Chương 9
Priya typed that too.
“He uses that word a lot?”
“Unstable?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Any diagnosed mental health condition?”
“No.”
“Any history of psychiatric hospitalization?”
“No.”
“Substance use?”
“No.”
Priya looked at Mara.
“I’m asking because sometimes people use those things as leverage, and sometimes there are real medical concerns we need to know about.”
“I know.”
“Do you have any reason to think he has accessed your medical records?”
Mara shook her head.
“He comes to appointments.”
“Every appointment?”
“Most.”
“Does he answer questions for you?”
Mara thought of the intake desk.
The nurse asking how she felt.
Daniel saying she had been exhausted lately.
“Yes.”
Priya’s mouth tightened slightly.
“I’m going to document what you’re telling me.”
“Will he see it?”
“That depends on access and how the record is handled, but we can flag privacy concerns.”
Mara’s stomach clenched.
This one was stronger.
She inhaled sharply.
Priya turned toward the monitor.
“All right.”
The contraction line rose.
Mara watched it climb.
“How bad?”
“Not terrible.”
“Don’t grade it for me.”
Priya touched the bed rail.
“Just describe it.”
“Pressure.”
“Where?”
“Low.”
“Sharp?”
“No.”
The line slowly came down.
Priya looked at the time.
“That’s the third one since you came up.”
Mara’s heart began pounding.
“Is that bad?”
“It means we’re going to watch you closely.”
“Can falling cause labor?”
“It can irritate the uterus, but there are several possibilities.”
Mara pressed both palms over the gown.
Priya saw the movement.
“The baby’s heart rate looks reassuring.”
“For now.”
“For now.”
Mara nodded.
Priya stepped toward the door.
“I’m going to get the obstetrician.”
“Dr. Reeves?”
“She’s in clinic today, but I can call her office.”
“Please.”
Priya paused.
“There’s also a hospital advocate available.”
Mara’s shoulders tightened.
“The domestic violence person?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want police.”
“You can talk to the advocate without deciding anything about police.”
“Does she have to report it?”
“That depends on circumstances and state requirements, especially with injuries and pregnancy, but she can explain exactly what is confidential before you disclose more.”
Mara stared at the blanket.
“I don’t want to lose control of what happens next.”
Priya’s expression softened without becoming pitying.
“Then start by asking what choices are actually yours.”
After she left, Mara sat alone with the monitor.
The baby’s heartbeat filled the quiet room in quick mechanical bursts.
Mara opened her purse.
Her phone showed six new messages.
Four were from Daniel.
Two were from Lena.
She opened Lena’s first.
I SAVED EVERYTHING.
The second said, I’M TEN MINUTES AWAY.
Mara read the words twice.
Then she opened Daniel’s messages.
I AM NOT ANGRY.
PLEASE STOP TURNING THIS INTO SOMETHING IT ISN’T.
I LOVE YOU.
WE NEED TO TALK BEFORE YOU SAY THINGS YOU CAN’T TAKE BACK.
The last message had arrived one minute earlier.
I’M AT THE HOSPITAL.
Mara sat upright.
The contraction monitor shifted against her abdomen.
She pressed the call button.
Priya returned almost immediately.
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s here.”
Priya looked at the phone.
“Did someone tell him where you were?”
“The ambulance.”
Mara’s voice shook.
“He knew which hospital.”
“That doesn’t mean he can come back.”
“He’ll make them let him.”
“No.”
“You don’t know him.”
Priya moved closer.
“You’re right.”
Mara looked at her.
“I don’t know him.”
Priya pointed toward the door.
“But I know this unit.”
Mara’s breathing slowed a little.
A commotion sounded faintly from somewhere beyond the nurses’ station.
Not shouting.
Voices raised just enough to carry.
Mara froze.
Priya stepped to the doorway and listened.
Someone said, “Sir, I understand.”
Then another voice answered.
Daniel.
“I’m her husband.”
Mara’s hands went cold.
Priya walked out and pulled the door almost closed behind her.
Mara could still hear pieces.
“She came in by ambulance.”
“I’m aware.”
“She is pregnant with my daughter.”
“Sir.”
“I have a right to know if my baby is okay.”
A man responded this time.
“We can’t discuss a patient without permission.”
“I’m not asking about her.”
Mara stared at the door.
The distinction hurt more than it should have.
Daniel’s voice rose.
“I am asking whether my child is in danger.”
Another contraction began.
Mara gripped the sheet.
The monitor line climbed.
She tried breathing slowly.
Four in.
Four out.
The habit betrayed her immediately.
Daniel’s voice entered her head.
Hold it.
Longer.
She lost the rhythm and started breathing too fast.
The door opened.
A woman in navy scrubs came in carrying a tablet.
She was maybe fifty, with silver threaded through her dark hair.
“Mara?”
Mara could not answer.
The woman put the tablet down.
“My name is Dr. Ellis.”
She looked at the monitor.
“You’re contracting.”
Mara nodded.
“I know.”
“I need you to breathe normally.”
“I’m trying.”
“Don’t make it deep.”
Mara looked at her.
“Just let it be ordinary.”
Ordinary.
Mara focused on that word.
Not controlled.
Not counted.
Not held.
Air in because her body wanted air.
Air out because it was done with it.
The contraction began to ease.
Dr. Ellis waited until Mara’s breathing slowed.
“Good.”
Mara almost laughed at the praise.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Sometimes that’s exactly right.”
Priya returned.
“He’s been told he can’t come onto the unit.”
“Is he leaving?”
“No.”
Mara’s fingers tightened around the sheet.
“He says he’ll wait downstairs.”
Dr. Ellis pulled the rolling stool closer.
“We’re going to examine you, run some labs, and continue monitoring.”
“Is the baby okay?”
“So far, the heart tracing is reassuring.”
“So far.”
“Yes.”
Mara closed her eyes.
The words did not become less frightening through repetition.
Her phone buzzed.
Daniel again.
She did not open the message.
Dr. Ellis noticed the screen.
“Do you need your phone off?”
Mara looked at it.
Then she held it toward Priya.
“Can you put it somewhere I can’t see it?”
Priya took the phone.
“Absolutely.”
“But don’t turn it off.”
“Okay.”
“I might need the messages.”
“Understood.”
Priya placed it inside Mara’s purse and zipped the purse closed.
May you like
The room became quieter.
Dr. Ellis began asking about the fall.
