“Another one,” I whimpered, breathing through the pain. “He took another one.” Clutching my stomach, I lifted a blood-covered hand to Xavier’s face, my eyes finding his. Where mine were dry, his were filled with tears. For me. “He took another one,” I breathed.
“Who, love?”
My body snapped upright, pain ricocheting through my stomach. “Master,” I gritted. “Aargh!” I screamed as another cramp took the remnants of my energy, and I gave in to the warm gush between my legs.
“She’s bleeding out,” someone warned.
Xavier’s hands tightened around me. “You do every fucking thing you can to save her,” he ground out. “I’m not fucking losing her.”
“Chopper’s ready, sir,” someone shouted.
I felt my body float. Darkness swallowed me whole.
“Theatre, now,” someone called out.
More voices, more sounds.
Light, dark, light, flashed above me.
Then dark.
Chapter 30 – Xavier
“What the fuck was that, Jules?” I stared at my blood-covered hands, now caked dry from having stood a whole hour with my heart in my throat, watching them perform a D&C on Mikaela. “How did we not see this coming.” Dunking my hands into the liquid soap, I glanced over my shoulder.
Sighing, Juliette peeled off her scrubs and crossed to my side while I scraped Mikaela’s blood off my hands. Every inch of me hurt for that girl. “Hasn’t she been through enough already,” I grunted. “And now this. For fuck sake.” I slammed the metal top, sending the liquid soap flying to the floor.”
“Calm down, Xavier.”
“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down. Did you see that girl?” I yelled. “We had to fucking cut an umbilical cord to a dying baby, Jules. I watched that girl bleed out all over my fucking trousers. Watched her mourn a child she should’ve never had in her in the first place. Tell me how that isn’t something to be enraged over?” My body vibrated with fury for an elusive man I wanted to rip to pieces. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Leaning my hands on the metal, I bent over and exhaled harsh breaths, fighting back the emotion clogging my throat. It took a few minutes of Juliette’s silence to bring my anger under control. I lifted hazy eyes to my friend. “I’m sorry.” She’d never seen me this angry before. I don’t think any of my family or close friends had.
Ever the genteel lady she was, she smiled. “Come.” She grasped my arm, stuffed a towel in my hands, and guided me to the brown sofas in the doctor’s lounge. I dropped my tired body into one while she took the other opposite me. “When I tested her for STDs, the pregnancy test was also negative. It must’ve been too early. Considering her frailty, it never crossed my mind to do another. I’m sorry, Xavier, I should’ve—”
“It’s not your fault, Jules.”
“I know you’re hurting for her, but we both knew there’d be more surprises when you brought her home. Perhaps this is the last of it.”
