Little Shelby Girl

Part 22. Karl

"Alright, go."

Before I want to enter the kitchen door I suddenly remember something. "Ehm Tommy, I think you need to keep track of the time between the, you know."

He nods, holding his watch in the air. "I will, thank you."

I walk up to the hall and get my coat. In the living room I hear Ada groaning again. I quickly run out the house making my way to the betting shop.

As I burst inside the shop, passing all the customers I slam open the door of Polly's room. Her head shoots up from her book, startled by me.

"You need to come. Ada's water broke." I say, still panting from my sprint.

Polly doesn't seem to be shocked about this and turns back to her page while nodding.

"How far is she?" She asks, not looking up at me.

"How far? I don't know! Her water broke about 30 minutes ago, you need to come!"

"Yes, we leave, do you have ten minutes? I really need to finish this today."

What the fuck? How is this more important. I'm staring at Polly while trying to understand this weird, calm reaction of hers. As I don't answer she finally looks up at me.

"Vive, it's fine. If her water just broke, this can take all day. Don't worry I'll hurry up and then we leave." I nod. Hoping that Polly knows what to do.

By hurrying up she apparently meant helping two more customers, counting the cashbox and very, very fucking slowly rescheduling the appointments of the other waiting customers. I just know Tommy is probably pissed at us right now.

"Alright, let's go then." Polly says as she finally closes the door of the shop. Together we rush back to the house.

Tommy's POV

"Here you go." I say to Ada as I give her a glass of water when another contraction has passed. "Anything I can do?" I ask, feeling powerless in this situation.

She sighs as she shakes her head. "No, it's alright. I can handle it for now."

"Do you want to stay here or do you want to go upstairs to the bed?" I ask her. Right now she's on the couch, but since it's not really big I don't think it's the ideal place to stay on.

Constantly controlling her breathings she points to the stairs.

"Upstairs. Fuck!" She says as she groans again while clenching her fists to the couch.

"Aaargh, fuck, where's Pol!" She whines, obviously being in more pain than a few minutes ago. I'm wondering the same thing as I see there's not much time between the contractions. I remember this from when Vive was born. The quicker the contractions get, the faster it goes. Right now, they're about ten minutes apart. I bend on my knees and try to comfort her a little by stroking her back.

After a few minutes the pain subsides, which gives me some time to help her upstairs.

"Alright, alright, help me" She says, meaning we need this time to move. I help her getting up from the couch. Supporting her with every step she sets towards the stairs.

"You okay? Polly can be here any minute."

She nods. The stairs have never felt higher than today. When we're almost up Ada's having another contraction, making her almost collapse because of the pain.

I sit her down on the step of the stairs. "Aaargh, no, this is worse, I can't take it." She says her head resting on the side of my shoulder. As I take her hand in mine she immediately gets an iron grip on it.

"It's okay, you're doing good. Just breath okay, in and out, in and out." I say trying to help her. She does as I tell her and when her grip on my hand loosens I know we can continue our way to the bedroom.

"Come'on, almost there." I say as I help her getting up from the step again. We make the last meters to the bed and I help her lay down. Sweat has formed on my forehead and I'm out of breath.

"Tom, where are they, seriously, it's not going to take long anymore I can feel it." She says. I can hear she's scared and at this point, so am I. Scared that for some fucking reason, Polly won't be here in time and I have to do some baby delivering on my own sister.

"They'll be here soon." I say nodding, hoping to believe it myself. I sit down on the side of the bed. There's a silence between us, both waiting for what's next.

Ada's staring at the window in the room which is in front of her. "You think he's alive?" She suddenly asks.

Freddy should be here by her side right now. God may know if he's alive. At this point I figured out for sure that he's in a prison in London, but I don't have more information.

I shake my head, not looking her in the eyes. "I don't know Ada. I think he is, but I just.. I can't make you that promise." Her eyes are pierced on mine and she doesn't say anything to my words. A tear is falling down her cheek.

I sigh. "Right now you need to think of yourself and your baby, alright?" I tell her. As her eyes shuts down and she leans back another contraction takes over her body. She lets out a few screams while trying to control her breathings. Through the pain, tears are now streaming down her cheeks and her hands clench around the blankets.

Then, I finally hear the front door downstairs. I have never been happier with that sound.

"We're here" I yell to them. I hear Polly's high heels stumbling upstairs. She walks inside the bedroom with a big smile on her face. "So, let's get the party started." She says while stroking up her sleeves, being in an annoying, happy mood.

"Where were you eh?" I say annoyed.

"I had to finish a few things if you don't mind." Pol responds, questioning my tone. I look at the door where Vive's still standing, observing the scene from a safe distance.

Vive's POV

"Where were you eh?" Tommy asks Polly with an irritated look. I already knew this was going to happen. He sits on the right side of Ada, his hand on her shoulder. Ada's not giving any of us attention but is fully focussed on her contractions. Polly gets out some stuff from the drawers and lays it out on the bedside table. Seeing all the metal objects Polly's apparently planning to use, makes me sick to the stomach.

"Alright, let's see how far we are." She says, taking place in front of Ada while spreading her legs. For Tommy, this is a sign that it's his time to leave the room.

"You're in good hands now, alright. Me and Vive wait downstairs." He says to Ada, giving her an encouraging look.

He makes his way around the bed and together we walk downstairs. I take place at the kitchen table while Tommy pours us both a drink. For me a glass of water, for him a glass of whiskey. Guess he needs it after this intense hour. He takes place next to me and while drinking the glass in one gulp.

"Did everything go well?" I ask him.

"Yes, well, there's not much men can do in situations like these." He says. From upstairs we hear Ada let out a scream again.

I nod at Tommy. "I will never have a baby." I say.

He chuckles while raising one eyebrow. "You say that now. When you're older, you'll change your mind."

Together we sit here for about an hour when we hear the final scream of Ada which goes to the bone. Me and Tommy both frown our faces at the same time, waiting for a more positive following sound. After a few seconds we finally hear a cry, and this time it's definitely not Ada's.

Smiles are formed on both our faces as we sign in relief. Not long after Polly comes down the stairs, tears of happiness are still visible on her face. She lets out a sigh before she tells us the good news with a big smile on her face.

"Ada, just gave birth of a perfect little boy."