Page 38 of Ruin (Hell’s Mayhem MC: Maine Chapter #2)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Kolton

I answer the phone, and I’m met with panic.

“I don’t know what to fucking do, Snapper. She’s freaking out. Yelling and screaming. She’s in so much pain!”

“Calm down,” I say. “Where are you? Did her water break?”

“I don’t fucking know!”

“Where are you?” I repeat as I get out of bed and look for the rest of my clothes. I dug my phone out of my jeans, so those are already on, but I don’t know where my damn shirt is.

“Here,” Lucian says softly, handing me my shirt.

“I’m at my house.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” I tell him, then end the call and quickly get dressed. “Grizz thinks Anastacia is in labor.”

“Did he say how far apart her contractions were?” Lucian asks as he too gets his clothes on.

“I don’t think he even knows what a contraction is. ”

Lucian huffs out a laugh.

When we’re dressed, we head out to his car.

He knows where Grizz lives since he’s gone by a few times to check on her, and we get there in just under twenty minutes.

The moment I step out of the car, I hear her screams. I hurry up the steps.

Someone opens the door for us, and we go inside.

I assume it’s Grizz’s brother because he looks just like him, only bigger and older.

“They’re in the bedroom down the hall, on the left.” He points and we go that way, the screaming getting louder the closer we get.

“Something could be wrong,” Lucian says quietly behind me.

“Thank fuck you’re here,” Grizz says when we step into the room.

Anastacia is rolling around, clutching her stomach. She’s crying and sweating. Her skin is flushed, and she’s pale.

Lucian goes over, putting his medical bag on the ground to dig something out of it.

“How long has she been like this?” Lucian asks.

“I don’t know. Like… forty-five minutes, maybe.”

“Was she complaining of pain beforehand?” he asks, putting the earpieces of the stethoscope in his ears, then the other part on her stomach.

“Yeah, a little. Said she had cramps and was nauseous. She came in here to lay down.”

She yells so loudly it hurts my ears .

“Sweetheart, I know it hurts, but I need you to breathe, okay? In through your nose, big, deep breaths. Let it out through your mouth, okay?” Lucian says calmly as he listens and feels around. “Are you having contractions?”

“I think so,” she whines, gritting her teeth.

“How often are they coming?”

“They aren’t going away!” she shouts. “It won’t stop!”

He nods, feeling around on her stomach again.

“What’s going on? Is she having the baby?” Grizz asks, his eyes wide.

He’s paler than she is, and if this weren’t so serious, I’d laugh about it.

“Her water hasn’t broke?” Lucian asks, and Grizz shakes his head, just as Anastacia shouts, “No!”

“It’s possible she’s in labor. Or these could be Braxton Hicks.”

“What the fuck is that?” Grizz asks, his hands spearing through his hair.

“False labor pains,” I say.

“Why the fuck would her body do that?”

“It supposedly prepares the body for labor,” I explain.

“Jesus Christ,” Grizz mutters, running a hand down his face.

“Is there a way to tell?” I ask Lucian. Knowing what they are and why they’re there is the extent of my knowledge on the matter.

“Not without proper equipment. I could check her cervix to see if she’s dilated. That would give us more information. ”

“What the fuck?” Grizz growls as Anastacia growls out, “Do it!”

“Who even are you?” Grizz says to Lucian.

Well, that settles that. Grizz doesn’t remember him.

“He’s a doctor,” I tell him. “I’ll explain more later.”

“From where?”

“I worked at Mass Gen’s trauma center for over twenty years.”

His eyes widen and he turns to me. “Is he serious?”

“Yes,” I say firmly. “He knows what he’s doing, so let him help her.”

Anastacia cries out again, as she writhes on the bed. She looks possessed. I’ve never heard someone cry out in pain like this before, and I’ve fucked up a lot of guys. This is something else entirely.

“Help me get her to the edge of the bed,” Lucian says as he digs in his bag and pulls out blue latex gloves.

Anastacia is wearing a nightgown, so that should hopefully make things easier. I move to the bed to help Grizz lift her and move her to the edge. I grab pillows to put under her head, while Grizz fixes her nightgown to cover her more.

“You should stay with her,” I say when he goes to move away. He nods, and I go to Lucian.

“Is there anything you need?”

“Just help keep her calm. I wish I had something to give her for the pain.” He says the last part more to himself .

I sit beside her on the bed and take her hand. I am not the comforting type, but I’ll try my best. She looks terrible.

“I need each of you to hold her legs back,” Lucian says to us. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but this will be uncomfortable.”

She whimpers, more sobs coming out of her.

Grizz and I each hold her leg up. He squirts lube on his fingers, then does what he needs to do to check her cervix.

I know what it entails and I know why he’s doing it, but it’s weird to think of him being inside some woman after those exact fingers were inside me.

I watch him carefully for any tell, but I don’t have to look too hard. His gaze goes to me, and I know something isn’t right.

“Sweetheart?” Lucian says, his eyes on me.

“Yeah?” she whines.

“Hope you’re ready to have a baby.”

I feel the blood drain from my face as I think of what that means, then thank the stars she’s here at Grizz’s house and not mine.

“What do you need me to do?” I say, as Grizz shakes his head, muttering “fuck, fuck, fuck”, as if he’s the one about to push the baby out. For someone who can fuck some shit up, he’s a bitch when it comes to all this.

“I need you here to help, but I need some things.”

“Grizz, get your brother in here,” I tell him.

“Fuck, okay. Tommy! Tommy, get in here!”

“What’s up?” he says, standing in the doorway, his wife by his side .

“I need a lot of towels. When you think you have enough, get more. A syringe, a clamp, sharp scissors, a large bowl, preferably one with no sentimental value, and a basin with warm, soapy water.”

He nods, and he and his wife disappear within a second.

“A bowl?” I ask.

“For the placenta,” he says simply, as he changes his gloves. The thought makes me lightheaded. “Sweetheart, when I tell you to push, I’m going to need you to push as hard as you can as we count to ten, okay? The harder you push, the quicker your baby will be here.”

“Holy shit,” Grizz says. “Holy fucking shit, this is happening.”

Tommy’s wife comes in with her arms full of towels. “Here’s this for now.”

“Lay a few out on the floor below her, and leave the rest on the side. How’s the rest of the things coming?”

“He’s just trying to find a clamp.”

“String is fine, if you can’t find that.”

She nods and then leaves.

He stands to his full height, looking over Anastacia, who is still crying. “You ready to have a baby?”

She cries harder, shaking her head.

“I know this is scary, but you’re going to do great,” he says.

She cries out, rocking on the bed.

Lucian looks from Grizz to me, then back at Grizz. “I need you both to hold her hands, hold her legs back, keep her as calm as you can, and help her count. You need to be her support. I have to try to break her water before the baby comes out, but I don’t have much time.”

I have no idea how to do this. I’ve never been in support of anyone in my entire life. I feel the panic in my chest rise up, but then I remember what this is for. A baby. I can’t let down a child.

Tommy comes barreling into the room with the rest of the supplies. Lucian quickly lays them out on a towel he put to the side, just as Anastacia lets out the loudest scream yet. It turns into a groan, her body tensing and her face turning red.

Lucian gets on his knees in front of her on the floor. Lubing his fingers again, he checks her again, holding my gaze. His eyes are wide and in doctor-mode.

“I can’t—”

He jerks back as a gush of water comes out, landing on all the towels on the floor.

“Holy shit,” Grizz mutters. “Holy fucking shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.”

“Dude, calm down!” I bark.

“Right, sorry. Fuck.”

With one hand on her stomach, Lucian gets into position and says, “When the next contraction comes, I need you to push down really hard, okay? Do you think you can do that?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so!” she cries.

“I think you can,” I say. “You can do this. ”

I lock our hands together tighter while adjusting my grip on her leg. Grizz is watching, and he does the same. Lucian gives me a little smile, his hand still on her stomach.

“Okay, sweetheart, I think one is coming on. Do you feel that?”

“Yes, I feel it. Ow! Oh, no. Oh my God!”

“Push down, sweetheart. One, two, three, four… you’ve got this. Keep going, keep going. Seven, eight, nine, ten.”

“Good job,” he tells her, looking between her legs to see what’s going on. “Next time, I need you to push even harder. We want this baby out.”

“I can’t. I can’t do it!”

“Yes, you can, angel. You got this,” Grizz says. “You’ve been waiting for this.”

“Here we go, Anastacia. Push, push, push,” Lucian coaches. “One, two, three—I see the head. Keep going. Keep going. Five, six, seven. That’s it. Keep pushing, come on.”

Part of me wants to look. Part of me thinks I’ll pass out if I do. So I keep my gaze on Lucian and focus on how hard this tiny girl is squeezing my hand. She may crush my bones.

“You can do this, Anastacia,” I tell her.

“It hurts! It hurts. Please make it stop hurting!” she sobs.

“The pain will go away as soon as the baby is out. Just push a little harder. Here we go. Push, sweetheart. Push hard!”

She bares down and we pull her legs back. She pushes so hard her face is purple, her body shaking .

“That’s it. The head is out, sweetheart. Keep going. Come on, the shoulders are right there. Deep breath and push again.”

She takes a deep breath and pushes harder than she has before, letting out another cry and then a sound of relief.