Page 45

Chloe

I’m not sure which one of us moves first, but Stephanie and I run towards the back room with Amber trying to get out of the chair behind us.

I reach the door first and throw it open.

Bri is standing next to the bed in an awkward position.

Her eyes are huge.

“I think my water broke.” My gaze shoots to the floor where there’s the smallest bit of.

.

.

something.

“Are you sure?” Stephanie asks.

“Oh boy,” Amber says as she walks in with Riley on her hip.

“Congrats, Sis. You’re in labor.”

Brielle’s wide eyes jump to each of us right before she bends over.

“Oh man,” she gasps.

Amber pushes past us, handing Riley to Stephanie as she does.

She puts a hand on Bri’s back.

“Breathe through it.” She runs a hand up and down Bri’s spine.

“It’s okay. Good job.”

Bri blows out a breath and stands up.

“I thought I was just having cramps from the pizza, but then I stood up and...well, you can see what happened next.” Her eyes find mine.

“I’ll clean it up.”

I wave her off.

“You will do no such thing; I’ll take care of it. Um, at the cost of stating the obvious here, shouldn’t we be heading to the hospital?”

Amber looks at Bri and then back to me.

“She’ll have to call her doctor and see if they want her to come right in or wait a little for the contractions to get closer.”

“Oh boy,” Stephanie says, echoing my own thoughts.

I take the lead to address the elephant in the room.

“And Aiden?”

Brielle’s head snaps up.

“Nobody tells him.”

“That’s ridiculous. He’s going to want to know, Bri,” Amber says.

“I know, but not yet. Let’s at least see what the doctor says. If they don’t want me coming in for a while, then there’s no reason to alarm him.” Her eyes widen.

“Can you imagine if he knows I’m in labor, and he still has to play his game?”

“God rest the souls of the other players he murders,” Stephanie mutters under her breath.

“Exactly. Nobody tells him,” Bri says with authority.

She meets each of our eyes.

I nod.

For now, I won’t say anything; but if it escalates.

.

.

“All right. Let’s clean up this mess and go watch our boys play some hockey.” Her face falls suddenly.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I just remembered I can’t eat anything. How can I watch hockey without snacks?”

Amber shakes her head and takes Riley back from Stephanie.

“Believe me, you would regret it if you did. All right, Bri, call your doctor.”

“I’ll clean up in here,” I tell her and wave Bri away when she wants to help.

She walks out of the door but stops midway.

“You okay?” I ask.

She nods but doesn’t say anything.

“Can I do anything?” I hate feeling helpless.

Soon, she’s able to stand up again.

“I’m good. I’m going to call my doctor.”

“Good plan.” I finish cleaning the floor the best I can and then head back out.

“What’s the prognosis?” I ask Brielle, who’s finished with her call.

“They want me to come in.” She takes a deep breath, trying to be calm; but I can see the panic in her eyes.

“Okay. What do you need to do before you go in?” I ask, taking charge.

“I need to go home and get my hospital bag and the baby bag. Oh, and the car seat.” Her eyes get wider and wider.

“I’m not ready.”

“Whoa, chill,” Amber says.

“Take a breath. You’re going to be fine, Sis.” She looks Bri in the eye.

“You’re going to meet your little boy or girl, and I’m going to get to meet my niece or nephew in the next few hours. It’s going to be a great day.”

Bri smiles a teary smile.

“I know. Okay, I need to go home.”

“I’ll take you,” Stephanie says.

“And then I’ll take you to the hospital. Do we have that much time?”

Bri nods.

“Yes. My doctor said to take my time but keep an eye on my contractions. If they start to go less than two minutes apart, I need to get to the hospital.”

Stephanie nods.

“Okay. Let’s get you home and get your stuff.”

Bri nods and then bends over again in pain and starts breathing deeply.

I meet Amber’s eyes, and she gives me a wary look.

“Bri, I don’t think you should take the time to go home. I think you should go and let them check your progress; see how far along you are.”

Bri finishes with her contraction, and I see the panic in her eyes.

“I need everything.”

“I’ll go to your house,” I find myself saying.

“I’ll go get everything you need. Make me a list, and I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

Amber shoots me a grateful smile.

“Thank you. I would do it, but I have to get Riley to my mom if I’m going to be of any help.”

I wave off her thanks.

“Let’s get you to the car, Brielle. You can send me a list on the way. I just need your keys.”

A few minutes later, Amber and I wave off Brielle and Stephanie.

“She’s not going to have that long, is she?” I ask Amber as they drive out of sight.

“Nope. My contractions took hours to get to where hers are.” She turns to me.

“I’ve got to get Riley to my mom. It’s going to take a while.”

“No worries. I’m heading to their house to grab what they need and then to the hospital. You get Riley taken care of.” Before I can go back inside, Amber surprises me by reaching out and pulling me in for a quick hug.

“I misjudged you, Chloe. I’m sorry for that. Thank you.” Without another word, she rushes to her car and buckles up Riley.

With a wave, she leaves as well.

I rush back inside and dress in my clothes from yesterday, refusing to think about the events that took place the last time I wore these clothes.

I rush out the door a few minutes later.

I keep the radio on as I drive, so I can listen to the game.

It’s a close one.

The first period ends with neither team scoring, and the second period is off to a brutal start.

I head inside Brielle’s and Aiden’s house and start grabbing the things Bri texted me.

It takes me longer than I would have liked.

It took me far too long to find the things she needed packed that weren’t packed yet.

Things like cosmetics and personal items.

Kudos to her, it wasn’t a lot.

Most everything was already packed, but there’s always a few things at the end to add.

She also had me grab some stuff for Aiden.

By the time I get everything loaded up and get back on the road, they're getting ready to start the third period. I call Stephanie as I pull out. She answers on the second ring.

“Hey, Chloe.”

Her voice tips me off immediately. “Are things progressing?”

“Yes. She’s in denial, but she’s in full-on labor. She needs Aiden.”

“Okay.” I turn in the direction that will take me to the arena. “I’m heading there now. I can get down to the ice to get him.”

“Oh,” she breathes out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much! I called Seb, but of course, he’s not going to see it during a game.”

“Yeah. I’ll get him. Tell Bri to hang in there.”

“Thank you, Chloe. Maybe hurry.”

Not that I needed her to say that, but I push on the gas a little more. I’ve got to get to the game and tell Aiden to get his backside to the hospital. By the time I make it inside the building, it’s nearing the end of the third period. I can feel the energy in the stadium. It’s a tie game, and we really need this one. I make my way through the building and all the way down to the ice. I let my eyes take in the game for just a moment. My eyes settle on Gunner first. He's had a great game—a goal and an assist.

He scored in the second period.

I watch as he and Aiden battle it out of the boards behind their net.

They clear it, and Aiden shoots it to Sebastian who has a look at the goal.

Their goalie saves it and sends it down the ice.

Dylan is waiting and almost gets it, but they get around him.

They shoot, but it’s a save from Rico.

He gets it back out and to mid-ice where Aiden’s waiting.

I glance at the clock.

There are less than five minutes left in the game.

I wrestle with indecision.

I pull out my phone and text Stephanie.

Chloe- I'm here. There’s five minutes left. Do I wait?

Thankfully, she texts back immediately.

Stephanie- Bri says wait. She sends a nervous emoji. She sorta shouted it.

Chloe- how far apart are her contractions?

Stephanie- she doesn’t want me to tell you but less than a minute

“Oh good grief!” I shout to myself. I march down to the ice. Aiden is not going to miss the birth of his baby if I have anything to say about it. I walk right to the glass and knock on it, more like pound on it. Scott notices me, and I point to Coach Seers. Coach Seers turns towards me and scowls. He looks like he wants to murder me, but I remember that I’m doing this for Aiden and Brielle. I motion him to me, and he ignores me a moment, shouting at his guys.

“What?”

“I need Aiden now. Brielle’s going to deliver any minute.”

He shows no surprise; the man’s a rock. I wait with bated breath before he finally nods. Seconds later, Travis is in, and Aiden enters the box. Coach waves him to me, and Aiden turns to me. I can see the confusion in his eyes as I wave him to me. He stalks over to me, glancing over his shoulder at the game. “Brielle is in labor!” I shout through the glass. I know he can’t hear me, but he’ll be able to read my lips. I know the second it hits him. He whips his helmet off and throws it to the side along with his stick and leaves the box. I can barely keep up with him, even though he’s in his skates. He strides toward the locker room. As soon as the noise fades, he asks, “How far along is she?”

“Her contractions are less than a minute apart.”

He curses and speeds up. “I just have to grab my shoes.” He throws open the locker room.

Seconds later, he runs back through the door. “Just come with me,” I tell him. “All your stuff is in my car.”

“Where are you parked?” I point the way and toss him my keys, and then we’re running through the parking lot. Well, he runs; I sort of jog in my heels. He gets to the car first and fiddles with the seat, so he can actually fit behind the wheel. I don’t even have my seatbelt on when he peels out of the parking lot. He doesn’t ask anything; in fact, he doesn’t say a word. But I fill him in anyway. “Stephanie is with her at the hospital. Everything Brielle said you needed is in my backseat and trunk. Amber was trying to get Riley to her mom and then going to come. Her water broke at Gunner’s house. Stephanie called right before I got you and said her contractions were less than a minute apart.” He pushes the gas, and we go even faster. I hang on to the door handle and pray we don’t die before we get there.