Chapter Twenty
Dr. Reese yanked the curtain open and stepped in. “Hi, Charlotte. How are you?”
Charlotte shook the sleep off and blinked. “I’m fine. Well, I had some light bleeding, but other than that, I’m okay.”
“You’re six weeks along, right?” Dr. Reese gestured to a nurse in blue scrubs, who disappeared behind the curtain. “Have you been taking it easy? Avoiding lifting heavy things like I told you?”
Charlotte nodded and propped herself up. “Yes.”
Dr. Reese nodded and snapped on a pair of latex gloves. “Okay, good. Let’s take a look and see what’s happening. Have you been having any other symptoms?”
Charlotte shook her head. “No, just a sharp pain in my belly, and then, when I went to the bathroom, there was this brownish-red discharge.”
Dr. Reese pulled the stool across the linoleum floors. “Okay, well, first of all, discharge can be very normal, especially in the early days of pregnancy. Let’s take a look and see how our little champ is doing.”
In silence, she waited for Charlotte to unbutton her jeans and pull them down slightly. Then, Dr. Reese squeezed some coldgel onto Charlotte’s abdomen and reached for the transducer. She pressed it against Charlotte’s flushed skin, and a furrow appeared between her brows.
Charlotte held her breath and tried not to look at Addison and Mason.
Her mom had gone to the cafeteria to hunt down some food, but Charlotte suddenly desperately wished she was there. She swallowed and tilted her head to the side while Dr. Reese pushed a few buttons. For the longest time, nothing happened, and Charlotte’s stomach dropped.
You shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up, you idiot. This is what happens when you get ahead of yourself.
And she had no one to blame but herself for not taking it easy at work.
And for pushing back against Patrick’s criticism.
Why hadn’t she just listened?
Why hadn’t she just stayed at home?
Charlotte wanted everyone in the room to disappear so she could curl up into a ball and cry while lamenting her losses. She wanted to sit in a dark and quiet room and grieve for what could’ve been. But when Dr. Reese moved the transducer again and pressed harder, suddenly, the image on the screen changed, and she saw the baby there.
She was so relieved she almost peed herself.
Tears sprang to her eyes as Addison and Mason peered over the doctor’s shoulders and held each other’s hand. As one, they glanced over at Charlotte and smiled, and relief surged through her.
“Okay, the baby is fine. I’m just going to call in the nurse, and she’s going to give you a shot to stabilize the pregnancy. Then, I’m going to write down a prescription for a suppository. You’ll need to use it every night before you sleep.”
Charlotte pulled her jeans back up and zipped them. “Is there anything else I should do? Anything else I should avoid?”
“As much as you can, try to avoid high-stress situations or situations that’ll make you overexert yourself. Take it easy for the next few days.” Dr. Reese peeled off her gloves and threw them in the nearest bin. “I’ll be back with the prescription.”
Once she left, Addison threw her arms around her and sniffed. “Thank God you’re both okay.”
Charlotte hugged her back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put myself through something that would endanger the baby—”
Addison pulled back and frowned at her. “Of course you didn’t. We know that. You don’t need to apologize. It’s a good thing Patrick called the ambulance to bring you here.”
Charlotte swallowed. “Yeah, it is.”
When the nurse returned with the shot to be injected into her butt, Charlotte’s face turned bright red. Mason’s eyes widened as he fumbled through an excuse and disappeared. Addison held her hand but turned her back on Charlotte to give her some privacy. Her mouth was dry as she unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them partially down. Then, she bent over the hospital bed and held her breath.
“This is going to sting a little, dear. Just take deep breaths.”
Charlotte glanced over her shoulders. “Am I going to be able to sit down afterward?”
“You’ll need to rub a little before you sit down. By tomorrow, it won’t sting as much.”
