Chapter 63

Nathan

I was deep in slumber, right in the middle of a dream, when the sound of Olivia's distressed voice shattered the peacefulness of the night.

“Nathan!” she cried, pounding on the door frantically. “Please, I need your help. Something’s not right.”

Her cries for help jolted me awake, and without a second thought, I leaped out of bed and rushed to the door.

Panic filled my chest as I opened it to find Olivia standing there, tears streaming down her face. She looked pale and weak, and was shaking and wavering as she stood in front of me.

"Olivia, what's wrong? What happened?" I asked, my voice trembling with worry.

She could barely catch her breath as she explained through sobs, "Nathan, it hurts so much and I can’t stop throwing up. Something's wrong. We need to go to the hospital…"

Suddenly, Olivia’s legs seemed to give out. She lurched forward, and I managed to grab her just in time. Her body felt weak and clammy in my arms, and without a second thought, I scooped her up and carried her down the steps.

“It’s alright, Liv,” I murmured as I held her in one arm and grabbed the car keys with the other, not even bothering to put shoes on before I ran outside.

She groaned and mumbled incoherently as I sat her down in the passenger seat. With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I quickly grabbed a plastic bag out of the glove compartment and shoved it in her hands.

“Use this if you need to throw up,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

I was still shirtless and in my boxers with no shoes on, so I sprinted back inside and hurriedly got dressed. Not even two or three minutes later, I was running back out to the car.

The drive to the hospital was a blur, my mind racing with fear and uncertainty. Running entirely on instinct, I held her hand tightly, offering what little comfort I could amidst the chaos that consumed us.

“It’ll be alright, Liv,” I murmured as I sped around the winding roads, which didn’t seem to help with Olivia’s nausea any. I winced as she vomited again, but thankfully she managed to keep it all contained in the bag.

However, I had to roll down the window and stick my head out as I drove so as not to vomit from the smell alone.

Upon arrival, I jumped out of the car and ran around to Olivia’s side, where I hastily scooped her up and ran inside.

When I burst into the quiet emergency room, the nurse’s eyes at the front desk widened.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, rushing around the counter and grabbing a wheelchair.

“I-I don’t know,” I replied as I gently set Olivia, who was hardly conscious by now and seemed to be delirious, into the wheelchair. “She’s been throwing up and said that her stomach is in a lot of pain. She’s pregnant.”

The nurse, without another word, rushed Olivia away.

I paced the waiting room, my fingers tangled in my hair as I desperately awaited any news.

The minutes felt like hours, and the anxiety gnawed at my core. I knew that this baby didn’t belong to me, but it was still terrifying. And even more terrifying than that was knowing that my childhood best friend was extremely sick.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the doctor emerged from the doors. His tired eyes locked on mine.

“Mr. Ford?” he called out, and I practically lunged towards him.

“How is she? Is she going to be alright?” I fired off questions, my voice laced with desperation.

The doctor's gaze softened. “She’s stable now. It looks as though she may have just gotten some food poisoning. Is there anything you can think of that may have caused it? It would have been something that she ate within the last 24 hours.”

I furrowed my brow. “No, she’s been having a lot of morning sickness and hasn’t been able to eat…” But then, my eyes widened as I remembered Jenifer’s soup. “She ate some soup earlier today.”

The doctor nodded understandingly. “Well, that’s probably what caused it. She’s alright now, though. She'll need to stay overnight for observation, but she's going to be okay.”

Relief washed over me, but I was still worried about the baby. I couldn't help but ask, my voice barely above a whisper, “And the baby? Is the baby okay?”

The doctor shot me a reassuring smile. “Your mate seems quite tough. The baby appears to be perfectly fine as well. We just want to keep her here overnight for precautionary measures, as things like this could trigger a miscarriage.”

My eyes widened at the threat of a miscarriage, but the doctor seemed hopeful as he led me to Olivia’s room.

“It’s a good thing you brought her here so quickly,” he said. “We should be able to prevent a miscarriage now that she’s got fluids and medicine. All she needs now is rest, and to be kept under supervision.”

The doctor’s reassuring words filled me with a sense of hope.

“Here she is,” he said, gesturing to the doorway. “Let the nurses know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, doctor,” I muttered, my throat hoarse from all of my worry.

As I entered, I found Olivia lying in bed, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. She was still pale, but her eyes looked less sunken and she looked up at me with a weak smile. At the very least, she was lucid, unlike before.

I approached her, my voice gentle and concerned. “How are you feeling, Liv? Are you in pain?”

She managed a weak smile and shook her head. “I'm tired, but I'll be alright.”

I let out a small sigh of relief as I sat down in the chair next to the bed. “Good,” I murmured, passing my hand over my exhausted face. “The doctor said that—”

“I know,” she interrupted, her voice meek. “A threat of a miscarriage.”

“But you’ll be alright,” I reassured her. Without thinking, I reached out and took her small hand in mine and gave it a squeeze, running my thumb over the back of her hand. “The baby will be alright, too. You just need some rest, and I’ll be here if you need anything.”

Olivia let out a small laugh. “You don't have to stay, Nathan,” she said quietly. “I'll be fine on my own.”

I shook my head vehemently. “You’re not getting rid of me,” I insisted. “No matter how hard you try. You’ve spent the last ten years alone, without me, and now I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

Olivia’s eyes widened slightly. I was even taken aback by my own candidness. It seemed as though my exhaustion was lowering my inhibitions, making me say the things that had been on my mind for a while now.

“Thanks, Nathan,” Olivia murmured.

All I could do was offer her a weak smile, and hold her hand tightly without letting go.

As the night wore on, exhaustion washed over me, and I eventually found myself succumbing to sleep.

Eventually, I felt my head lolling onto my chest. In my half-asleep state, I leaned forward and rested my head on Olivia’s hospital bed without even thinking about it.

With my head resting on Olivia's hospital bed, I drifted off, my worries momentarily eased. Just before I surrendered to slumber, I thought I felt the gentle touch of Olivia's hand running through my hair, soothing my weary mind.