Chapter 25: Ria's birth!(Flashback)

Flashback.

Laura's POV:

The sterile hums and buzzing of fluorescent lights swarm overhead like distant bees.

I gripped the edges of the hospital bed. Tightly, more tightly than I intended.

My knuckles were white against the crisp white sheets.

Brian was pacing back and forth. Occasionally dipping his hands into his pockets and pulling them out again.

Beads of sweat were pouring from my head profusely. I was sweating and shaking. My hair stuck to my skull in thick sweaty patches.

The smell of antiseptic and latex filled the entire hospital ward— it made my aching stomach churn. Fear was gripping my insides, clawing through my womb or was it the baby?

I held the bedsheets tightly, clutching it like my life depended on it.

Gwen reached for my hands and squeezed it softly, her green eyes held a warm smile in them that ignited mine which had been wild and glassy with fright.

I smiled weakly.

The labor had started at dawn, a sharp pain that woke me from a fitful sleep on Gwen's couch. Brian had rushed over immediately and driven us to the hospital in his beat-up Honda, blasting pop music to distract me from the growing agony.

Now, hours later, the sun was dipping low outside the window, painting the room in golden hues that clashed with the clinical white.

“It's going to be fine, Laura.” Gwen whispered. “You're going to be fine, trust me.”

And I trusted her. If Gwen said it was going to be fine, it was going to be really fine.

I drew in a sharp breath, to fill my empty lungs. That were already tired of the daily laborious task of pushing out air and drawing in more.

The monitors beeped rhythmically, tracking the baby's heartbeat—a steady thump that reminded me why I was here.

This nightmare and miracle had begun nine months back with that awful house party.

I shut my eyes firmly, trying to push out the traces of that horrible memory which were trying to creep in now.

Not now!

I wouldn't think about that monster when I was about to have my baby. Not now!

“Ahhh!” My eyes sprung open as a sharp pain hit my insides, ripping through me like a tidal wave.

Gwen squeezed my hand more tightly, rubbing her sweaty palm against mine, which were covered in the same slick sweat.

“Laur. Breathe.”

I inhaled. More antiseptic filled my nostrils.

“In through your nose, out through your mouth.” She coached, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.

I did as she said, inflating my lungs and deflating it. The hospital was buzzing with nurses scurrying in and out, wheeling trolleys, handling out drugs.

It was a far cry from Gwen's cozy bedroom, where I had been staying over since the last nine months. Since I dropped out.

She didn't give up on me.

Even when I wanted to keep the baby, she agreed and supported me. Supported us.

My eyes were brimming with tears as it rose to meet hers. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail and freckles that danced across her nose.

We had been best friends since Elementary school, wearing mismatched socks and playing about in each other's home.

Tears streaked down my chin.

“You're doing amazing. Remember that dear.” Her palm caressed mine. I loosened my grip on the bed corners.

“It's just like that night we snuck out to the lake and you jumped off the cliff first.” She paused.

The memory poured in, as she spoke.

“This is just like that— scary as hell, but you've got this. We've got this.”

I nodded weakly and tried to smile, which turned out stiff as a groan escaped my lips again as another contraction hit me straight up.

“Yeah. Yeah..” I panted. “Except there's no cliff now— Just a human. I need to push out of my belly.”

“That's the spirit, girl.” She chuckled. A far cry from her usual lively and hollow kind I was used to.

I could see the nervousness in her eyes. Her voice. I could see it in the way she looked at me and Brian's pacing wasn't helping matters.

I swallowed. I've got this!

The door swung open, and a middle-aged woman with a lab coat and a half moon glass perched on her nose stepped in. Two nurses trailed behind, gloved and masked.

She trotted to my bedside and positioned herself at the end of the bed. "Alright, Dear, you're fully dilated. It's time to push."

Her tone was polite and professional like the no-nonsense bun that sat on her head but in a way it was kind.

I nodded, breathing raggedly. Two sharp intakes.

It was time!

It was now!

The room suddenly felt smaller and cramped up the air thicker.

I swallowed, almost choking up. The tension building inside me.

All eyes had turned to the doctor, focused and nervous and…my thighs were twitching.

God!

"On the next contraction, push with everything you've got," The Doctor instructed, pulling her gloves on.

I gave a stiff nod. “Alright.”

Gwen and Brian flanked both ends of my bedside. Each of them grabbing my small hands in theirs. Like anchors in the storm.

I smiled at them.

The doctor wanted me to push with everything I've got.

And the two people my hands right now. Were the only two people I had in the whole world.

The weight of this crashed on me as the next contraction built up. a jolt of pain spread rapidly through my sore limbs and my abdomen tightened.

"Push!" The doctor took charge.

I heaved my hips up, tightening my muscles. My face contorting and drained of color.

I bit my lower lip to numb the intense pain surging through me.

But I couldn't hold it back. A guttural scream escaped my mouth, bouncing off the walls.

“I can't... it's too much!" I sobbed.

"Yes, you can!" Gwen urged, her voice fierce. "You're the strongest person I know. Push for me, for Brian, for the baby!"

I shook my head, tears streaming out of my eyes. “No. No..”

Brian squeezed my hand tighter. His palm was rough and bruised. "Come on, Laura. One more. You've got this."

I shot my eyes tightly and pushed again, my body trembling. Sweat poured down my back, soaking the gown. The pain was blinding, a fire that consumed me from the inside out.

I gasped for breath, the minutes blurred into what felt like hours—I pushed harder, fought to fill my lungs up. Fought to move my bruised and tensed muscles to push and repeat.

The baby's head crowned.

The Doctor nodded approvingly, smiling. "Good, good. One more big one."

What?

I felt overwhelmed. My limbs were tired with exhaustion. I dropped into the pillow that now had a sweaty patch.

My breathing slowed.

The voices around me were fading into a distant hum.

My life was reeling past.

How was I going to raise this child without parents?

Without money?

And without a father?

My entire body shook with tremor. The thought terrified me. But it also fueled me.

I clenched my fist, my nails digging into the palms and sweats of the only family and friend I had and I roared.

A final, primal roar.

I pushed, feeling the release as the baby slipped into the world.

A sharp cry pierced the entire ward, tearing at the silence.

"It's a girl!" The Doctor had reached for her tiny figure and wrapped her up in a blanket.

“You did it!” Gwen cried.

I nodded weakly and slumped back into the bed.

We did It...