Delayed Penalty (Empire State Hockey #5)

Chapter 29 – Harris

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Harris

I t’s been two days since we were here for Avery to get her second dose of steroids, but at least this time we are walking into the hospital for something exciting.

Trevor called me first thing this morning and told me Ellie was in labor, or at least that they thought she was. Sure enough, two hours later he texted me they were heading to the hospital and already getting ready to deliver the baby. It happened quick, apparently within minutes of them getting to the hospital. After they were able to get settled, they sent out group chat a message that we could come visit if we wanted.

Obviously, Avery and I are excited, so we immediately headed out. We stopped and picked up a cute little gift for the family, the new baby, and, of course for Addy, so now we are finally at the hospital heading up from the parking garage to go see them.

“I’m pretty sure at this point, you might have to carry me out. Either that or the hospital just became my new home,” Avery groans in the elevator.

I can tell she’s getting more and more uncomfortable by the day, attempting to take as much body weight off of her feet, but also her belly. Her hands are at the bottom of her belly, her head resting on my arm as she leans on me.

She’s miserable, and I hate it.

I wish I could take it for her, I wish I could do the hard work, be the one dealing with being uncomfortable, but unfortunately, I was born with the wrong parts for that job. Scooting her forward a bit, I step behind her, wrapping my arms around her using my hands to hold her belly, lifting it up gently, just enough so that she’s no longer carrying the entire weight herself.

Her small sigh of relief is all I need as I just hold her, her head falling back to rest on my shoulder, working in our advantage in the situation.

We get off the elevator and stop in at the front desk where they point us in the right direction to Trevor and Ellie, and when we get there most of her friends have already arrived and are just getting ready to head into the room to meet the new little addition.

“Hey,” I say as we walk up, everyone hugging and saying their hellos.

Trevor comes out to bring us all in, and it’s so adorable watching him dote over Ellie and their new little one. Thankfully, Trevor’s parents were able to keep Addy while they were here at the hospital, they’ve already been down here to see the baby.

“What’s her name?” Rex asks, his eyes on the little bundle in Ellie’s arms.

“Lucy. Lucy Elizabeth Adams,” Trevor says, a proud smile on his face, and I can’t help but smile.

I’m so proud of him and can’t believe I’m getting to watch him turn into this amazing family man, a stepfather to Addy, and now watching him and Ellie bring their own little bundle of joy into the world. I’m just so happy for them.

Everyone smiles around the little one, checking in on Ellie and asking questions, all of which she happily answers. I look down at Avery who’s watching them with a smile, our eyes finding each other's as I lean forward a press a quick kiss to her lips, wrapping my arm around her and just enjoying our family as it continues to get a little bigger.

It all happens so quick. One moment Avery is sitting in the chair next to me, smiling over at Ellie and Lucy, the next she’s mentioning a headache and how she’s not feeling well. Gwen immediately calls for support from other nurses, letting them know about Avery’s blood pressure problems while sitting next to Avery and checking her blood pressure.

I remember them mentioning how a headache could be a sign that she was going to need to deliver soon and that was the whole reason for the steroid shots. I guess I just figured since we were being so proactive and on top of her medication, trying to eliminate any stressors that we we’d be in the clear. I don’t know. I just felt like we were going to slip closer toward our due date, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“Have you taken your blood pressure medicine today?” Gwen asks as she looks down, concern evident on her face as she bites her lip.

It’s making me more nervous as I rack my brain on if she took her medication.

“Yeah. Harris always brings me toast in the morning with the pills and I took it then, along with the baby aspirin they had me start to take after my last appointment,” Avery says, her voice quieter than usual.

“Well, that’s concerning because your blood pressure should not be this high if you’ve taken medication this morning. Have you been checking it at home?”

“Yeah, we bought a cuff and have checked it a couple times during the day, it’s been fine,” I say, letting Avery rest her head on my shoulder again.

“Okay, well, it’s not anymore, and my guess is you’re not going to be walking out of this hospital pregnant. Instead, you’re going to have a newborn, but let’s wait for the doctors. I’m going to go check in at the nurses’ station to see if they’ve gotten you a room ready yet.”

With that, Gwen’s gone, leaving all of us confused and waiting while Avery just looks absolutely miserable.

“Are you doing okay, Ave?” I whisper, pressing soft kisses so her hair.

“No, my head. It hurts so bad,” she says in a whimper that nearly does me in.

I look over at my friends, the concern evident in their faces, and I can’t lie, I’m scared. Terrified. Especially as Rex and Sawyer sit their looking at us, concern on their face, the nurses checking in with Ellie, but everyone keeps looking back over at Avery like we’re all afraid she’s a ticking time bomb.

“Okay, Sawyer, can you shoot my mom a text and let her know she should come down here. Ave, I’m going to go call Kelly, and then I’m going to let your mom and dad know what’s going on. This is your health and at this point I think we might be staying at the hospital for a little while so they should know what’s going on.”

I thought Avery would fight me on this, her desire to talk to her parents has been zero lately, but she must understand the severity of the situation because she just nods. As I stand up, both Cassie and Max come to sit on either side of Avery, with Cassie holding her hands and Max just letting her rest her head on his shoulder and I nearly lose it.

I’m not sure what it is, but I’m immediately hit with a paralyzing fear of not knowing what to do. The desire to fall to the ground in fetal position and wait for my mom to get here to tell me what to do is so overwhelming I almost fall into it. Until I look back at Avery, so helpless in her misery, that I’m reminded that I need to be strong.

Strong for myself.

Strong for my wife.

Strong for our baby.

Putting one foot in front of the other, I leave the room with Sawyer, who’s been standing at the door waiting for me, concern etched in her eyes as the paralyzing fear must be broadcasted in my eyes. With her hand outstretched, I grab it, both of us with our phones in the other hand as we head out to the waiting room. I see Gwen come in with another nurse, pushing a wheelchair that I can only assume means they’ve got a room set up for us.

Pulling out my phone, I call Kelly who immediately put her kids in the car and heads this way, then dial her father's number that I unfortunately have. Well, not unfortunately, because I’m thankful to have it in this moment, I just truthfully hope they know that this is a situation to not fuck with.

“Hello?” her father's voice comes through the phone, and I can only assume based on his attitude that he knows who I am.

“Hi, Mr. Walston, it’s Harris,” I say tentatively.

“I know who this is, what do you want?” he asks gruffly, and I can hear his wife’s snippy tone in the background tell him he should have just ignored it.

“It’s about your daughter, sir. We’re at the hospital and she’s, well, she’s struggling. Her health is not the best; she’s having blood pressure problems so they’re going to be delivering the baby soon.”

I hear commotion in the back and then the sound of a door shutting, and I can only assume that he’s moving into another room.

“Isn’t this too early?” he asks, concern laced in his voice.

“I mean, she’s almost thirty-six weeks… so, yeah, it’s early. But they’ve given her medication this last week to help make sure the baby will be okay, we’re over at NY General, if you guys want to come.”

“We will be there, I’ll go let her mom know and then we will be on the way.”

With that he hangs up, and I let out a deep sigh, the stress of that phone conversation enough to make me want to hide.

“Are they coming?” Sawyer asks.

“Yeah, and so is Kelly.”

“Good, it sounds like you guys might need the support. Should we go figure out where they’re going to get you guys set up?” Sawyer says, thankfully reminding me that I have a job.

“Yeah, sorry, I’m out of it. I’m just worried,” I tell her as we start to walk back to the nurses’ station.

“You have every right to be, but thankfully, you’re already at the hospital and they’re taking this seriously,” she says with a smile. “Besides, we won’t leave until we know you guys are okay. Your baby will be fine, he’s strong like his parents and it’s not drastically early.”

“See, logically, I know that. I can tell myself that until I’m blue in the face. But never having gone through it, it feels like I’m lost at sea trying to find a life vest in the dark. It feels impossible but only because I’ve never had to this before.”

“That’s the shitty part of life, but we’re all going to get through this together, and at the end of it you’re going to get to take your sweet little family home and start the life you’ve always dreamed of. No more trying to act like a player when it was obvious you had no desire to spend time with those women. Now that we’ve seen you with Avery, it makes perfect sense to all of us why, she’s your person and you were just floating through life until you found her.”

Avery is my life vest. I may feel like I’m drowning at sea, lost in the darkness just reaching for something that doesn’t exist. But it does exist.

It’s her.

Putting a little more pep in my step, I head out in search of my girl.

The next hour goes by in a flash. They get us set up in a room, hook Avery up to a million different monitors for either her or our baby, all trying to make sure that everyone’s still handling the situation okay, and for the time being, they are. They have also started her on another blood pressure medication to see if that will help keep her blood pressure down.

They were going to take her back immediately after Gwen took her blood pressure since it was 180/90, but all of the doctors were dealing with either deliveries or in surgery. They were hoping they would be able to induce her when it was time, but unfortunately, they said her body hadn’t started the process of labor at all on its own and it’s not ideal for induction.

As much as Avery isn’t thrilled about having a C-section, she understands the severity of the situation and agreed. Now, we are just waiting for a doctor to be available, and in the time being they have started her on an IV medication to help prevent worse complications from her blood pressure.

According to the doctor, her gestational hypertension is a precursor to the real challenge here, which is pre-eclampsia. Now that it’s started, which they were able to confirm with other tests, we are definitely going to be delivery in the next day or two, probably later tonight based on what the nurses were saying.

Sawyer and Cassie have come in a couple of times to check on us, but Avery has been trying to rest the last hour, her headache a little better, so we’ve all been trying to be quiet. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same mentality around situations like this because her parents come barreling into the room, voices raised as they dramatically say hello to their daughter.

That would’ve been bad enough, especially with her mother turning on the light and throwing open the curtains trying to “liven up the room a bit”… but they also brought guests.

Peter and his parents walk in right behind them, and I feel the blood drain from my face. I’m immediately furious and have to fight the urge to yell knowing it would only upset Avery.

“Hello, Mrs. Walston, could you please shut those and turn off the lights, your daughter is currently miserable and the light is making it worse.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Harris. I know what’s best for my daughter, and I don’t need you telling me what that is,” she snaps, moving to stand next to Peter. “We brought the rest of Avery’s family to come check on her. Peter was distraught when I told him what was going on and his parents wanted to come visit too.”

“Unfortunately, Mrs. Walston, that was an entirely inappropriate decision that was not yours to make. We are only supposed to have immediately family in here right now. As for the curtains and the lights, shut them now,” I seethe, doing my best to keep my voice calms, my hand reaching for Avery’s as she lays in the bed looking fragile.

Avery’s mom doesn’t move, but thankfully, her husband understands and moves to fix the lights and curtains, no one else giving a shit that I’ve basically told them to leave. They are either all self-centered pricks, or they think they are above this situation. Either way, they’re leaving whether I have to do it myself or get security.

Everyone just stands there, until finally Peter takes a step closer to Avery, and I see her flinch—a small move barely noticeable—but I lock on to it immediately.

“Avery, I know you feel trapped because of the baby, but you can come home,” he says, a soft quiet voice filled with pure lies.

How dare this motherfucker come in here and act like this. How dare her parents think this is acceptable to do when I called to let them know their daughter is sick and in the hospital. Avery’s grip on my hands tighten with even word he says, and when he takes another step closer, I notice the monitor hooked up to her start to go off.

Her blood pressure is rising.

Fuck this.

“Come home with him, Avery,” her mom says, no attempt at sounding nice. No, it sounds like a demand.

“Fuck no,” Avery says, her hand gripping tighter in my own. “I think it’s time you all know why I really left Peter, which after everything, I know now is only the icing on the cake,” she says, and Peter looks uncomfortable, almost scared.

You fucking should be, but not of her.

“Peter was controlling and I dealt with it fine when it was verbally, but the day he left a mark on my arm when I tried to leave, I knew I was done. After he cheated on me, then blamed me, I left and that’s when I got pregnant. I will never be with a man who thinks it’s acceptable to put their hands on me, and I will never bring a child into the world with a man like that.”

My brain is working to process the words she just said.

He fucking touched her.

I look up, seeing her father's face first which looks nearly as angry as the way I’m feeling right now, her mother and his parents all looking shocked while they stare at Peter. He stands there looking dumbfounded, before shaking his finger toward Avery.

“How dare you, you ungrateful brat,” he says, and I see red.

“Get. The. Fuck. Out.” I say, letting go of Avery’s hand when I see Gwen walk into the room, moving toward Peter who starts to back up.

Grabbing him by the collar, I pull him toward the door, the rest of them following us out into the hallway.

“Get the fuck off of me,” Peter growls, moving to stand next to his family, but even they look disgusted, which I’m surprised his dad is acting this way when he’s the one who started this nonsense.

“Shut the fuck up and listen to me. Both of you,” I say, pointing to his dad who swallows roughly. “We know all about your little fucking games, how you lied to both of us to break us up. Now, I don’t really fucking care why you needed Avery and Peter together, especially when Peter obviously didn’t give a shit about Avery, the only thing I care about is that I have her now.”

“What are you talking about, son?” his dad says. “Why would I ever do that, especially for as long as I’ve known you.”

“Stop with the lies, I’ve already texted Coach and told him everything. He’s onto your bullshit so don’t try and fuck with any of our careers again.”

He shuts his mouth so quickly, his eyes immediately falling to the ground like a child in trouble.

“Now, because you’re her parents, I’m hesitant to ask you to leave. But just know, if you choose to stay, you’re listening to her, the doctors, and anyone else for that matter because the only thing that matters right now is her and the baby. Do you fucking understand?” I say the last sentence specifically to her mother who looks shocked by my tone but I’m not fucking around.

Gwen comes out and stands by me.

“He’s not wrong. You will be escorted out by security if you pull any of this shit again. Besides, at this point she will be delivering in the next thirty minutes so it’s crunch time. Your only job right now is to support your daughter and her husband as they deal with this stressful experience.”

They nod, and I see Peter’s mom lead them both off, her tone already clipped as she tells them how disappointed she is by both of them. That’s a conversation for a different day, though. Right now, my concern is Avery and the baby.

“Are you two staying?” I ask cautiously.

“Yes,” they respond at the same time, and I just nod and follow Gwen back into Avery’s room, where apparently, it’s time to get ready.