Page 60 of Friends with Benefits

“Yes, sir,” I answered, fighting to keep my voice steady. Coach Taylor wouldn’t interrupt a game for any reason other than an emergency.

“There’s a Miss Charlie St. James here who says you need to go with her immediately. Ms. Stevens is in the hospital.”

My heart dropped to my feet along with my stomach. “The hospital,” I repeated faintly. The baby. Fuck. Something was wrong with the baby. I had to get to her. “I have to go to her. She’s pregnant,” I said without thinking.

Coach Taylor’s expression didn’t change, but the words that came out of his mouth were the last ones I expected. “Of course you do. Miss St. James is waiting at the ticket gate to take you to the hospital.”

“I’ll make sure he gets there,” Alex said. I hadn’t even realized he’d come with me.

“What about the game?” I asked, more out of habit than anything. I didn’t really give a fuck about the game.

“Go be with your girlfriend.” I didn’t correct him. “You’re young, but you’ll realize there’s more to life than baseball.” I never thought I’d hear him say those words. “Get going. You need to be with her.”

When I didn’t move, Alex took me by the arm and hauled me through the locker rooms and up the stairs to the main level of the complex where the concession stands, and ticket booths were located. It wasn’t as packed as it usually was before a game, but there were still people milling around getting refills on their sodas and popcorn who stopped and pointed at us as Alex propelled me toward the ticket booth. Charlie was there, pacing back and forth, still in her pale blue scrubs.

She turned toward us when she looked up, and I noticed, almost emotionlessly, that her face was bleached of color. She rushed forward. “I’m sorry for interrupting your game, but she’s asking for you, and I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s alright.” To Alex, I said, “Thanks, man. You should get back.”

He started backing away, and his normal easy-going expression was grave. “Call me. Whatever time. I’ll be there.”

“I know. Go win for us.”

“You got it.”

Somehow, he must have grabbed my bag with my change of clothes from my locker when we went through the locker room because I found myself hauling it out of the complex to Charlie’s car. As I tossed it in the back seat, I managed to spit out the words I didn’t want to voice aloud for fear that it would make my worries an actuality. “What happened?”

The keys in Charlie’s hand rattled as she put them in the ignition. “The doctors think she’s having a miscarriage.”

“Is she alone?” I asked.

“Layla was with her. I volunteered to come get you.”

“How was she?”

Charlie swallowed hard. “She was in pain. They gave her some medication to help the pain and help her rest. They want to keep her overnight for observation. I got here as quick as I could.”

“Thank you.”

I was quiet for the rest of the drive to the hospital. The baby had only been alive for a few short weeks. I hadn’t even had time to properly wrap my thoughts around their existence. It didn’t seem fair for their life to end so suddenly. It hadn’t been planned, but they had been wanted, and they were already loved.

Charlie drove into the emergency room parking lot at the hospital and stopped under the awning for me to get out of the car while she parked. I signed in at the front desk and followed one of the nurses back into the maternity ward on autopilot. When they stopped at her room, it took me a minute to work up the nerve to open the door, afraid of what I’d find on the other side.

Layla looked up from where she was sitting beside the hospital bed. Both of her hands were wrapped around one of Ember’s. The other was hooked up to a bunch of wires and tubes. She looked incredibly small in the large bed. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose rhythmically in sleep.

I crossed to the bed, my eyes on her face, afraid I’d see her slip away right in front of me. “How is she?” I asked Layla. I studied the dark smudges under her eyes and the hollows in her cheeks I hadn’t noticed before.

“Hey, Tripp. She’s okay now that she’s resting. The doctor says she can go home tomorrow if there are no complications.”

I swallowed hard. “Thanks for being here for her.”

Layla got up and pushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes were red. She must have been crying. “Of course. She’ll be glad to see you’re here when she wakes up. I’ll give you two some time. Please call Charlie or me if there’s anything you need.”

“I will. Thanks again.”

Layla paused after putting her purse over her shoulder. Then she moved forward and wrapped me in a hug. “I’m so sorry, Tripp.”

A tide of sorrow welled up inside me. “Me, too,” I said.