and a male nurse walked in. She eyed him warily as he walked to her IV stand. “I’m going to administer the drugs now, okay?”
With a nod, she looked away as the nurse messed with the IV.
“Now, rest. I’ll be back later to check up on you.”
Dr. G and the nurse left her alone with Ethan who pulled her to his chest. She knew he was thinking about all that the doctor had told them, worrying about it all. She hated causing him this worry and had no idea how to take it away. A few minutes of silence later, Ethan spoke. “Mia, I’m going to call my coach. I need to figure some things out.”
“What’s there to figure out?” she asked, toying with a button on his shirt.
“You’re stuck here for at least a week.”
“Ethan, you’re going to play.”
“Mia—”
“No. Even though I wish I could be with you at home, I can do this without you. Go play these games. You need it.”
“I need you more.”
“I’ll be fine here. Maybe I can do this bed rest from the house, listening to the ocean. That always calms me down.”
“Let me talk to my coach first, then we’ll talk about this some more,” he said, kissing the crown of her head before leaving the room to make his call.
When he left, Mia closed her eyes and did her best to relax, but about ten minutes later, her bandmates arrived. Nap time was over. Marty tossed her backpack on the bed. “Yay, my bag!” she exclaimed, rummaging through it until her hand encircled the cool metal she was searching for. “My phone!”
While Marty turned on the television, flipping to the awards show, Mia turned her phone on. Todd sat on the bed by her feet and Clark sat in the chair by the window.
All eyes were on the TV. The category they were nominated for should be up soon. But after a quick glance at the screen, seeing that another artist was performing, those six eyes focused on her. “So, what the fuck was that all about?” Marty laid into her.
“You scared the hell out of us,” Todd added and Clark nodded in agreement.
“Sorry, guys. If it makes you feel any better, I scared the hell out of myself.”
“What’s wrong?” Marty asked, leaning over and kissing her forehead, acting all big brother on her. Secretly, Mia loved that about Marty. “Are the babies all right?”
“The babies are fine. I have, uh … preeclampsia. Something to do with high blood pressure in pregnant women.”
“I told you we shouldn’t have done this show tonight. Too much strain on you,” Marty said. She didn’t say a thing because he was right. He didn’t need her to tell him that. “You need to learn to listen to me.”
Todd and Clark laughed at that. Mia tried to keep the smile off her face too. “Never gonna happen, man,” Todd said.
Ignoring them all, Marty switched gears. “Where’s Ethan?”
“On the phone. I’m stuck in the hospital until at least tomorrow and then more than likely stuck in L.A. for another week. In bed! Ethan has a game on Sunday night. We were supposed to leave tomorrow morning. Now he’s trying to figure everything out,” she said, looking up at the TV screen. “Hey, it looks like our category is up.”
“Turn up the volume,” Clark ordered.
“Look! Josh and Austin are presenting this category. Two men that you’ve sucked face with. That would have been so awkward with Ethan in the audience!” Todd said.
Not as awkward as her bandmates would have thought. Maybe one day, she would officially introduce Ethan to Josh. She and Josh had remained friends after they’d broken up. Though he hadn’t been invited to her wedding, he’d sent her a lovely letter wishing her the best with Ethan and that he really was happy for her.
Mia tried not to let this award get to her. No one would see her reaction whether they won or lost. Absolutely no need to worry, but man, did she want to win this one too.
“And the winner is …” Austin said, opening the envelope. After a quick glance and a grin, he announced, “Last Star!”
“Holy shit!” Mia said under her breath.
“We won!” the guys said in unison.
“Last Star is not here to accept this award,” Josh said somberly. “Mia, you’re in everyone’s thoughts and prayers. I’ll get this to you soon,” he said, holding up the award. “Oh, if you’re watching this, check your damn phone!”