***
A few hours passed, and I wasn’t any further along. The contractions were getting worse, and Nurse Bailey stepped out of the room to call Dr. Reed. Henry was keeping a close eye on the fetal monitor, as was Connor.
I was lying on my side, and Connor wiped my forehead with a cool cloth. A contraction had just ended. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt Connor kiss me softly on the forehead as he pushed back my hair.
“Get ready, Elle. Here comes another contraction,” he said as he stared at the monitor.
“Why do you have to tell me, Connor?!” I yelled.
“I want you to be prepared so you can start your breathing. I don’t want you to be caught off-guard.”
Every bit of me wanted to kill him at that moment. The pain with each contraction was intensifying, and I felt like my body was trying to rip itself in two. As always, he was right and another contraction came.
“Breathe, Elle. Come on, baby; deep breaths.”
“Connor, I think you better lay off; she’s getting pissed,” Peyton said.
I started screaming in pain. I promised myself that I wasn’t going to be one of those women, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I didn’t care who heard me, and I didn’t care what they thought. Connor was still telling me to breathe, and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Tell me to breathe one more time, and I swear I’ll castrate you, Connor Black!” I screamed.
I heard Peyton burst into laughter, and Connor looked at me.
“Wow, Elle. That was uncalled for,” he said.
“No! What’s uncalled for is you making me feel worse than I already do. I don’t want to know when another contraction is coming! I don’t want you to tell me to breathe! I know you’re trying to help me, but all I need from you, babe, is silence.”
Connor stared at me and took my face in his hands. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean—”
“I know you didn’t, Connor. It just hurts so badly, and I want it to be over,” I said as I interrupted him.
“I know you do, and I can’t wait to see our daughter. She’s going to be beautiful, just like her mother.” He smiled.
A tear fell from the corner of my eye and down my cheek as another contraction started; the worse one yet. I looked over at Henry.
“Please, Henry, give me an epidural. Please, I’m begging you.”
“Ellery, I can’t. You’re not dilated yet. I’m sorry,” he said as he shook his head.
I wanted to die. This baby was tearing me apart inside, and something didn’t feel right. Nurse Bailey walked in and told Henry that Dr. Reed asked her to call him when I was dilated to five centimeters. Connor sighed, got up from the bed, and walked over to Henry.
“How much longer is she going to be like this?” he asked.
“Every woman is different, Connor. It’s hard to tell. She’s not even dilated to three yet. This could go on for another twenty-four hours.”
“WHAT!” I exclaimed.
Peyton took my hand and started rubbing it softly. “Don’t worry, Elle. We’re here to help you through this.”
Connor turned and looked at me. He tilted his head and gave me a small smile as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “If I could have this baby for you, I would. I hate seeing you in so much pain,” he said as he grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips.
“I love you, Connor,” I whispered as I closed my eyes and braced myself for the next contraction.
“I love you, Ellery.”
Chapter 2
Connor
Seeing Ellery in pain like that was killing me. My heart ached for her with every scream she let out and every tear that fell from her eyes. I called my mom, dad, and Cassidy to let them know that Ellery had gone into labor. They stopped in the room for a few minutes to talk to her and then took seats out in the waiting room. Ellery and I had discussed that we didn’t want anyone else in the room during the delivery. Peyton had a hard time with our decision at first, but then understood. As Peyton and Ellery talked in between contractions, Henry asked me to step out into the hall.
“I don’t want you to worry, but Ellery isn’t dilating like she should be. I’m getting concerned because her water broke, and I don’t want to risk an infection setting in. I think we need to let her get up and do some walking around to try and get her dilated.”
“You tell me not to worry, but you’re worried about an infection,” I said.
“I’ll call Dr. Reed and ask him what he advises,” he said as he put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m watching her and the baby very carefully.”
“Thanks for keeping me posted, Henry.” I sighed as I walked back into the room.
Ellery was lying on her side, panting and trying to breathe through another contraction as she squeezed Peyton’s hand. I walked over to her, sat on the edge of the bed, and grabbed her other hand.
“Ellery, look at me. I need you to focus on me, not the pain.”