My Own Worst Enemy

Family Emergency

Gracie looked down at her phone, closing her eyes against the onslaught of tears. She saw the rumors. Read the Tumblr posts.

He had found another woman. And for good reason... He was the MVP. He should have MVP-worthy arm candy. She looked down at her perfectly round bump, her hands shaking as she resisted the urge to chuck her phone at the wall.

She was 39 weeks pregnant and it was Christmas. She was so fucking pathetic, watching the man she would always love get closer with a fucking barbie.

"Fuck, baby boy. Why're you hurting mama so?" she frowned, brows furrowing at the intense pain rocketing through her.

After another hour, she realized.

Holy fuck. She was in labor. This was happening. Gracie closed her eyes and, against her better judgement, unblocked Christian's number just for one text.

I'm in labor, in Milwaukee. Don't know if you care. Merry Christmas; I hope she makes you the happiest.

It killed her to send that text, but it needed to be sent. She didn't want to keep him from his baby. She didn't want him to be in the dark...

She just didn't want his fucking pity or fuck up money. She wanted the best for her son, and she knew that the best possible outcome would be them at least co-parenting successfully. But that wasn't really an option.

So she settled for second best: a doting mother who kept in contact with his father.

Gracie? I can't make it to Milwaukee until January...

Gracie chuckled dryly, calling her uber and grabbing her hospital bag. She didn't know what to expect, truly. He told her what he wanted - silence.

Gracie wiped her eyes and labored silently on the ride to the hospital, having never felt pain as excruciating before.

As she stepped out the car, her water broke and the tears started. She was alone. She wanted Christian. She wanted him to hold her. To whisper sweet nothings in her ear like the one weekend they shared.

Her phone buzzed with Christian's name and, against her better judgement, she accepted the FaceTime.

"Gracie," he whispered, tears in his own eyes. The past eight months had hurt him so deeply. He didn't know why he ran. He didn't know why he told her that, or acted how he did.

He loved that woman.

"Christian... I'm scared," she whispered, almost falling on the ice as another contraction ripped through her. Since her water broke, the contractions only got more intense and she could feel everything.

"You're okay, Gracie. You're so strong. You've got this," Christian muttered, wanting nothing more than to be there with her.

Though it was Christmas, Christian spent the entire day on the phone with her. He had to be there.

"Are you ready to meet your baby?" Christian said quietly as the doctors checked her over one more time, informing her that she was at 8 centimeters.

"I'm so scared. I can't do this alone," she said quietly, the fear creeping in. Her family could only support her so much, and she had three weeks before she had to be back in Minneapolis.

"You aren't alone. You've got your mom and dad, Gracie... you've got me," he said softly, not knowing what the future held. In the 14 hours they'd been on the phone, he had felt himself being drawn to her. To their baby.

"Do I? Or are you going to leave me again? You have a new girl, Christian. I'm not dumb," She scoffed, not able to hear his response over the monitors that started blaring.

Her baby.

"Gracie? Grace?" Christian called frantically, his heart starting to racket around in his ribs.

"Her pressure is skyrocketing. Get her on oxygen," the nurse ordered, changing Gracie's position and administering a diuretic.

"She's at a ten. She needs to start pushing. Get a hemorrhage crew on stand-by," Christian had a hard time understanding what was happening, but he knew it was serious.

What if he never got to tell Gracie he loved her? What if he never apologized? Oh god. He had to get to Milwaukee. But he couldn't. He had so many commitments.

He was the MVP, and now his life was so different than the slick April weekend they spent together.

"Chr'st'an?" Gracie searched, her hands shaking as the epidural coursed through her. She wanted him there.

"I'm right here. You've got this. You're strong," he whispered, tears in his eyes as he watched Gracie push. Between each push, Gracie was surrounded by nurses and doctors who wanted to ensure her health.

After nearly an hour, a beautiful cry was heard through the room

"It's a boy!" The doctor shouted, laying the baby on Gracie's chest. "1:04am on December 26th."

"He's beautiful," Gracie whispered, so entranced in her baby boy. "He looks like you, Chris."

Christian's eyes watered as Gracie took her phone back, showing off the baby. He had soft brown hair, a wavy pattern evident in the wetness of the newborn. He had chubby cheeks and sensitive eyes that were looking straight at his mama.

"Perfect," Christian mumbled, eyes focused on the boy. he was perfect. So beautiful and pink.

His gaze was disrupted by a nurses hands gently picking up the baby to weigh him.

"7 pounds 7 ounces. 22 inches," the nurse smiled.

"You did so well," Christian whispered, looking over at Gracie.

He wasn't even able to call out in concern, doctors already rushing in as he lost sight of the one girl that meant the world to him.

"She's seizing. Call a crash cart," the head doctor ordered.

Christian's world started to tunnel as those words were uttered and Gracie's phone died.

He waited too long. He was too much of a coward.

Gracie was going to die. He'd seen this movie before.

He was so stupid. He wasted almost an entire year away. He just had to speak up at some point.

He should've been there.

***

Hey wanna go out tonight?

Christian jumped when his phone buzzed in his pocket, his heart in his throat. When he saw the text from Hadassah, he rolled his eyes.

He didn't want to see her. He wanted to see Gracie.

I have to go back to Milwaukee. But I don't think we should see each other anymore.

He couldn't. He couldn't stay with her when Gracie and her... their baby were in Milwaukee. When Gracie was in danger.

Fine. The sex wasn't even good.

Christian rolled his eyes and got back to searching for flights, before deciding that a private jet would just be quicker.

He sent an email out to his PR squad, citing a family emergency that would keep him unavailable for the foreseeable future.

It was true. His family was in trouble. His baby boy...

Holy fuck.

He was a dad.