Tears prick the corners of my eyes, heart hurting. I miss Noah so fucking much. What do I even say? I start typing, then delete what I wrote and try again.
Are you busy?
The elevator doors shut and we go up two floors. I stare at my phone, waiting for a reply. Only a minute later, Noah sends me a text.
Noah:I’m not. Are you okay?
Me:I don’t know yet. My blood pressure is high. Doctor is sending me to the hospital for monitoring. Can you meet me here? I’m scared.
Noah:I’m on my way.
I get checked into the labor and delivery floor and hooked up to machines. The nurse, JoAnna, does her initial assessment, then says she’ll be back in a few to check on me. She can read the monitors from the nurses’ station as well.
So now I sit in a hospital bed, belts and monitors around my belly, alone and scared. I grab my phone to call Mom then stop. I should wait until I get some answers before I make her worry and speed over.
The door to the room opens and I look up, expecting to see the nurse come back. But it’s Noah. His sky-blue eyes meet mine and everything comes rushing back.
How good it feels to have his arms around me. His lips crashing into mine. The way he makes me laugh, makes me feel beautiful.
The way he makes me feel loved.
“Lauren.” Noah crosses the room. I push up and he throws his arms around me. I bend my head, pressing my face into his neck, and break down in tears. “It’s okay,” he soothes, gently running his fingers through my hair. “It’ll be okay.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me. I don’t waste any time. My hands fly up, landing on either side of his face, feeling his beard beneath my skin, and bring his face to mine.
“I missed you,” I whisper, tears freely falling down my cheeks. Noah wipes them away.
“I missed you too. So fucking much.” He kisses me again then brings me to him. The belts slide out of position, making an alarm sound. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?” I’ve never seen him so concerned.
“Yeah.” I push the belt back up to where it used to be, but it doesn’t silence the alarm. “It moved.” I motion to the belt. “Thanks for coming.”
“Don’t thank me,” he says. “I should thank you for telling me what’s going on.”
My bottom lip trembles. “You were the first person I wanted with me. I miss you, Noah. I miss everything we had.”
His jaw tenses and emotion takes over his face. “Lauren I—”
JoAnn comes back into the room, readjusting the monitors on my belly and turning off the alarm.
“Is she okay?” Noah asks, not moving away from me.
“So far everything looks good on the monitors,” JoAnn tells us. “No contractions and baby’s heart rate looks good.” I relax a bit.
“But Lauren’s blood pressure is still high?”
“Yes, it’s elevated.”
“Why?”
“There could be a number of things, and once we get the results from the blood work back we’ll know more. Has the lab come in yet?” she asks me.
“Not yet.”
“They should be here soon.” She gives us a smile. “Do you want anything?”
“Some water would be nice,” I say. She gets me a cup then tells us to relax while we wait.
“Easier said than done,” Noah mumbles and pulls a chair up close to the bed and takes my hand. I close my eyes and link my fingers through his. It feels just like how it used to be, despite not speaking for over a week.