"Her or me?" A tear rolled down Michelle's puffy cheek, "You have to make a decision."
For Michelle, life has always been about control- control in the studio, in her friendships, and even in the secrets she hides. But with an unexpected pregnancy...
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I push open the door forcefully when I reach Michelle and Emily's house. I stepped off my flight around an hour ago, and I immediately called a cab to get here.
Throughout the ride home, I kept thinking about what was happening back in Las Vegas at Internationals. I haven't heard any news yet, but I haven't really had time to talk to anyone that's still there.
When I open the door, I notice that the house is eerily quiet.
"Michelle?" I try to locate her but I don't get a response.
I then raise my voice. "Michelle?!"
I stand in the doorway of their living room and I finally spot Michelle. She's stood near the kitchen counter at the back of the room, her phone in her hand as she scrolls through it.
She lifts her head and notices me. "Richelle? What are you doing here?"
"You- you told me to come here," I remind her. "You said that the baby was coming..."
"Oh, right. Yeah, I did." She says, giggling slightly. "Sorry, my mind is a bit all over the place at the moment."
"So... is it coming?" The look on my face shows concern.
She exhales dramatically before saying, "Uhm... yeah, I think. Well, actually, I know."
"How do you know?"
She reveals casually, "Well, my waters broke yesterday morning, and I've been having pretty bad contractions ever since. I'd say for the past twenty-four hours now..."
I finally step inside the room and make my way over to her. "Twenty-four hours?! Michelle, shouldn't you be in the hospital right now?! You- you're gonna have a baby; you need medical care."
She looks at me like I'm stupid for suggesting that she go to a hospital. "Yeah, well, I would go to a hospital if I could." She then reminds me of everything that she told me. "I already told you– Jones's father is trying to take the baby away, and if I'm lying in the nearest hospital bed, nothing is stopping him from walking in there and snatching the baby. It's not like I can stop him."
"Michelle... you need to go to a hospital."
"I know that! But it's not as easy as you think."
"Michelle... I don't understand any of this," I admit.
Michelle then groans, and I watch as she grips the sides of the kitchen counter, a grimace on her face. It makes me nervous to see her in pain like this, but she's not willing to help herself.
"Are you okay?" I ask her as she breathes heavily.
"Uh-huh," Is the only thing she says as she tries to hide just how much it hurts.
I then say, "Look, I'm not trying to force you to do something you're not comfortable with, but it's in the baby's best interest if you get to a hospital. Or at least just have someone check you out and make sure everything is okay! You- you could probably have a home birth. I'm sure a lot of people do that these days."
