My hands settle on her shoulders, steadying her as I help her into the passenger seat. Once she’s buckled in, I close the door and circle back to the driver’s side.
“Which hospital?” I ask her.
“Genesis.”
I punch the name into the car’s GPS, my fingers tapping the edges of the screen as the route calculates. The second it locks in, I shift into reverse, draping my arm over the back of her seat as I glance over my shoulder, backing out with practiced ease.
The city lights blur past, but I can only focus on Haisley beside me. Her hands are gripping her stomach, and her breathing is shallow and uneven.
I reach for her knee, squeezing gently. “We’ll be there soon. Breathe for me, sweetness.”
She nods, but she’s somewhere else entirely.
“Do you want me to call someone?” I offer, keeping my eyes on the road while giving her assessing side glances.
Her throat bobs. “My brothers.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. “They need to know.”
With my free hand, I find Holden’s number and put the call on speaker.
“Rasmus, I assume you’re calling because of Dad. I’m here at Genesis with our mom, waiting for the news. We’ve called Hendrix and Hunter, but they can’t make it here before tomorrow.”
I glance at Haisley as her brother speaks, watching how her fingers tighten in the fabric of her coat. She blinks rapidly, swallowing hard, holding back her emotions.
“Is he—” Her voice cracks, and she clears her throat, trying again. “Is Dad awake?”
Holden exhales sharply. “He’s been in and out of consciousness. The doctors are with him now, running tests. We’ll find out more soon.”
Haisley nods, though Holden can’t see it. She then presses her lips together and stares out the window.
“We’re eight minutes out,” I say, steadying my voice. “I’ll get her there soon.”
“Drive safe with precious cargo on board,” her brother says. “We’ll be in the private waiting room 1510.”
The call disconnects, and the car is filled with heavy silence. Then Haisley exhales a sharp, broken sound. “I should’ve been there. But I was feeling a bit off today and told him I would attend the next home game instead.”
“You didn’t know,” I remind her, keeping one hand firm on the wheel while my other reaches for hers. “There’s nothing you could’ve done even if you were there. All the overthinking isn’t going to make the outcome any different.”
She shakes her head, a humorless laugh escaping her lips. “I just talked to him earlier, Ras. He sounded fine.” She turns to me, her eyes pleading. “How does that happen? How do you go from fine to?—”
Her voice cuts off, breaking under the weight of the words she can’t say aloud.
“I don’t know,” I admit because I don’t have the answers she wants. And I won’t lie to her. “But we’ll find out soon. You’re not alone in this.”
Her breathing is uneven, and her whole body is stiff as she fights to hold herself together. “What if—” She stops, biting her lip so hard I worry she’ll draw blood.
The words left unsaid fill the space between us. What if it’s really bad? What if this is the start of something worse? What if?
Damn those two fucking words.I don’t have answers, but I refuse to let her spiral alone.
I lift our joined hands, kissing her knuckles firmly and place them back in her lap. “Remember what you kept saying about the pregnancy in the beginning? One step at a time, Haisley. We’ll take this new situation one step at a time.”
“One step at a time,” she murmurs.
Haisley clings to my hand the rest of the way to the hospital, her tight grip almost cutting off my circulation. But I don’t complain. If holding onto me keeps her from falling apart, I’ll let her hold on as tight as she needs.
The hospital parking lot is nearly full. I pull into one of the last open spaces along the back fence. The second I kill the engine, the silence inside the cab settles over us, heavy and full of uncertainty.
Haisley hasn’t said much since the call. She only stared out the window, one hand gripping the side of her seat, knuckles pale against her sweatpants.
