Supernova Souls - Ryan Upchurch

-53-

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Outside, the midnight thunderstorm raged on, raindrops lashing against the windowpanes and the roof. Delilah focused on the noise of the rain and thunder as pain rolled throughout her body in sharp bursts. Her knuckles were white from gripping the side of the bathtub, cheeks damp and eyes red and achy from sobbing.

It took gathering all of her strength to yell Ryan's name. She sank to the floor and put her hand over her stomach, fingers twisting the fabric of her shirt as she gripped it in her fist.

She heard him grumble something from their shared bed before it squeaked and he stood up.

The bathroom door opened, hinges letting out a low moan in protest. Delilah looked up at him through tear blurred eyes, then down to her stomach, not fond of the idea of speaking right now.

Especially when speaking might just make everything worse.

Ryan blinked the sleep from his eyes, the blurriness in them fading and confirming what he was seeing. "What's wrong? Is.. you're not okay."

She shook her head just as another contraction hit her. Wincing, she rubbed her stomach with one hand and gripped the bathtub's edge with the other. Ryan rushed for her, dropping to his knees beside her and pulling her into him. Her skin was like ice, whereas he was warm to the touch from being bundled up beneath layers of blankets all night.

It took her all too long to gather her voice and tell him what was wrong, what she thought was happening.

It wasn't another scare.

No, this was real.

Ryan's eyes went wide and he went silent for far too long for her comfort. Panic started to creep into her, seep inside her mind deep enough to plant a seed of worry. A seed that told her that their baby girl might not make it tonight. She might not make it to see the morning light.

The anxiety fueled tears restarted their flow.

"Can you make it to the car?" A subtle shake of the head was her only response. With her weak, shaky legs? There was no way she was making it down the driveway by herself, especially not when a winter thunderstorm was now in full force outside.

A beat passed before he came up with an idea. One that would make her end of this fiasco easier, even if not by much. "I'll go pull the car around. You stay here, and when I get back I'll carry you out there."

"Okay." She managed to say. She gave him one final tight squeeze before loosening her hold on his waist and watching him go through teary eyes. A moment later she heard the distant sound of his Foxbody Mustang's exhaust. She listened to it, the noise of that car grounding her and serving as something to switch her attention to.

By the time Ryan came back Delilah had managed to pull herself together, even if the only thing holding her together was a very fragile thread. He lifted her into his arms bridal style. Her arms looped around his neck, head resting gingerly against his shoulder.

Storms usually calmed her nerves.

Tonight, it only worsened them.

Ryan sat her on her feet and helped her inside the car, closing the door behind her before sprinting around the car and quickly getting inside. His reddish-brown hair, wet from the rain, stuck to his face while he drove down the mile-long driveway. He reached over and turned up the heat for her, expertly maneuvering the car down the narrow gravel road without trouble, even as rain and wind assaulted the Mustang.

The drive to the best hospital in Nashville was cut in half due to Ryan going felony speeds all the way there, emergency flashers on and headlights off. He had forgotten them when they got in the car. She watched the orange lights blink against the road.