“I got a letter from my dad,” she said.
“Oh, Ella. What did he say?”
She shrugged, embarrassed to admit the truth. “I haven’t read it. I’ve been numb since it arrived. There were so many years when I wished he’d step up and be my father, and time after time, he disappointed me. I don’t want to be hurt by him again.”
Avery reached for her hand. “But you’re hurting now, aren’t you? Just thinking about the letter, you’re hurting. So why not rip off the Band-Aid and see what’s underneath?”
Ella exhaled a slow breath. “I’m scared.”
“I know you are. And if you want me there when you read it, I will be. If you’d rather be alone, that’s okay too.”
“Thank you,” she said over the lump in her throat. She knew she’d have to deal with the letter sooner rather than later. Just not right now.
They caught up about Avery’s job, Grey’s recording session, and other typical girl things. It was great to spend time with her best friend again. They were laughing over a joke Avery had read on Facebook when they were interrupted by the distinctive ring of Avery’s cell phone.
Seconds later, Tyler’s cell rang across the house. A concerned look crossed Avery’s face, and she checked her phone. “It’s my mom.”
She answered her phone. “Mom, what’s up?”
As she listened, the color drained from her face, and Ella rose, grabbing on to her for support. “I’m with Tyler and Ella. We’ll all be right there.”
She dropped the phone, and Ella disconnected the call for her. “What’s wrong?”
“Olivia went into premature labor and something’s wrong. We have to go now,” she said at the same moment Tyler entered the room, his color as white as Avery’s.
Ella rose, taking control. “Tyler, go put clean clothes on. We’ll all go to the hospital together.” She needed to be strong for them, even if she was as panicked and as frightened as they were.
* * *
Tyler paced the same waiting room the family had shared while waiting for Scott and Meg’s baby to be born. Unlike that happy occasion, today everyone was silent, trying not to panic. Only Meg and Scott were home with their newborn, sitting by the phone, waiting for a call.
Tyler didn’t know much, just that Olivia had developed sudden and severe pain along with extremely heavy bleeding. Dylan had rushed her to the hospital, called Emma, and here they all were. They took turns pacing, sitting, worrying.
And all the while, Ella never left his side, for which he was grateful. She’d been a rock for both him and Avery, from the minute their phones had rung.
“With this many people praying for her and the baby, everything has to be okay,” he muttered when the silence surrounding him became too much.
Ella squeezed his hand. “I hope so.”
Another hour had passed when Avery jumped up from her seat. “I have to go ask a nurse what’s going on,” she said, her voice shaking. “I can’t just sit here and wait.” She headed for the door, Grey right behind her.
“Can’t say I blame her,” Tyler muttered. He liked to think of himself
as a man of action. Doing nothing while his sister was going through who knew what didn’t sit right with him.
He rose to his feet just as Avery returned. “I found a nurse who promised to get someone to give us news soon.”
Soon turned out to be another thirty minutes, and Tyler counted every single one of them.
Finally, Dylan strode in, looking exhausted and wiped out. “Everything’s okay,” he said before anyone could jump on him with questions. “At least for now.”
Emma walked over and pulled him in close. “How are you?” she asked.
“I’m holding up.”
“What’s going on?” Tyler asked.
Dylan ran a hand over his goatee. “Olivia was nauseous, so I had her lie down, then she started having what she thought were contractions, and then she began hemorrhaging. I rushed her here. They did a non-stress test and an ultrasound. The baby looks okay, but they’re not sure what’s going on.” He exhaled a tired breath. “The important thing now is to try and hold off labor. At the very least, they’d like to get her to thirty-seven weeks, and we’re at thirty-six. If the contractions continue, though, we’re having a baby tonight.”