Bait: The Wake Series, Book One(93)

Before I could let my imagination wander too far, my phone rang in my hand. It was Micah.

I answered like there was nothing wrong, I thought that maybe if I believed it hard enough it would be true, “Good morning, Micah.”

“Like hell it is! Oooo... Can you find your brother for me? Where are you? Are you in town? Oooo... Hold on.” She pulled the phone away from her mouth and swore like I'd never heard her before. She had a mouth on her.

“Hey, Mic. Are you all right? I don't know where Cory is. I just got off a plane. What's going on?”

As I stepped up to the curb, a cab pulled right up in front of me. I didn't bother with putting my things in the trunk, tossing them inside and shutting the door.

“Um... I think I'm fine. Oooo...” She was sort of panting and moaning. I wasn't a fool.

She was in labor.

“Hey, where are you. Where's Cory?” My mind tried to figure out why she'd be calling me.

“I don't know where the hell he is. That's why I'm... Oooo... calling you. Oooo... Oooo... Can you find him for me? Ahhh... please, Casey.” She started to cry, I could tell she was panicking and in a lot of pain.

“Hey, I’m not far. I'm going to pick you up and we'll go to the hospital. I'll find him.”

“Oooo... okay. Hurry.” She huffed and hung up.

“Hey, can you get me to 595 Holley Avenue, just South of San Bruno? Fast?” I told him and pulled a few twenties out of my wallet. It was very likely that he'd be driving us to the hospital and he was in for a hell of a trip. I wanted him to know I had money.

He had us there in no time, taking side streets to avoid the busier ones.

When I went inside I found Micah squatting in her kitchen.

“Oooo...” she breathed when she saw me. “Did you find him? Oooo... should I wait here for him?” Her cheeks were streaked with tears.

Where in the f*ck was my brother?

“No I haven't found him yet, Momma. I called Dad and Troy. They're going to find him for us. Do you know where he was going?”

“A bike ride. He was going riding. Oooo... he's been acting funny. I think he was going to clear his... OOOOoooo... Oooo... head.”

I helped her up and started us for the doors. She was waddling from side to side uncomfortably, moaning and wincing with every step.

“Wait. Casey, get my bag. It's on my bed.”

“Okay, just stay right here.” I moved her hands to the doorframe and said, “Hold onto this. I'll be right back.”

I shot into their bedroom and on the way I saw all of their new furniture and it really hit me. My brother was about to be a dad.

I bet he was freaking out.

When I got back to her she had her head hung and her hips swayed back and forth, like she was rocking herself.

“Are you okay? Shit. You're not okay. You're in f*cking labor! Let's get you to the hospital. Cory will meet us there,” I said, waiting for her to go.

“Just a second,” she said on a rather windy exhale. “Oooo... just a second.” I stood there, anxiously. We needed to go that very second.

I didn't know much about childbirth, but if watching the Discovery Channel taught me anything thing, it was when a woman was ready to go, she was ready to go. And Micah was looking like she was already halfway there.

In the cab, I text my dad and Troy about him going for a bike ride and I held her hand. She almost broke every one of my fingers.

“I left my phone on the counter. Shit. Oooo... I need you to call Blake. She wants to fly here.”

If this wasn't a rock and a hard place. Here this poor woman was about to pass something the size of a small Thanksgiving turkey and she wanted me to call the one person who I'd been trying to not call every second of every minute of every hour of every day.

So I created a diversion, I hoped that by the time the contraction that hit her right after she'd requested for me to call Blake she'd have forgotten. Cory could call her when he showed up.

“Let's wait until Cory gets here, you probably have a whole list of people to call. I don't want to spoil his good news.”

“Oooo... Where is he?!” she wailed.

That driver deserved a gold medal in cab driving. He had us to the hospital in a blink. He pulled us right up to the emergency door and even helped by grabbing our bags out as I ran inside to get Micah a wheel chair.

“Um, hey. I need some help out there. My brother's girlfriend is having a baby. Like soon,” I said, as I walked to the ER desk. The middle-aged woman, who I’d spoken to, wasted no time. She sprang into action, moving around the counter grabbing a chair on her way.