“We all are, but we’ll be there for them. Always.” Aria took Eli’s hand and took a deep breath. They could do this together, as a team, as a family.
An hour passed before Branson came out, looking a little tired.
“What is it?” Eli asked.
“She’s, erm, the baby is showing signs of distress. They’re monitoring her, and keeping her in overnight.”
“What does that mean?” Aria asked.
“They may have to induce labor.”
“Five weeks early?” Rachel asked.
“It’s better than me losing them both. Mary’s tired, she’s exhausted. I had no idea that she had been stressing out.” Branson stopped. “I’ve got to call her parents. It’s the only thing I can do.”
Sitting down in the waiting room, Aria released a breath, hoping and praying that her friend was okay.
“How are you today?” Eli asked, whispering the words against her ear.
“I’m fine, why?” She frowned.
“No soreness? No regrets?”
She glanced over at Rachel and Chris to see if they could hear. She shook her head. “No to everything. I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I loved this weekend.”
“Good, I did as well.”
With their hands locked together, they sat in the hospital waiting room as the time passed. Branson came back in, and waved at them as he headed back toward Mary.
Aria didn’t stop praying inside her head. She knew some women could still die because of the shock of labor, or other complications.
“What if something happens to her?” Rachel asked.
“Don’t think it,” Aria said. “We can’t. She’s in the hospital, and that is the best place for her.”
Three hours later, by C-section, Mary’s baby girl, Elizabeth was born. If Branson hadn’t gotten Mary to a hospital when he did, she wouldn’t have made it.
****
Eli was grabbing the last of his kit out of the boys’ locker room when someone cleared their voice. He turned to find Wayne, waiting.
“If you’ve come to start a fight, you can forget it. I have no interest in fighting you, or in dealing with whatever crap you want me to deal with.” School was over, graduation was done, and Aria was waiting for him by his car along with his friends.
“I don’t want to fight,” Wayne said. “We both know I couldn’t win anyway. Besides, what would be the point in fighting? School is almost over, and the contract is null and void. Not that Harvey Dean had much of a business left.”
Slamming his lock closed, Eli placed his bag on his shoulder, and stared at the jock. “So, this was all about being forced to marry some girl you didn’t like?”
Wayne looked around the locker room. “You’re popular without even trying. Man, I just wanted what I was promised. Didn’t give a shit about Aria.”
“Because of that fucked up contract?”
“Business is business. Making money is what my family is all about.” He blew out a breath. “For more money, more power, I’d do whatever it took, even marry a girl I didn’t find attractive. Besides, I should have known it would never work. She wouldn’t even look twice at me. It was always you, and your friends.” Wayne held his hand out. “I don’t want to leave high school with bad shit. I like this town, and I intend to stay in this town. Friends, or at least, not enemies.”
Eli stared at the offered hand, wondering what the catch was, so he asked.
“No catch. I guess all of us have to grow up some time. It just took my dad nearly losing everything for me to see how fragile shit is.”
He took Wayne’s hand, giving it a shake. “You’ll never have Aria.”