A baby he had only just found out about.
A love he’d only just opened his heart to.
Stone’s breath was stolen right out of his lungs at her confession as his hand remained glued to the spot where she had placed it.
“We need to get you help. There’s got to be something… anything… You’re pregnant and?—”
A sob ripped from her throat. “I don’t… think I am… anymore.”
“Okay. Oh, god. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” He barely choked out the words before his own throat constricted with emotion.
“I don’t know what to do. It h-hurts. I…” Her belly went hard under his hand, a strong contraction working to clear her body as she groaned and writhed beneath his touch.
“We need to get you to the hospital. Can you stand? I have to get you help.”
“No.”
“Mae, now isn’t the time to be stubborn. You’re bleeding and in pain. I can’t just sit here?—”
“You have to! Please. I thought I could… on my own. But I can’t. P-please don’t leave me, Sully.”
“Okay. Okay. Shh. I’m not going anywhere. I’m never leaving you again, Michaela, you hear me? Never again.” His lips pressed down over her wet hair at the crown of her head. “Is the water helping? Is it easing the pain?”
“A little,” she cried.
“I’m going to shift you a little, just to get you up off the floor. We can stay here however long you want to, Mae. Okay? Until the pain is better. Until it’s over.”
She lifted her eyes to meet his, her chin quivering as she shook her head back and forth. “I don’t want it to be over. I don’t want to lose our baby.”
His heart shattered. “I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. I'm so sorry this is happening.”
She’d lost the baby.
In the arms of the man whose child she was carrying. In the arms of the man who she only just told about thepregnancy. She couldn’t have known that it would end like that. In blinding pain, with so much blood. So many tears. So much heartbreak. She couldn’t have known that the last time they’d ever cradle their baby was through her belly as it was slipping away between her legs. She’d stolen every happy memory he could have held onto in the overwhelming shadows of sadness that night cast over them.
Stone returned from the closet in dry clothes, carrying sweatpants and a shirt she immediately recognized were his. Before she could reach out for them, he was there, pulling the soft fabric down over her head. Mae was just about to stand up off the toilet when Stone moved to the sink, crouching down to pull out her package of pads she always kept in the corner.
“I can do that,” she whispered, her throat still raw from all the tears she cried.
“No. I’ve got it.”
Stone unwrapped the outside packaging before bending down to slip her legs into a pair of his boxer briefs. Then he meticulously situated the pads inside the underwear before helping her stand and slipping them up her body.
“Is that okay? Are you comfortable?”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. How would she ever feel comfortable in her own body again? “Yes.”
He nodded, his eyes full of too many swirling emotions. “Okay. We’ll need to check on the bleeding over the next few hours. But for now, let’s finish getting you dressed.”
And that’s what they did. One leg into the sweatpants. Then the other. One foot into warm, thick socks. Then the other. Somewhere deep inside, she knew they were facing the most daunting task in partnership. To move through loss like that together, and yet, he was there. Steady as a rock for her as she was blown about in the eye wall of a hurricane.
She didn’t remember walking, leaving the bathroombehind, but in a blink, they were back in the bedroom. The overhead light was blinding. A painful assault on her already frayed and hypersensitive nerves.
“I’m sorry. I’ll turn off the light in one second. I just need to remake the bed.”
“Remake the bed?” Her eyes landed on the comforter, rumpled and pushed all the way to the bottom. And that’s when she saw the large crimson spot. “Oh god. I’m sorry. I can take care of it…”
“Mae. Stop.” His warm hands rested softly against her shoulders. “You need to sit down. I’ve got this.”
