Chapter 63

AVERY

Avery felt terrible and wanted to apologize to Justin. She’d behaved horribly and let the hormones get the best of her.

She sat up on the couch and called him, only to feel more upset when he ignored her call. Man, she hoped that she hadn’t screwed up her marriage.

She started a sneezing fit, and when she stopped, she felt a pull in her abdomen. She stopped and rubbed her belly a little, then gasped when she felt a contraction grip her.

“Oh damn, okay,” Avery said, and started walking around. She went upstairs and dressed in some loose joggers and a t-shirt. She went back downstairs and walked around the backyard.

Another pain gripped her, worse than the first, and actually took her breath away.

“Wow, okay, little peanut. Are you coming out or is this a false alarm?” she asked aloud as she walked. “Maybe we should call Daddy and give him a heads up, just in case…”

She cursed when he ignored the second call and wondered what to do. She moved back inside and took a nice long drink of water after coughing a bit and blowing her nose again.

As soon as she was done, another contraction gripped her, just as intense as the last one. It had only been five minutes since the last, and she had to make some plans.

She went up and got her bag, just in case. There was another pain, and this time she felt some wetness and knew that this was the real thing. Her water had broken.

Since Justin wasn’t answering, she knew she needed to call someone. She didn’t trust driving herself in case another pain came.

She went back upstairs and changed into a short dress and went back downstairs. She picked up her phone and called Cole.

“Hey, Avs, how’s it going?” he asked.

“Cole, I am in labor and need someone to take me to the hospital,” Avery explained.

“Shit, okay, I’m on my way, just hang tight!” Cole promised, then hung up.

She walked, timing her contractions and thinking. Cole arrived with Mikey and they helped her into the SUV and drove away. Cole sat in the back with her and held her hand through the pain.

“Where is Justin?” Mikey asked as he made his way downtown.

Avery started crying. “I don’t know. We had a big fight this morning and said awful things to each other. He hasn’t answered his phone any time I called.”

“Hey, he is just busy and stressed out. He isn’t mad, he’ll be here, don’t you worry,” Mikey assured her, and Cole just squeezed her hand in agreement.

Cole tried calming her down as the contractions continued.

The men got her into the hospital and set up in a room on the labor and delivery floor. Cole motioned for Mikey to go outside while a nurse was asking questions.

“Where the hell is Justin?” Cole asked angrily.

“No idea, man, but we need to find him. Let me call him,” Mikey said, and almost threw his phone when he didn’t answer.

“You can go back in,” the nurse told them as she left. They went back in and saw Avery sitting there, all hooked up to machines, crying.

“I need him, Cole, and I think he hates me! He is going to do what Dylan did and cheat on me!” Avery sobbed, then groaned when another contraction hit.

“You gotta calm down, DQ, your blood pressure is gonna go nuts! I know you are sick, but you gotta think about you and the baby,” Mikey pleaded.

“Yeah, come on, Avery,” Cole added. “And Justin doesn’t hate you. Everyone is just stressed out with this flu shit going around. He’s not gonna cheat on you—he loves you.”

“Do you know where Justin was going to go today?” Mikey asked.

“The last thing he said was he was going to the strip club and get a stripper to screw him since I wasn’t gonna give it to him,” she sobbed.

They looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.

“The last thing I said to him was go fuck yourself…”

“He knows you didn’t mean it, Avery. Everyone is just burned out. It’s not a secret that Justin loves you so much, never doubt that,” Cole said.

Avery sat and sobbed, not sure if his words were true or not. Avery curled up into his side and Cole rubbed her back.

Mikey came over and whispered in his ear, “I’ll go find his ass and drag it back here. I’ll let the table know too.”

Mikey rubbed Avery’s arm and left, texting everyone to let them know that Avery was in labor. He called Cash on the way to see if he knew where Justin was, and he had no idea.

Dylan didn’t know either but promised that he would be at the hospital in half an hour. He called Stevo next to see if he knew anything and was instantly pissed.

“Last I saw him, we were at Legs watching a security tape. He didn’t look great,” Stevo said.

“Fuck, you don't think he would, do you?” Mikey asked.

“No idea, but I’ll meet you there to check it out,” Stevo replied, and they both hung up, pissed off and confused.

They walked inside the strip club and Adam said, “I don’t think he wants to be disturbed, guys.”

“Where the fuck is he, Adam?” Stevo growled.

“I don’t know if I—”

“You either tell me where the fuck he is, or I will gut your ass!” Mikey spat.

“Room two,” Adam whispered, and he all but ran to the office.

“He better not have fucked around on her!” Mikey told his friend, and Stevo just nodded in agreement, hoping that this didn’t tear the club apart.

They walked to the door just as a new stripper walked out and closed the door. “I don’t think you should disturb him.”

“I don’t give a shit what you think, you useless whore, move the fuck out of my way or I will fuck you up!” Mikey hissed.

She moved to the side, and they rushed in to see what was behind the door.