The Married Life | Sequel

20

Lauren

The sound of beeping woke me from my sleep. I squinted from the bright lights shining in my face. I spotted Jay watching tv, sitting in the chair next to my bed.

I watched Jay as he sat there. His leg bounced up and down. His fingers repeatedly tapped against the arm of the chair. He looked like he hasn't slept in days.

"Jay?"

"You're up." He smiled. "How you feel?"

"Are you ok?"

"Don't worry about me. Are you good?"

"Is my baby ok?" I tried to sit up

"Relax. The baby is fine." He rested his hand on my stomach.

"Are you sure? I was bleeding so much." Tears began to form in my eyes. "It was so much Jay. And I didn't know what to do."

The nurse walked in and sanitized her hands before coming to my bedside.

"Glad to see you up. You passed out on us in the ambulance."

"What happened? Will my baby be ok?"

"The baby is absolutely healthy. She's doing fine in there." She smiled.

"So what happened?" I asked

"Well, you had something called a subchorionic hemorrhage. It is something that many women encounter. It occurs when a blood clot forms in the uterus. It does increase the risk of miscarriage. However, most women who have a threatened miscarriage will deliver a healthy baby. Now you will have to be very careful from this point on. All stress and strenuous activities will need to be nonexistent."

"Will I still be able to work? I don't do any lifting. I'm mostly sitting at my desk everyday."

"Yes. That's fine. I was talking to your husband while you were sleep and he told me that you two have two other children. During this time, I would advise against lifting them if possible. I know it may seem absurd but I promise it will be beneficial in the long run. You only have four months left and we need to keep her in there as long as possible."

"I understand." I nodded. "When can I go home?"

"The doctor is actually getting your discharge papers ready right now. All of your vitals are ok as of now so you are able to leave." She walked over and unhooked the IV I was connected to and placed a band-aid on my arm. "You can go ahead and get dressed. The clothes you had on, had to be cut off but I believe your husband brought you something to slip into."

~~~~

2 days later

The door bell rung and I sighed loudly because I had just got comfortable with my snacks so I could watch TV.

I looked over at the screen for the security camera and it was the UPS man.

"Hi." I greeted him as I opened the door

"Lauren Taylor?"

"That's me."

He handed me a small tablet to sign. After signing he began to lift the boxes off of the steps.

"Could you just sit them inside please?"

"Sure." He sat the boxes beside the door and walked back to his truck.

Riley was walking up the driveway as the delivery guy drove off.

"Best frieeeennnndddd!" She yelled

"Hey." I smiled.

"What's all this?" She pointed to the boxes

"I'm testing out vendors. I got some of my ideas made and sent to me."

"Look at you. You'll have your store next."

"I hope so. Where my baby?" I looked around her

"With her daddy. You know she stays up under him as long as she can."

She walked into the living room and turned Netflix on. I walked into the kitchen to get more snacks.

"Jay here?"

"Yea. He's in the room. He's having one of his mood swings today."

"Damn. Are you pregnant or him?" She laughed

"I know."

3 hours later

I placed the pizza boxes on the counter. We decided to order out instead of cooking.

"Lyric? Go tell daddy there's pizza in here if he wants any."

"Ok!" She ran off.

"You gonna have to bring Rae over here the next time. She can be away from her big headed daddy for a little while."

"Don't talk about my man." She laughed

"Mommy?" Lyric tapped my arm. "I think daddy sick. He said come here."

"Ok. Take your pizza and go watch tv in the living room with Kody."

"Watch them for me." I spoke to Riley and cleaned my hands off and walked to my bedroom. Jay wasn't in the bed but the bathroom door was cracked. I walked inside and he was sitting on the floor against the wall near the toilet. He was shaking and completely soaked from sweat.

"What's wrong?" I rushed over to him

"I stopped."

He quickly sat up and vomited into the toilet.

"This shit hurts." He groaned and held his stomach

"I'll be right back."

I walked back to the kitchen and Riley was sitting there on her phone. She was the only one that knew about Jay and she was also a nurse.

"Riley? When someone goes through withdrawals from drugs, what does it look like?"

She sighed. "Where is he?"

"The bathroom."

She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and then some towels out of the hall closet before going into our bathroom.

I didn't like seeing him like this. He looked so helpless but it was a choice he made.

"Is today the first day?" She asked

He nodded

"You're going to go through this for about a week. You have to make sure you stay hydrated because your body is trying to cleanse itself."

"I know." He nodded. "But I have to do it for my family." He looked up at me