DEE
“Colt,” I whisper, barely able to get his name out.
He looks at me, and I see it, he’s just as terrified as I am.
Because this is it.
These were our only eggs.
Our only shot.
If this doesn’t work, we’llneverbe parents.
“It’s okay, baby,” he whispers, but the tremble in his voice betrays him.
Dr. Doherty exhales slowly and turns off the machine. “Okay, you can sit up now, Anna.”
She tugs her shirt back down and walks over to sit beside Johnny, her face a little too still. The air feels heavy, like we’re sitting in a storm cloud waiting for it to break. My skin is buzzing, but not in anticipation—something darker, something dreadful.
Dr. Doherty reads over the results again, lips pressed together, rubbing the back of his neck like the words won’t come.
“Dee… Colt…” he starts, then pauses.
Please no.
Please don’t say it.
Tears sting my eyes before I even hear the words, like my body already knows what he’s about to tell us.
“Doc,” Colt says, voice rough. “Just spit it out.” He pulls me tighter into his side, and I feel him breathe in like he’s bracing for a heavy hit.
“I’m so sorry.”
No.
God, no.
Please.
The words land like a wrecking ball, and the floor drops out from beneath me. I can’t breathe. I can’t even think. My body starts to shake uncontrollably, and I feel Colt’s arms tighten around me, but it’s like I’m not even in my body anymore.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
We were supposed to leave here with hope.
Not with a funeral in our hearts.
I hear Anna gasp behind me, a sharp intake of breath that fractures something profound in my chest. My head falls into my hands as a sob rips through me.
I wasn’t ready for this.
I knew the risks.
I knew it was a possibility.
But I never really believed it would happen.
I never believed we’d lose…everything.
