Best Friends to Lovers

Chapter 11

After leaving Maddison and Brenden at the hospital, we went to the Diner and met Mason and a beautiful woman. She had long brown hair and Brown eyes. I could see that she was Mason's sister. "Melinda, this is my sister Lisa. Lisa, this is Melinda."

"Nice to meet you, Lisa. This guy right here is my husband Hayden," I say.

"Nice to finally meet you as well," Lisa says.

"Now, Melinda, can you tell Lisa when you and Tanner first started dating and when and why you broke up with him?" Mason asked.

"I will start a little before Tanner and I started dating. Three and half years ago, when I first met Tanner, I didn't like him at all; he made me feel uncomfortable. I had fallen in love with Hayden, but he couldn't or wouldn't take the hints I kept dropping. He ended up dating someone else. So I started to hang out with Tanner, hoping to get over my heartache.

"The more time I spent getting to know Tanner, the more I liked him, the better I understood him. He ended up asking me out about three months later, and I agreed. Things were great for a while. Then he started pressuring me to have s*x with him. I told him I wanted to wait for a bit longer to get to know him more. He was upset but agreed to wait. Then one day, we were at a party. I had gotten blackout drunk, and Tanner was on top of me having s*x with me when I had come too.

"I pushed him off of me, found my clothes, and left. I didn't talk to him for a while. When we finally spoke, he said he was sorry. I forgave him. As time went on, we ended up moving in together. I came to learn that he could not keep a job for very long. But I thought I loved him. Then, about two in a half years ago, I noticed that money was disappearing out of my purse. When I confronted him the first few times, he denied it. Then, something changed; he beat me when I confronted him again. 

"The abuse got worse over the next year. When I told Tanner I was pregnant, he beat me so bad I lost the baby. Then, a few months ago, I had come home early and caught him in bed with a redhead named Brittany. He told me he never loved me and left. Then came back later saying he was sorry; I told him it was over between us. I also told him I canceled the credit card in my name that he had. Finally, I had Hayden and Brenden change the locks on the doors. 

"Tanner had gone crazy and started vandalizing my property. I ended up installing cameras and catching him in the act. I have pictures of the damage he caused and a video of him doing some of them. Today, I was at lunch with my best friend and my boss, Tanner, showed up. Your brother has the audio of what happened next." I tell her, wiping away tears,

"Mason, let me hear the audio of what happened today, please," Lisa says, her voice cracking like her world just shattered.

Mason pulls out the audio set and lets Lisa listen to it. As I sat and watched her facial expression, I knew that this woman was heartbroken. She heard the man she was in love with, not denying that I ended our relationship because he cheated on me and bragged about beating me, causing our unborn child's death.

After listening to the type, she asked if I could show her the hospital report to see the date. I pulled it out and handed it to her. She read it and broke down crying. "That son of a biscuit-eating motherfucking bastard, our whole relationship was a lie, Melinda. I am sorry that I believed him. I had no idea he was not telling me anything but the truth."

"Do you know who this Brittany girl is?" she asked me after a while.

"No, hon, I never had seen her before I caught her and Tanner in my bed. I have seen her a couple of times with him after that. I even thanked her for sleeping with Tanner in my home, where I could catch him in the act. I haven't seen her in a few weeks, though." I tell her.

"Lisa, now, do you see why I was worried about you? After Tanner moved in with you, he was still causing Melinda all kinds of trouble. It wasn't the fact that he was with you. It was the type of man he is." Mason says to her.

"I am so sorry, Mason, for not believing you. I thought he loved me so much that he would never lie to me. But, Mas, I am sorry, so sorry," Lisa cries, hugging her brother.

***

A few days later, Maddison got to come home on bed rest. I was doing well, taking care of her over the last few days, but she was irritating me today for some reason. After lunch, I had just cleaned up and walked into the living room to find her heading out the door. She is grating on my nerves.

"Maddison, you are supposed to be on bed rest. So get that happy pregnant butt back to the sofa." I say to her.

"I am sick of being cooped up. I want to go outside to watch the dogs play. So that is where I am going."

"No, you're not on my watch, missy. So stay in here with me and when the guys get home, we will have Brenden bring you out to the porch," I say. 

"Fine, but only if we can watch a movie," she replies, heading to my sofa.

"What movie do you want to watch?" I asked.

"I want to watch the vow. Brenden falls asleep every time we try to watch it together,"

"Of course, I will watch it with you. It is my favorite," I say, smiling. I kept Maddison busy trying to get her to stay on the couch. Keeping her and her baby safe is starting to be a chore. I am so big I can't run after her all the time. I think I will have these babies on most days before she has hers. I have been feeling weird today, which was why I agreed to watch a movie that I didn't want to watch. 

As I watched the movie, I felt a gush of water. I stood up to change my panties and pants. Then, there was another gush; that is when it dawned on me. My water broke. "Maddison, call Hayden and let him know that my water just broke. He needs to get home and take me to the hospital. Then call Brenden."

"Oh s**t, Mel, why didn't you tell me you were having contractions? We could have got you to the hospital," she says, her eyes wide.

"Because I wasn't Maddison now, please call Hayden. I need to change." I say, walking up the stairs to my room and changing my clothes. After changing my clothes, I come back downstairs. Let the pups outside and sit on the porch.

Maddison comes out and joins me; Mel, I am scared. I am afraid for you and the babies. It's way too early for them to be born."

"I am too, Maddison. But, I have faith that the doctor will know what to do. He will do everything in his power to make sure my babies are okay," I say. 

A few minutes later, a lot of dust kicked up on the drive. Finally, Hayden's car comes into view. When he gets closer to me, I can see the fear written all over his face. It breaks my heart to see him scared out of his mind. Once the car stopped, he jumped out of the car, "I am here, baby, don't worry. I called the doctor and told him your water broke. He will be waiting on us." 

"Babe, I am okay. I am trying to stay calm for the babies and myself. Let's get Rex in the house." I said, then asked, "Maddison, is Brenden going to meet us at the hospital?" 

"Yes, he is; he is on his way there," Maddison says.

"Okay, let's go," Hayden says, lifting me off the bench I was setting on and off the porch. He opened the passenger door, set me inside the car, closed the door, opened the back door for Maddison, went up to her, picked her up, carried her to the car, and set her down in the back seat. Then Hayden runs over to the drive side and gets the car. "Buckle up, ladies," he says as he starts the car and heads out of the drive.

When we reach the hospital, Hayden pulls right up to the doors. Get out of the car, lift me out, run in the door, and head straight to the maternity ward. He tells the nurses, "Her water broke and it is way too early; the doc should be here waiting on us."

"Is this Melinda?"

"Yes,"

"Right this way, sir, the doctor will be in, in a minute," she tells him, leading us to a room.

Once in the room, everything seemed to happen so fast that I couldn't process it. The doctor gave me shots to help develop the baby's lungs as a precaution. I remember being told that I would have to remain here until the babies were born. 

After everything calms down, Maddison and Brenden come into the room. "Maddison May, shouldn't you be off of those feet of yours? Do you want to be in the place with me?' I ask her.

"Hey, I have been resting. But this guy here won't let me do anything. I couldn't even stand while I was sitting out there worried to death," Maddison huffs out.

"You need to sit down. You are on bed rest. The guys don't need us both here. Who will keep them on their toes at home?" 

"Okay, I will sit. Then you can tell me what the plan is," 

"Well, right now, I am getting shots to help the lungs of the babies to develop and antibiotics to combat infection. In a couple of days, the babies should be here." I informed her.

"My gosh, it is still too early. Those little ones will be tiny. How are you doing with all of this? Are you worried about the babies?"

"Of course, I am, but I knew there was a possibility that they would come early. We weren't expecting it this early. The doctor is doing his best to keep me and these beans healthy," I say, rubbing my baby bump, "How are you feeling, Maddison? Are you having contractions or anything?" 

"No, I am feeling great. I do have a lot of energy right now. I am thinking about finishing up both of our nurseries. since our little ones are so excited to meet us." Maddison says, "You know I will put Brenden to work on that stuff; I can't do any of it myself,"

"Right now, all I am focused on is getting these babies healthy. They will likely be in the NICU for a while. So their nursery doesn't need to be done right away. I am sure Hayden and I can finish it up in a few weeks." I say.

"What are you lovely ladies discussing?" Hayden asked.

"Getting both of the nurseries finished," Maddison says. 

"Brenden and I have it figured out. You both don't need to worry about it." Hayden replies.

"Babe, we need to figure out names soon," I say. Then add the twins will be here soon and we haven't even picked out names," I say, smiling up at him. 

"Well, you come up with a few and I will come up with a few, then we will see if we come up with the same. If we do, that will be the name," Hayden says.

"I love that idea," I say with a big grin.

"Maddison and I are going to head home. We'll take care of Rex for you," Brenden says, giving me a hug and Hayden a bro hug.

"We will come to visit tomorrow. I love you both; take care of my best friend, Hayden," Maddison says, giving us both hugs.

"You know I will, Maddison. She is my world," Hayden responds.

"Take care of yourself, Maddison. These two don't need to be freaking out with us both in the hospital," I say as they walk out the door.

When Hayden and I were left alone, we just stared at each other. All I could think about was that our family of two would double in a few days and become a family of four. What Hayden and I have created was terrific. Being best friends and knowing each other before entering into a relationship is scary, but it was also wondrous.

As the next few days passed, I noticed that Hayden was acting a little off, so I decided to ask him what was going on. "Babe, what is wrong? I know something is bothering you,"

I got a call for Mason; apparently, Tanner had been making calls to this Brittany girl, trying to have her take care of you promptly. He wants you dead because he thinks the charges against him will be dropped. They are trying to locate Brittany, but she is flying under the radar. It has me worried about the Three of you. I need to keep you three safe and this woman is going to make it hard," He tells me, looking into my eyes.

"Babe, is there a way we can hire security to patrol our land and to watch the house when we come home?" I asked. 

"Brenden and I were thinking that would be our best option. We need to look around and hire someone. The doctor asked to have a meeting with us. I think they will talk about the babies being born today or tomorrow. Have you thought of names yet,"

"A little, I was thinking about Alexandria Lynn and Allison Lynn for girls. Then Xander Michael and Xaidyn Alexander.

"I like those better than the ones I have chosen. We will use them." Hayden says.