Fear washed through him, along with agonizing remorse. He needed to get away.
He leapt up and ran through the trees, leaving her lying in the dirt, blood flowing out of her with every beat of her heart winding down. She couldn't survive that.
Oh God. What have I done?
Brooke’s head fell back and thudded in the dirt. She stared up at the stars peeking through the tree branches and felt a wash of numbness come over her.
Someone yelled her name.
Afraid to die alone, she sucked in a breath and rasped out as loud as she could, “I’m here!”
Tears streamed down her face. She knew the life inside her had extinguished. She felt it all the way to her soul.
Emptiness like a deep chasm opened up inside her and swallowed her whole.
Moaning in anguish and trying to catch her breath, she sobbed. She didn’t speak when the officers found her. She couldn’t manage more than, “My baby’s dead.”
The look on their faces said it all. They agreed with her.
She couldn’t take it.
Passing out would have been a blessing, but the blackness she wanted to welcome refused to come. She was forced to look into the sad and devastated faces of the policemen and paramedics as they quickly wrapped her bloody arms, strapped her to a board, and carried her out of the trees.
The last thing she saw was Mindy Sue in Tony’s arms as they approached before the paramedics put her into the ambulance. She could only manage to tell Mindy Sue one thing. “Don’t let them c-call h-home. P-promise.”
Mindy Sue gasped at the sight of the knife sticking out of her belly. “Brooke, you need your family.”
“N-no. C-call your d-dad.”
Brooke lost track of time after that. First she was in the ambulance, then she was surrounded by a team of doctors and nurses all calling out information and orders before she was rushed into an operating room and some nice man did what she really wanted and knocked her out.
She woke up in recovery, aching with a loss so profound and deep and dark she wished she’d never woken up at all. “W-where’s my b-baby. I want to s-see h-her.”
The nurse put her hand on Brooke’s good shoulder. “I’m so sorry for your loss. You need to rest now.”
Brooke fell into oblivion again.
“Brooke, sweetie.” Mindy Sue touched her cheek sometime later. “Are you awake?”
Brooke couldn’t stand to open her eyes and see the damage Adam inflicted on her body. “Where is she? I need to see her. Why won’t they let me see her?”
Mindy Sue brushed her hand over Brooke’s hair. “I’m so sorry. You’re going to be all right.”
She’d never be okay again. “He killed my baby.” The wail filled with all her pain and agony tore through her and madeeverything else hurt more. Every wracking sob compounded her pain.
“Brooke, please. Calm down. I don’t want you to hurt yourself more.”
She couldn’t hurt any worse.
“I’m so sorry, sweetie.” Mindy Sue leaned over her and gently held her close while she cried. Brooke felt her friend’s tears drip onto her cheek.
She cried herself back into a fitful sleep, filled with agonizing images of Adam attacking her. She heard his voice. She felt him all around her and coming at her. She remembered how hard she fought to save herself and the baby.
But she lost.
And now she didn’t want to live without her little girl.
She woke again later. Hours. Days. She didn’t know how much time had passed. She didn’t care. It didn’t matter.
