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She sat up, gripped the sheet beneath her with one hand, and clenched her jaw. An involuntary cry left her, and sweat started to coat her forehead and between her breasts. Before long, she was huddled over her bed, her arms around her waist, and a small cry leaving her because of the pain.
That was when she looked between her legs and saw the blood between her thighs. Wiping her finger over the inside of her leg, she brought her hand up and looked at the red substance that looked almost black under the moonlight.
“Mom,” she said in a soft voice, her fear and panic mounting. “Mom!” She screamed out this time, feeling like she might pass out, but forcing herself to stand. The blood trailed down her thighs, and the pain picked up again. Her bedroom door burst opened, her light was turned on, and her mother and father stood there. She turned and stared at them with what she knew were wide, frightened eyes.
“Lena, oh my God,” her mother said and came forward, her eyes seeing the blood, her fear and panic as clear as what Lena felt.
Lena held up her hands and stared at the blood covering her fingers. “Something’s wrong.”
“Risk of miscarrying.”
“Risk of miscarrying.”
The doctor stood in front of Lena and her mother, his white lab coat bright, stark … emotionless, just like his expression and voice. His bedside manner sucked. He’d said a shitload of stuff since he’d walked into the patient room, but that was all she heard.
Risk of a miscarriage.
He stared down at a clipboard, wrote something, and then finally looked at her.
He started talking about what she’d need to do, precautions that would need be taken so she didn’t lose the baby.
A baby.
Pregnant.
On instinct, she placed her hand on her belly.
“Did you have any questions?”
Lena stared at the doctor for a second and then turned and looked at her mother.
“It’s okay, honey. If you have any questions, now is the best time to ask.”
Lena stared down at her hands for a second, and when she had enough courage, she looked at the doctor again. He looked stoic as though this was a run-of-the-mill conversation he had any day of the week.
“I’m still pregnant?”
He nodded. “The ultrasound and bloodwork looked okay, but you’ll need to take it easy for the next few days, and drink plenty of fluids. We’ll schedule a follow-up at the end of the week to make sure everything still looks good.” He stared at her and gave a small smile although it looked blank. Bland. “The nurse will come in with more homecare instructions and a couple of prescriptions I’d like you to start. As well as starting prenatal vitamins right away.”
“Is it something I did wrong?”
The wall the doctor had on his face slowly faded as he gave her a genuine smile. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. These things happen at times, and no amount of medical training can explain why.”
She nodded, her tongue feeling too thick to say anything else.
The doctor left a few minutes later, and the silence stretched out between her and her mother.
Lena didn’t know what to say. She was in a pair of light blue hospital pants and a hospital gown. Lena hadn’t even told Rory about being pregnant, and now she had to tell him that she almost lost their baby. The tears came fast and hard, and when her mom pulled her close, wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and told her everything was going to be okay, Lena wanted to believe that.
When she was able to get control of herself and stopped crying, she pulled away from her mother.
“Have you told Rory about the pregnancy?” her mother asked in a soft, caring voice.
She shook her head. “I just barely found out.” She expected her mother to maybe yell at her, tell her it’s stupid that she wasn’t careful, that she should have been smart and used protection, but all her mom did was hold her again, kiss the top of her head, and tell her things would be okay again.
“We’ll get through this, sweetheart. Everything will be okay. We’ll make sure it is.”
Lena pulled back and looked at her mom. “You’re not mad at me, Mom?”
Her mom smiled and shook her head. She wiped the tears that were still on Lena’s cheeks. “No, honey. I’m just worried about you. But I know you’ll be okay because you’re strong. And this little one,” her mother said and placed a hand on her lower belly. “This little baby is strong, too, just like you.” She smoothed a hand over Lena’s hair. “It’ll be hard, I’m sure, but it’ll be okay, sweetheart.”
Lena looked at her hands, feeling her mother’s words resonating in her. She couldn’t help but believe them.
“He’ll be there for you. That boy loves you so much.”
