False Start: A Football Romance Read Online Free Page B

are you feeling?”
    “Better. How’s my baby?” She asks, and I feel like an ass for not asking before now.
    “Everything on the monitor looks good, but we are going to get a quick ultrasound just to make sure. You had a little bleeding when you came in, and we need to make sure it’s nothing significant.”
    “Ok.” Her voice sounds so small and weak at the moment that I don’t care if she doesn’t love me or doesn’t want me. I can’t let her deal with this all alone. Walking to the edge of the bed, I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips, kissing each of her knuckles one by one before pressing my lips to the back of her hand.
    “It’s ok. I’m here for you.” She smiles up at me through eyes glistening with tears and nods her head. It’s a small nod, barely noticeable, but after spending almost every day for the last five years with her, I’m in tune with every one of her body’s movements.
    The doctor pulls her gown up to just below her tits and squirts some slimy liquid on her stomach, then he places some stick-like thing against her belly. I swear, it almost looks like a fucked up shaped dildo. Before I know it, there is a rustling sound on the screen across the bed, and a blurry shape comes into focus. I can almost make out a foot, or maybe it’s a hand. Hell, I don’t know for sure. I just know it’s a baby.
    My baby.
    “The baby looks good. Her heartrate is excellent. I’m going to get a few measurements, but I don’t think the fall hurt you or her. More than likely, it scared you more than anything else. However, you were spotting earlier. Now it could be nothing, but I want you to keep an eye on things, and if you notice any more, you should come back in immediately. We don’t want something to happen and leave you at risk of losing the baby, and if you’re not careful, even your life.”
    “What does she need to do?” I ask. I know it’s not my place to step in and ask these questions, but under no circumstances am I prepared to live in a world where she doesn’t exist. Even if she can't be mine.
    “I suggest taking it easy the next week. Light bed rest and vaginal rest. No penal penetration. It will be difficult, and I know, exhausting, but in the end, nothing is worth losing your life or that of your child’s.”
    “Okay,” Amelia answers, and I can tell she is in shock with what the doctor is telling her. She doesn’t know what to say or to do, and I hate to see her like this.
    Vulnerable.
    Lost.
    “Would you like a few pictures to take home? She’s in the perfect position for some great candid shots.”
    “Her? I’m having a girl?” she asks, and I swear, my heart clenches in a knot at the joy I see instantly replacing the fear and unease that were there only moments before.
    “Did you not know?”
    “No. This is the first ultrasound I’ve had. I had to change doctors when I moved to the city, and things got delayed.”
    “I’m so sorry. Yes. You are having a little girl.”
    He prints us out several black and white pictures of the little girl and then leaves the room to write up Amelia’s discharge paperwork. She climbs from the bed and starts getting dressed while silently brushing tears from her face. It kills me to see her hurting, and even more so because I don’t know why she is. I don’t know what to do or what to say, or if I even have a place to say anything anymore. She pushed me away.
    And I left.
    Fate is sometimes twisted, and all it takes is for you to open your eyes and pay attention. Sometimes, that second chance you’ve wished for drops in your lap, and all you have to do is snatch it up.
    I plan to do exactly that.
    Amelia may not love me, and she may not want me, but there is no way in hell she would ever keep me from being a part of my daughter’s life. I know that.
    “Brian, have a car pick me up at the hospital in twenty minutes.” Amelia’s head snaps toward me as I push my phone back into my pocket. I can see the anger light