—and this time not in pleasure.
A sudden gush of water exploded outwards all over Milo’s face.
And I howled as pain suddenly lanced across my belly.
Oh fuck.
My water had just broken.
I was in labor!
Milo jerked back, the front of his shirt soaked in my waters.
“How far away from Florence are we?” I shouted.
Leander was already on his phone as I wilted back into the wet seat and looked out the window. There was dense countryside on both sides of the small highway we were on. “Where the hell are we?” I shrieked.
“Nowhere near where we need to be,” Leander said. “Fuck!”
Chapter 15
HOPE
“They’re early,” was all I could keep saying. “It’s too early.”
“Well, they’re coming,” Milo said. He’d stripped off his wet shirt and was back on his knees between my legs. “And it’s not early. The book said you’re officially full term at 37 weeks.”
I just stared down at him through watery eyes before another contraction hit and then I couldn’t think about anything at all except the pain.
“Okay,” Milo said to Leander. “What’s the timer say? How far apart was that?”
“Fuck!” Leander said, obviously freaking out. Not exactly the energy I needed at the moment but I was too busy squeezing the fuck out of the leather seats to care too much.
Leander fumbled his phone but finally managed another, “Fuck! They’re only two minutes apart. That’s bad, right?”
“Why didn’t you read the book?” Milo asked. “Am I the only one who read the book?”
“I got scared when I read about how you poop on the birthing table and I stopped reading,” I cried, fat tears running down my cheeks. “And we were gonna do the Lamaze classes in Florence. With the hospital’s program.”
“What the—” Leander cursed again, then looked down at the phone, then ran a hand through his hair. He jammed the button to communicate with the driver. “How far is the nearest hospital now?”
Giancarlo’s voice was worried, panicked even, and the van hit a pothole that made me scream. “I’m sorry, signore, it’s still thirty minutes away. There’s only villages here.”
Fuck.
I grabbed Leander’s arm. “Why the hell did you think it was a good idea to take a long drive through fucking nowhere when I’m full term?” I screamed at him, but I was cut off by another contraction that made me writhe in the seat.
I was sweating through the gown I was wearing and even though I knew the AC was blasting, it was so hot—too hot.
“Can’t breathe,” I gasped as soon as the contraction passed and I could get a full breath again. But it was horrible because I knew the searing pain was just moments from coming back.
“They’re getting shorter,” Milo said, and then he pushed my legs open.
I jerked them back closed and glared at him.
“I’m just trying to see how near they are to crowning,” Milo said, a soothing hand on my leg.
“They are nowhere near to coming,” I cried, panting heavily. I’d only read about how to breathe through the pain and watched some YouTube videos. It was all bullshit. This pain was worse than I’d ever imagined. I wanted an epidural! Everyone said that with twins I’d for sure get an epidural if not a C-section!
I wasn’t supposed to be in labor in the middle of some tiny Italian backroad for God’s sake! What the hell was even happening right now?
Milo pried my legs back apart as I felt the tightening in my lower stomach. I tried to brace myself, my hands frantically grabbing for any hold but shit, nothing was enough to prepare me for—
“Oh GOD!” I screamed at the top of my lungs and the van swerved wildly.
Milo was almost knocked off his knees, his shoulder jamming into the wall of the van. “Jesus, can you tell him to pull over?” he shouted.
“Fuck no,” Leander said, hands now apparently permanently in his hair. “We have to get to a hospital.”
“I don’t think there’s time,” Milo spat, looking up at his brother. “She’s crowning and she can’t give birth while that mad fucker is driving all over the road like this.”
“Nooooooooooo!” I screamed while Leander started cussing profusely.
But Milo grabbed for the com button and smashed it. “Pull over. Now!”
And the driver was apparently only too happy to.
We stopped far too abruptly. The seatbelt was still strapped low across my tight, pulsing stomach, and it bit into me. Shit, would that hurt the babies? Dammit, Milo might be right. This mad-dash drive across uncertain countryside wasn’t safe for any of us.
“Call an ambulance then,” Leander shouted.
Milo looked up at him from between my legs like he was an idiot.
“Right, right,” Leander managed. “I’ll call the ambulance.”
I wilted as the contraction passed.
Leander got on a call and I heard him arguing impatiently to get someone who spoke English. Apparently, he wasn’t getting anywhere because he finally banged the button to lower the partition and he shoved the phone at Giancarlo.