Graceless - Page 57

“Oh, fuck!” Savannah’s waters broke in the car.

“Gross!” Cassidy cried, before she could help herself. Savannah shot her a glare but also snorted a short laugh.

“Birth,” she announced, gritting her teeth, “is a beautiful, natural miracle. Get used to it.”

She undid her seatbelt, no longer able to tolerate sitting. She shifted up onto her knees, a literal pool of wetness spreading into the expensive upholstery as Burt sped through the outskirts of the city. Cassidy observed her with horror. She undid her own belt, ready to help, despite having no idea what that was going to look like.

“Put your damn belt back on!” her sister snapped, bracing her hands on the seat in front of her, somehow finding time to be the traffic police despite the oncoming contraction. Cassidy obeyed warily, one eye on her sibling, just in time for Burt to pull up at the hospital.

It was a fancy private hospital, but Cassidy was still surprised when they stopped at a discreet side entrance to be met by two security guards, a hospital administrator, a well-dressed doctor, a nurse and an orderly pushing a wheelchair. Savannah Grace arriving to give birth was a whole big deal.

“Where’s Imani?” Savannah asked with gritted teeth as they wheeled her into the elevator. “She’s my obstetrician. That’s who I want.”

“She’s on leave,” the doctor told her nervously. “You’re a little early. We’ve called her, though-” she added quickly as Savannah’s eyes turned so steely it looked like she believed she actually could kill with her gaze.

They were whisked inside to a beautiful private birth suite with mood lighting, a hospital bed, and what looked to Cassidy’s eyes to be an actual jacuzzi.

Her sister ignored all of it, pulling off her clothes almost as soon as the door closed behind them, making Cassidy blink, and walking naked into the shower where she proceeded to scream bloody murder.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck.” Cassidy was way out of her depth here. Her eyes darted around the room. The doctor looked at her expectantly.

“We need to give her a quick exam,” she said, as if Cassidy had anything to do with anything. “Can you let her know?” Cassidy thought doctors were normally a little more assertive than this, but this one seemed star-struck or just plain terrified of fucking up with such a high-profile patient.

“Savannah?” she tried, standing in the bathroom doorway. “The doctor wants to examine you. Can you come out?”

“Fuck that fucking doctor.” Savannah turned, in all her naked glory. Her face contorted in pain again and she gripped the shower rail, an unholy sound escaping her.

“Savannah!” Cassidy hissed, more than a little alarmed. “Come on, what are we here for if not for medical attention?”

“I don’t know!” Her sister sounded desperate. “I don’t want to be here at all! I’m not ready for this!”

Cassidy stared at her.

“I don’t think you’ve got much choice in the matter,” she pointed out. Savannah had kept it together to get this far, but now they were here she seemed to be unraveling.

“No,” her sister started crying. “You don’t understand. I’m not ready. I can’t do this yet. Not the birth, not the hormone crash, not the lack of sleep.” Her voice broke. “Not the always having a tiny person on you, not fucking cracked nipples and leaking boobs.” Cassidy’s eyes went wide. Savannah sobbed helplessly. “Not the part where I’m never sexy anymore, being alone with no one but a baby while Brynn goes out without me and meets god knows who else. I’m not ready for my life to fall apart like that again-” Her voice broke into a ferocious moan as the next contraction took hold, almost bent in half by the pain.

“Okay…” Cassidy stepped into the shower with her. She used her knuckles to press against Savannah’s lower back, the same way she’d seen Brynn do. Her sister didn’t seem to register the situation until the contraction passed and she turned her head to see Cassidy in a half-soaked dress with her hair dripping into her eyes and her sob choked into a despairing laugh. They both looked deranged.

“Savannah.” Cassidy pushed her own hair out of her eyes and then her sister’s. “You’re talking like an insane person. I don’t know if it’s the pain or the hormones or what the fuck is wrong with you right now, but Brynn is not going to leave you because you’ve had a baby together.” She huffed at the ridiculousness of the prospect. Had Savannah not met her own wife? “I’ve never seen anyone more in love in my entire life, and that was before I heard her singing about you every damn day in the studio. She can’t wait for the two of you to be moms all over again, leaking boobs and all.” She tried extremely hard not to screw up her face at the thought. “Jesus, Savannah, your ex husband might have been a dirtbag, but Brynn is not Cole.”

Savannah flinched. For a second Cassidy thought she’d said the wrong thing, as her sister slowly leaned her head against the shower tiles and cried. Then she raised her head, swallowed her tears, and took a deep breath.

“Thanks, Cassie,” she said, her voice sounding almost back to normal. “I needed to hear that.” Cassidy took advantage of her brief return to sanity to steer her into the room for an exam.

Things moved quickly from there, and Cassidy lost track of time. Savannah labored in the shower, in the tub, on the bed, against the wall. The doctor mostly stayed out of the way after Cassidy’s beautiful, refined, famously charming sister told her to fuck off you fucking asshole, and the older no-nonsense midwife did most of the coaching. She spotted Cassidy’s absolute loss for what to do and had her fetching her sister endless cups of iced water and heat packs and helping her count down her breaths.

When Savannah felt the urge to push, all hell broke loose.

She was on her knees, on the bed, still naked, and the string of blue words that spilled from her made Cassidy’s eyes water.

“No!” Savannah summed up her point succinctly. “I’m not having this baby until my wife gets here-” She contracted so hard, Cassidy felt it in her own body when she screamed. She saw the doctor and the midwife exchange a glance that she couldn’t interpret. A minute later, she understood. Savannah couldn’t stop from pushing if she tried. She was fighting it though, her face agonized, on the verge of panic.

Cassidy grabbed her hand.

“Cut the shit, Savannah,” she said firmly. “Brynn is on her way, but honestly, at this point, she probably won’t make it.” Her sister shook her head fast in denial, and Cassidy gripped her chin and made her look at her. “All Brynn cares about is that you are safe, and the baby is safe. Okay? Birth is like, one damn moment. She’s going to be with you and the baby forever,” she said fiercely. “Now let’s stop fucking around and get this baby here safely.”

The next minute, Savannah was gripping her hand so hard Cassidy felt pretty sure she knew what it felt like to be in labor herself. The midwife prompted her to count out loud to ten, for each long push as Savannah’s multi-Grammy winning voice came out in a savage howl.