what the doctor said. “There’s no ride-share cars, either. What are we going to do?”
Determined, he took my hand. “Come with me. I’m going to get you there.”
“How?”
He took me by the shoulders, looking deep into my eyes. I could see how much he meant what he said next. “Trust me. You’re my battle buddy. I’ve got your back, and I promise that I’m going to get you safely to Shelby’s side.”
Some detached part of my brain wanted to ask him what a battle buddy was, but he pulled me after him and I followed. We ran down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator and hurried through the lobby. When we got to the half-circle driveway out front, there were no taxis that I could see, but there was a young woman about to get into her car.
Noah rushed over to her. “Hi. Weird question—are you a Duel of the Fae fan?”
It took a second for her to register who he was, but her mouth dropped open and I understood all too well when she temporarily lost her ability to speak. “You’re . . . you’re . . .”
But he was too impatient to wait for her to get there. “Yes, I play Malec Shadowfire. I’m Noah. What’s your name?”
“I’m Nicole. Wow, it’s so great to meet you!” Her eyes flickered to mine, but she seemed to mentally dismiss me.
He shook her hand. “Is there any chance I could get you to drive me and my friend to the hospital? I could pay you.”
“Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes big. I noticed she didn’t ask if I was okay. To be fair, she probably didn’t care.
“I’m fine. There’s someone there we have to see right away.”
“Of course. I’d love to drive you. And don’t worry about the money. Just having the chance to talk to you would be payment enough!”
She got into her car, and he turned to me. “I’ll sit up front and chat with her.”
It occurred to me as I climbed into the back seat that this woman could be a complete psycho and kidnap us and tie Noah up in her basement while making him read lines from Duel of the Fae. But there was no time to worry.
Nicole didn’t seem all that partial to the speed limit, which was good in our current situation. She and Noah talked in the front seat, mostly about inane movie stuff, while I rocked in the back, promising God that I’d do anything if Shelby would be okay.
I’d even be willing to give up Noah, if that’s what it took. Because for some reason this felt like some personal punishment for me being a liar for so long.
I just kept whispering the word please. She couldn’t die.
We rolled up to the emergency room entrance at the hospital, and both Noah and I opened our doors. I heard him thanking her.
She got out of the car, too. “Wait! Can I get a picture with you?”
I saw the pained look in his eyes. “Go,” he told me. “I’ll catch up.”
Maybe I should have waited, but I couldn’t. Right as I got to the elevator bank, one of the elevators opened, like it had been waiting just for me. I took it up to the eleventh floor and looked for the door numbers until I found Shelby’s.
She was alone in her bed, looking so small. Allan wasn’t in the room.
I rushed to her side. “I’m here.” Noah had gotten me to the hospital, just like he’d promised. “We’ll get through this.”
“Everything’s okay,” she said, putting a hand over her stomach. “I’m just having a baby. Allan’s out calling his parents right now.”
“What?” For some reason that did not compute.
“They got the blood work back and the doctors didn’t see any evidence that my cancer had returned and it’s supposed to be virtually impossible for me to get pregnant naturally, but I am definitely pregnant. That can apparently cause fainting and light-headedness, too. So this is a literal miracle. I’m going to be a mommy.”
At that my tears finally started to fall; I was so thrilled for her. I knew how much this meant to her. She and Allan had already talked about adopting children because they thought they wouldn’t be able to get pregnant on their own. I leaned over to hug her, making sure not to squish her stomach. “Congratulations. You’re going to be the best mom ever.”
She was crying happy tears. “I wish my mom was here to