Accidentally in Love

In the Moonlight

I was panicking.

My hands were clutching the sides of my chair in fear, my breathing was shallow, and my eyes were darting every which way, frantically searching for an exit.

Hospitals were the bane of my existence.

Everything about them made me queasy and threatened to cause me to scream out in terror. However, due to my current circumstances, I would be visiting hospitals quite frequently. The troubles of a pregnant woman.

I clenched the plastic arms of my chair tighter as I began to hyperventilate, my eyes roaming the hallways for some sort of salvation. It came in the form of an extremely good looking man with storm colored eyes.

Connor crouched down in front of me; his eyes flooded with worry, and grabbed my wrists, his thumbs gently rubbing them in an attempt to keep me calm. The action caused my muscles to relax and my fingers to unfurl from their grip around the chair. But it did nothing for my breathing because being close to him always made me short of breath.

"Evie," he said softly, "it'll be alright. Just breathe with me, okay? Deep breaths."

He proceeded to inhale and exhale deeply, urging to follow along. I tried my best, focusing on the air entering and exiting my lips, but my proximity to Connor only caused my heart rate to increase and as a result, my breathing became shallow again.

"Evie," he said, releasing his grasp on my wrists and grabbing my face between his hands, "look at me. Focus on me, babe. There's nothing else here. Just you and me."

My eyes met his and his intense stare caused me to stop breathing altogether. His use of the word 'babe' did nothing to stay my palpitating heart, but I felt myself relax at his words, my shoulders dropping as my muscles released their tension.

I focused on Connor, my mind blurring out all other distractions around me. The crease in his forehead from his furrowed eyebrows. His dark curls poking out from his gray knit beanie. The small imperfections dotting his hairline. How his grey irises were lighter around the center, almost white. The way his perfect pink lips pursed and stretched as they formed words.

Eventually, my breathing returned to its natural rate and my heart rate slowed, though still remaining slightly above normal.

Thanks," I said, lifting the corners of my lips into a small smile, still achingly aware of the way his thumbs were gently caressing my cheeks.

"No problem," he replied, as he dropped his hands from my face, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, breaking eye contact just in time to hear a nurse call my name. I looked up to find her tapping her foot impatiently and smiled to signal that I was coming.

"Come on," I said to Connor as I stood, "she looks like she might spontaneously combust."

He laughed as we followed the nurse into an exam room. I lay down on the table nervously, trying to block out the massive amount of medical equipment surrounding me. Taking a deep breath to distract myself, I squeezed my eyes shut.

They shot open when I felt someone grab my hand. I looked over to find Connor holding my fingers between his and smiling reassuringly. Calm immediately washed over me. Connor's inexplicable ability to make me feel at home had become invaluable.

I smiled gratefully at him as the doctor entered and began to explain how the procedure worked. I nodded, not really understanding any of her jargon, but attempting to play along. She lifted my shirt up and proceeded to spread a cool jelly over my abdomen. Once my stomach was sufficiently covered, she pressed the imaging device to it and a grainy photo popped up on the screen next to me.