given her hope.
 
Maddie allowed herself to entertain the notion that perhaps this was a first step in the right direction.
 
If he could open up to her, trust her with his darkest memories, then perhaps he’d be open to the possibility of a relationship.

Yet, besides his daily calls, he’d made no attempt to see her.

She shouldn’t even be as pissed as she felt over that.
 
He wasn’t doing anything wrong, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d changed his mind.

This up and down with him, feeling uncertain one moment and so sure the next, was tiring.
 
But this space had given her a lot of time to think and process.
 
She realized that perhaps she had given up too soon.
 
She’d always known that Caleb was prickly, that he had a temper, and he said things he didn’t mean.
 
She also knew that he was loyal, devoted, and treated her like a queen when they were together.

He was as complicated as complicated could be.

So, she decided that she’d try not to overanalyze anything.
 
She’d just go with what felt natural in the moment, take things day-by-day, and see where they came out on the other side.

It didn’t change the fact that she missed him like crazy though.
 
She missed Peter.
 
She missed their house.
 
She missed everything.

Maddie shifted onto her other side, trying to get more comfortable, but the ache in her abdomen was back.
 
She tried sitting up in bed to see if the change in position would help, but it just made it worse.

And as the pain became more acute and spread to her back and shoulders as another hour ticked by, she started to realize that something was wrong.
 
Very, very wrong.
 
Saliva filled her mouth and she felt like she was on the verge of vomiting.
 
It felt like she was being repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen, on her right side, and it was only when tears were streaming down her face and she was gritting her teeth against the pain, that she fumbled for her phone on the night stand.
 
She didn’t even know if she could make it down the hallway to her mom’s room.

As she sobbed, she dialed Caleb’s number, wanting nothing more than for him to be here right now and feeling so incredibly scared.

*
   
*
   
*

Caleb jerked out of sleep like he’d been dreaming he was in a free fall and his eyes darted to his phone, vibrating and chirping loudly, on the night stand.
 
The alarm clock read
3:09
and dread stole his breath when he saw Maddie’s name flash on screen.

“Maddie?” he answered.
 
“Maddie!
 
What’s—”

His blood turned to ice when he heard her crying.
 
“C-Caleb, something’s w-wrong.”

“What is it?” he demanded, already jumping out of bed to pull on clothes.
 
He’d been sleeping in the master bedroom, mostly because the sheets still smelled like her and it comforted him.

“I—I don’t know.
 
My s-stomach and my back,” she sobbed.
 
“I’m scared, Caleb.”

He fumbled with the button on his jeans.
 
He tried to be calm for her, even though he felt a rising panic the likes of which he’d never experienced before.
 
“Try and relax, princess.
 
Where’s your mom?”

He heard a sharp inhale of breath.
 
“Down the hall.”

“Maddie,” he started.
 
“You need to go get your mom, okay?
 
Can you do that?”

A sob was his answer and Caleb gritted his teeth, frustrated and feeling helpless that he wasn’t there with her right now.
 
All of his worst fears were coming true.
 
If something happened to Maddie…

No
.
 
He couldn’t think like that.

“I’ll try,” was her response.

Caleb heard her bed squeak as he stabbed his arms into a shirt and then he was heading out of the bedroom and downstairs.
 
Maddie’s mom lived near his old house, but that was almost twenty minutes away.
 
Maddie would be able to get to hospital quicker if her mom drove her there immediately.

Fuck, fuck fuck
!

On the other end of the line, Caleb could hear her ragged breaths and he talked to her as she made her way to her mom’s bedroom, but every step she took seemed to cause her tremendous pain.
 
A little relief swept through him when he heard a door open and her mom’s groggy voice, which then turned alert when Maddie told her what was wrong.

“Which hospital, Maddie?” he asked, quickly scribbling out a note for Peter before making his way out to his car.

She was still crying and then he heard her mom tell her to give her the phone.

“Caleb,” Maddie’s mom said, “I’m going to take her to Contra Costa.
 
Do you know how to get there?”

“Yeah, I know where it is,” he said.
 
He’d met her mom a couple times before when Maddie had invited the older woman over for dinner.
 
She’d always been polite and friendly towards him, even though he knew that Thomas had probably painted him in a less than favorable light, but Caleb could sense that she still didn’t trust him completely.
 
“How does she look?”

There was a pause and then she lowered her voice, “She doesn’t look good, Caleb.”

Swallowing hard, he started up his car and backed out of the driveway.
 
It was pitch black outside, all the houses on the street dark.
 
“I’ll meet you guys there.
 
Can I talk to her real quick?”

The phone was passed back to Maddie.
 
“C-Caleb?”

“I’m on my way to the hospital, princess,” he murmured, accelerating towards the freeway, hoping that there were no cops around.
 
“I’m going to try and call Dr. Cochrane and then I’ll call you back.
 
Everything will be fine, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Maddie,” he started, wanting to tell her so many things.
 
But words felt so inadequate.
 
“I’ll see you soon.”

Once he knew that they were on their way to the E.R., he dialed Dr. Cochrane’s number.
 
The doctor picked up on the fifth ring, but Caleb felt no guilt whatsoever that he’d interrupted the man’s sleep.
 
Once he explained the situation, Dr. Cochrane said, “It could possibly be preeclampsia, but they won’t know for sure until they take urine samples and take her blood pressure.
 
Have you noticed if her hands and feet have been swelling more than usual?”

Frustration ate at him because he hadn’t seen her in almost two weeks.
 
“No, she didn’t tell me that anything was out of the ordinary.”

“Ah, I see,” the doctor said and Caleb hated the knowing lilt in his tone.
 
“Well, the problem is that these symptoms can come on very suddenly.
 
At the last check-up, everything was normal.”

“And what are the treatment options if it is?
 
Is she in any danger?”

“It’s very rare that preeclampsia leads to death.”
 
That word made Caleb temporarily stop breathing.
 
“The only thing that can cure it is delivery.
 
But she’s only twenty-six weeks.”

“Twenty-seven,” Caleb corrected.

“Forgive me, twenty-seven.
 
The earliest we can induce a delivery is at thirty-seven.”

“And in the meantime?” he asked, gritting his teeth.
 
He would not just stand around and watch Maddie in pain for another eleven weeks.

“Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of options until we have a diagnosis.
 
I mean, it
could
be preeclampsia, but it could also be a UTI, gallstones, appendicitis, or just because her uterus is growing.”

“And what about the pain?” Caleb demanded.
 
Just remembering her racking sobs made him want to yell in frustration.

“Again, there aren’t a whole lot of options.
 
It would be Maddie’s decision to take painkillers, but ibuprofen is generally not recommended in the third trimester, which is just right around the corner for her.”

Fuck!

“I know this isn’t what you want to hear, Mr. Montgomery,” Dr. Cochrane said.
 
“But just let Maddie get checked out first and see what the doctor says.
 
Depending on the diagnosis, then we will decide what the next step will be.”

Caleb dialed Maddie’s number again when he hung up with the doctor, but it went to her voicemail, which worried him.
 
He told himself it was probably just because they’d reached the hospital already.
 
His foot pressed harder on the accelerator and he shot down the freeway.

By the time he was pulling into the parking lot of the E.R., he was out of his mind with worry and he hurried into the reception area.
 
He discovered that Maddie had already been admitted and the security guard let him pass once he checked in.

She was in room 112 and when Caleb stepped foot inside, he was staggered by the sight of her.
 
Maddie was lying upright in bed, an IV hooked into her arm, and noticeably still in severe pain.
 
Her jaw was clenched and she kept squirming on the bed, like she couldn’t find a position that didn’t cause her discomfort.

“Maddie,” he said, crossing to her bed.
 
Maddie’s mom, Cindy, was sitting, tense, in one of the two chairs in the room, clutching her daughter’s hand.

“Caleb,” she sobbed.
 
She was crying so hard that it racked her body.
 
She looked exhausted, beyond pale, like she hadn’t been sleeping much lately, and sweat gleamed at her brow.

“How are you doing, princess?” he asked hoarsely, brushing a strand of hair off her face.
 
Her face felt a little warm to the touch and he shot a look over his shoulder, searching for a nurse.
 
The sight of her in excruciating pain was
awful
.
 
He wished that he could take it all for her.

She didn’t answer, just shook her head.

Caleb glanced at Cindy.
 
“Have they run any tests?”

The older woman nodded.
 
“Just blood, urine, and blood pressure.
 
They can’t do a CT scan because she’s pregnant.
 
We’re just waiting for the doctor to do an ultrasound.”

Caleb ground his teeth.
 
“This is ridiculous.
 
Where the hell is the doctor?”

“Did you reach Dr. Cochrane?” Maddie asked, huffing.

Caleb stroked her hair, trying to keep calm.
 
If he lost his temper, it would only make her tense.
 
He was all too aware of Cindy’s eyes watching them both carefully, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop.
 
He needed to touch Maddie, to reassure himself, if anything.

“He said it could be a lot of things and that we needed to wait on the diagnosis,” he said, not wanting to alarm her unnecessarily.
 
“Which should hopefully be any minute now.
 
I’m going to go see where the doctor is, okay?”