No One But You

Richard caught up to me just as I made it to the bedroom door. The worry on his face making me feel even worse for holding on to my anger.

“Where is she? Is she okay?”

I opened the door and stood to the side to let him in. There was something I never thought I’d be doing.

“Quincy’s seeing to her in the bathroom.” I followed him through the bedroom as he walked towards the sound of her voice.

He stopped just inside the doorway. His eyes set on Jenna as he spoke to Quincy. “What’s going on, Quincy?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.” Jenna replied quickly as Quincy looked between her and Richard and then at me.

Awkward.

The four of us in the same room.

My bathroom.

Awk—ward.

Quincy stood from the edge of the bath where my glass was still filled with a cloudy piss and crouched next to Jenna. Richard moved closer but still didn’t even try to make physical contact with the woman who was set to be his wife. I could feel my blood boil. I knew how Jenna worked. She brushed things off until it was too late. I could tell from the way her eyes were darting between the three of us that she was scared. She knew it wasn’t nothing. I almost wanted to push him closer to her hoping that he’d take the hint.

“Jenna, you know it’s not nothing.” I put the glass and the plastic bottle down on the granite vanity and crouched next to Quincy so she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by having us stand over her. “And I know you know because you look terrified.”

“Can someone just tell me what’s going on?” Richard stepped closer to where Quincy and I were crouched even as he spoke to Jenna. “You said it was morning sickness.” His fists bunched beside him as his entire frame tensed.

Quincy twisted to look up at him. “I could be wrong. It’s not like I have much to work with here, but…”

“But?”

She took a long deep breath before she continued, “But from what I’ve seen and what Jenna’s told me I think…” She did that nervous hand fidgeting thing she did when she was feeling anxious. “I believe Jenna has Pre-Eclampsia.”

Her eyes darted over to Jenna who was trying to stand up.

“No, I don’t. I’m fine. The midwife said everything was fine.” Her eyes glassed over with tears as she spoke directly to Quincy.

And then there was silence as Richard crouched down, his hand on the cold tiled floor for support. His face stoical. I felt for him.

In that moment all the bad stuff went out of the window. The veins in the whites of his blue eyes reddened and flared.

Quincy pushed herself up with her hand on my thigh. Before she took Jenna’s hand.

“You’re wrong.” Jenna repeated at her in a sobbed whisper.

“I could be, but I don’t think I am. Your blood pressure was well over the normal threshold, you have swelling on your ankles and feet and I know for a fact that your ring wasn’t that tight on your finger less than an hour ago. That alone tells me that the likelihood of me being wrong is very unlikely.”

Her head was shaking frantically as she swiped at the petrified tears falling down her cheeks. Quincy walked her past Richard and I into the bedroom as Jenna carried on freaking out. “What about the baby? I…”

Richard was still frozen on the spot as I stood. It was one of those moments where I knew exactly what I needed to do, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. He used to be my mate, and if we were still friends I knew what I’d do.

I’d pick him up, dust him off and give him the swift kick up the arse he needed to snap out of his stupor.

“Get up, Richard.” He didn’t budge, not even a blink. “I said get the fuck up and get your act together.” I pulled him up by the shoulder of his jumper. “I’m going to get the car and then I’m going to take you both to the hospital. But you need to fix up and take care of her. She’s scared shitless and you’re not helping.”

He looked at me in a daze. His eyes darting behind me as he opened and closed his mouth like he’d lost the ability to speak. His head shaking as he whispered, “I can’t do this…”

I could’ve killed him there and then. He had the same look in his eyes as he’d had after Theo. A part of me wanted to walk away and just leave him to his cowardice, but I couldn’t. I might’ve not been his friend. I might’ve not liked him at all at that point, but I also knew that he wasn’t thinking straight. And that was enough to spur me on. “You can and you are.”

“You don’t understand.” Maybe not entirely, but I still wasn’t going to allow him to let Jenna suffer alone.