I Married a Stranger to Ruin Them novel · Chapter 8 of 32
Chapter 8: The Heartbeat
The emergency room was nearly empty at half past three in the morning.
A nurse took one look at me in the blanket and put me in a wheelchair.
Matt walked beside it with his hand on the armrest.
They put me in a curtained bay with a paper gown and a heated blanket that smelled like a dryer.
The obstetrician on call came down in sneakers, with her hair in a clip and a coffee in her hand.
She asked how far along.
"Ten weeks," Matt said, before I could.
She asked about the cramping, the bleeding, the time it started.
Matt answered half of it.
He'd been counting that too.
The ultrasound machine was rolled in on squeaky wheels.
The gel was cold.
I stared at the ceiling tiles and counted the holes in one of them and did not breathe.
The room filled with a sound.
"There," the doctor said. "There's your heartbeat. Hundred and sixty-two. That's a strong one."
I turned my head.
On the screen was a gray blur with a flicker in the middle.
The flicker went on and on.
I started crying so hard I couldn't see it anymore.
Matt's hand had been on mine the whole time.
He didn't let go when I cried.
He didn't say anything soft, or tell me it was fine, or pat me.
He just held on, steady as a pipe in the furnace, like holding my hand was his job and he meant to do it right.
"There's a small bleed next to the sac," the doctor said. "It's common and it usually resolves. Rest for a week. No lifting. Come back if it gets heavier."
"No lifting," Matt repeated.
"And somebody else carries the groceries."
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