Free A Winter's Date by Sasha Brümmer, Jess Epps Page A

knows what I’m thinking. He’s looking down at me, his face as serious as ever.
    “Get over it, ballerina; I’m not leaving you in here alone.”
    “Noah, please?”
    “No way in hell am I leaving this room.”
    He turns around and faces the wall, giving me as much privacy as I’m going to get. I huff angrily and as loud as I can, so he knows how mad I am.
    “Don’t even try that with me. You know I love it when you’re pissy.”
    This is so not right. I sit there quietly and cross my arms in a full-on pout. I am not peeing in front of him.
    He turns around and raises his eyebrow at me. “Heather . . .”
    I glare at him. “Yes, Ryan?”
    “You are so fucking stubborn. You know that?” he says as he steps just outside of the door, leaving the door wide open. I growl in frustration and try to reach for the faucet unsuccessfully.
    “Noah?”
    “Yes, baby?” he calls from around the corner.
    “Can you at least turn on the water, so you can’t hear me going?”
    He chuckles before walking back in and turning on the water, then walks out again, waiting for me.
    The rush of running water eases my discomfort, and I start to go. As soon as I do, I regret it. It’s so painful to go that I squeak out and quickly hold onto my abdomen.
    “Are you okay?”
    I can hear that Dani is back in the room.
    “Can you go check on her please?” he asks my sister.
    “Why couldn’t you wait until I was back, Noah?” she bites out. She’s seriously killing me.
    I hear him reply, and I can tell he has a tenuous grasp on biting his tongue. “I didn’t know you were here, Dani. She told me she needed to go.”
    She walks in, and I frown at her. “I’m fine,” I say to her sternly.
    She shuts the door, completely excluding Noah.
    “Dani, please stop it.”
    I’m emotional and in physical pain, and she’s being such a butthead.
    “He won’t even let you use the bathroom alone. He’s obsessed with you, and it’s not healthy.”
    “I asked him to take me,” I snap back and wince when another sharp pain hits me. “Get the nurse.”
    “Oh shit . . .” She pushes the button and the nurse comes in minutes later.
    Noah’s standing in the doorway with a look of concern on his face.
    “If you don’t mind, I need both of you to give me and Miss Lane a few moments alone, please,” the nurse says sweetly, and Noah nods, but I swear Dani is about to jump down her throat. I watch as my Greek god walks away from the bathroom and I think he goes to stand outside in the hallway.
    The nurse shuts the door behind her, and I ask her if it’s normal to have this type of pain and cramping. She nods and explains that it’s normal to have both after a miscarriage, and that my bleeding should stop within a couple of weeks.
    I’m deflated with this news, and it sets off something inside me. I don’t know what it is, and I can’t begin to explain it, but I’m unhappy. She helps me get cleaned up and back into bed. She says I’ll be able to go home tonight, but I have to wait for the doctor to sign a release form. After she leaves the room, I’m once again surrounded by the tension that engulfs Noah and Dani. I can feel myself slipping further into this veil of darkness.

NOAH
    I’m waiting for the nurse to emerge from Heather’s room when Dani turns on me. “Listen, I know Heather means a lot to you, but you need to let her breathe. You are completely suffocating her from all directions, and I’m not going to stand by and watch you do it.”
    What the hell just happened?
    “Excuse me?”
    “Noah, don’t be childish. She needs her space from you. I don’t know what you did last night, but I can tell she is incredibly upset today. You were the only one who could have done or said anything to her.”
    I laugh because this is just fucking ridiculous. “What the hell makes you think I did something?”
    “You were the only person around her last night. I don’t know what you did to her, but you completely mess with her