Forever Yours (Book 4 of 4) (Justin Bieber Love Story) ✔️

Chapter 27: Stress Relief

SERRINA

~ 23 Weeks Pregnant ~

Braxton only knocked once before the front door flew open and Oliver was pulling him inside. They were both laughing as they ran upstairs to play. Krystal walked up to Ashley, who had been standing behind her son and was quickly asking to take care of Greyson.

"How're you feeling?" Ashley said after all our children had vanished. My head had been pounding since last night and my stomach had felt worse today than it had since I was pregnant with the twins. I gently shrugged and she laughed, "Don't worry, it'll pass."

Connor put his hand on my hip and kissed my temple, "She's been through pregnancy enough times to know it passes."

I gave him a gentle elbow to the stomach and he keeled over like it had been a punch. I rolled my eyes and sighed, "I need a vodka tonic. You got anything that could pass as a substitute for that?"

Ashley grabbed my arm, linked hers into it, and led me into the kitchen. I could hear laughter from the living room and it made me smile. I took a seat at the kitchen bar and Connor stood behind me, his hands placed relaxed on my hips and his chin on my shoulder.

Ashley placed an empty mug in front of me and the CLINK sound sent a pain through my head. I gently closed my eyes and took a deep breath, hoping the ringing in my ears would go away and my stomach would settle.

"Tea?" Her voice was suddenly louder and it made the base of my skull hurt. I felt my feet tingling.

I chuckled a little and nodded, "Yeah," I whispered and let my eyes drift shut, nodding slowly, "Anything with caffeine. I think I'm deprived. My head is killing me."

She nodded and brought a kettle over, pouring steaming water in and then plopping a teabag in behind it.

"Sugar?" Ashley held a small cup out to me and I took it from her, tipping it over my cup and watching as it slowly spilled into my cup. I eventually stopped and placed it down on the counter.

"Jesus, Serrina," Connor said behind me, "Want some tea with that sugar?"

I straightened out my back and felt my head pulsing, "Sorry." I closed my eyes again and sighed, "My head is killing me."

"I have Tylenol in the bathroom. I know its not the best for pregnant people but," Ashley shrugged and bit her lip.

I nodded and pushed myself out of the chair.

I don't know if I got up too fast or if it was because I hadn't eaten much today, but suddenly my vision went fuzzy, then black and I felt myself stumble and slam into something hard. Somebody screamed and I felt arms gripping onto me. My vision came back but I wasn't able to make sense of my surroundings before it went dark again, this time, I was lost in silence.

******

When I woke up I saw my kids first, the twins were crouched over the bed and Amelia was sleeping on the couch beside the bed. Behind them, Connor was sitting in a pop up chair with his face buried in his hands. I didn't see Ashley.

"Connor?" I whispered and is head shot up, our eye connecting and the stress that was all over his face vanished.

"Fuck you." He whispered and stood up. He stood at the end of the bed and grabbed my feet, "You scared the shit out of me."

"What happened?" My voice was raspy and it hurt a little to talk.

"You passed out. Just dropped to the ground." His eyes glanced to the kids, "Why didn't you say anything? You should've told me that you felt like shit."

I gently shrugged, "I didn't think about it." I took another deep breath and bit my cheek, "I figured it was morning sickness." Suddenly my ands found their way to my stomach and my heart began to race, "Is the baby okay?"

"She's okay." He was massaging my feet and taking slow deep breaths, "You're not. Im gonna go get your doctor, okay. Wake the kids up. Tell them you're okay."

I nodded and he walked away. I waited for the door to click shut before reaching out to touch Braxtons hand. He slowly blinked his eyes and then sat up, "Mom. Are you okay?"

I smiled at ran my hand over his head, "Yeah, baby, Im okay." Krystal was sitting up rubbing her eyes now and Amelia was climbing up on the end of the bed, "Im sorry if I scared you guys."

"Its okay mommy." Amelia was climbing up my body and straddled herself across my legs, "Uncle Connor told us not to worry. He promised us you would be okay."

"Thats good. He was right." I pulled her over to my lips and kissed her forehead. Krystal reached over and held my hand as the door into the room swung open and a tall man in a white coat walked into the room. Connor was following closely behind.

"Hello Serrina. My name is Dr. Matthews. Im stepping in for Meghan today. She's got a flu." I could hear a vague accent in his voice, "Has anybody caught you up on what brought you here today?"

I was a little lost in his crystal blue eyes. They were so pale they almost looked grey and he had a full, perfectly groomed beard that matched his perfectly groomed dark head of hair. I nodded.

"Good. Ill brief you really quickly then. You fainted at your friends house and were rushed in via ambulance. We tried to wake you but you were out cold. We gave you some fluids through an IV and it brought cooler bak into you face." He took a deep breath, "Long story short, you're not eating enough and you have too much on your plate. You need to reduce stress or you are going to start complicating this pregnancy."

I looked around the room at my kids and smiled, "And how am I supposed to reduce stress? I'm practically a single mom right now and this baby," I placed my hands on my puffy gut, "Is treating my body like a boxing bag."

He sighed, "If you need home assistance with your children or your pregnancy I can help you find-"

"No," I cut him off. "I don't need help. I have my friends and family." I puked Amelia up to my side and kissed her forehead, "They're my kids. I'll figure it out."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, probably in frustration, "Okay. Meghan said you'd say that. She told me that she wants to see you every 2 weeks to check up and make sure everything is okay. Give her a call in a few days and talk."

I nodded and he dismissed himself.

Braxton leaned forward and grabbed my leg, "I'll help out more. I can miss school and help you clean and take care of you and the baby."

"Me too, mom." Krystal was piping up now and Amelia was laughing beside me.

"First," I began, "School is your first priority. You are not missing any to take care of me. I usually sleep when you guys aren't home anyways." I glanced over at Connor and he was smiling at me, "And second, I think it's about time we start calling your baby sister by her name. How does that sound to you guys?"

The room erupted in excitement and they all asked the same question, "What's her name?"

I looked at my only boy and smiled, "I'm thinking Octavia."

His eyes lit up and the smile that appeared on his lips made my heart swell to twice its size, "Really?"

I laughed and nodded, "Really, bud." And before I could react, he threw himself around me and wrapped me in a hug.