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Thirty-Seven
Eli
I wake up at six a.m. to texts from Ava. A voicemail from her where I can tell she’s been crying. A couple of missed calls from her.
And a text from her mother.
Fable Callahan: Please call me when you get this message. It’s an emergency.
My heart racing, I fumble with my phone and call her, breathless as I wait for her to answer. The moment she says hello, I don’t even wait for her to say anything else.
“What’s wrong? Is Ava okay? What happened? Is she all right?”
“Eli, calm down. I need you to listen to me.”
“Okay. Yeah. Sorry.” I swallow hard, trying to control my breathing. My heart rate. When she remains silent for a few seconds longer, I can’t take it anymore. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Oh, Eli.” A sob leaves her and for the briefest moment I’m fucking terrified over what she’s going to say. “Ava—”
No, no, no, no.
“—she lost the baby.”
I say nothing. I hear her soft cries, my ragged breaths. I rest a hand against my forehead, rocking gently back and forth, the same thing running through my head on repeat.
Ava’s okay. Ava’s okay. Ava’s okay.
Then what her mother told me sinks in, punching me right in the face.
She lost the baby.
Oh fuck. She lost our baby.
“What happened? I can’t believe I didn’t hear my phone. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up. Where are you? I’ll come to you right now. I need to see Ava—”
“Eli, seriously. Listen to me right now.” Fable’s voice is firm, and I go still, my shoulders drooping. “Let me explain to you what happened first. She woke up cramping and bleeding. It started to get heavier, so she woke me up and I drove her to the urgent care. She was losing a lot of blood so the doctor on call
came in, and he ordered a D&C. They’re performing it on her now. She should be in recovery in the next thirty minutes or so.”
I have no clue what she’s talking about. “What’s a D&C?”
“A procedure they perform when they worry that not everything—comes out during the miscarriage,” she explains.
“Ava’s not pregnant anymore.” My voice is flat. Emotionless.
“No. I’m a-afraid she’s not.” She starts crying again. “I’m so sorry, Eli. Ava told me how excited you were about this. I’m sure you must be devastated.”
I am. But what’s weird is I’m having no emotional reaction whatsoever. I feel…numb. Like what she’s saying isn’t sinking in. Maybe I’m in shock. “Is Ava going to be okay?”
“Oh, she’s doing really well. She’s such a trooper.” Her voice rasps and I can hear the pride in it.
“That’s my girl,” I whisper, clearing my throat. “Should I wait?” There’s no way I can wait, I don’t know why I said that. “Or do you need me to come help you out? I can leave right now—”
She interrupts me. “Do you have class this morning?”
I bark out a laugh. “I’m skipping class, Mrs. C. There is no way I’m not coming up there at some point this morning to be with Ava.”
“I’ll text you when we’re on our way back to the house. You can leave then,” she says.
