The Space Between Us(61)
The pain was unreal, and it was coming and going in waves. I was in the bathroom, bent over in pain, trying to call Reeve. When I finally got ahold of her, I begged her to pick me up to take me to the hospital.
“Something is wrong,” I cried.
“I’ll be right there.”
I made it to the front of the building and only had to wait a few minutes for Reeve’s car to come screeching around the corner. When I got in, I was trying to keep the pain from my face.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m just having some pains in my stomach. Can we stop at Asher’s house first please?”
“Charlie, if something’s wrong you need to go to the hospital.”
“I need Asher.” She looked at me hard for a few seconds and then pulled away from the curb. My stomach cramped the whole drive to his house and when Reeve parked, I had to take some deep breaths before I could get out.
“Do you want me to come with you?”
I shook my head. “I will be right back. I just need him to come with me.” It hadn’t occurred to me that he might not even be home. I hoped he was in the house; I needed him more at that moment than I ever had before.
I walked through the door that lead into the dining area. I gasped and grabbed onto a table to keep myself upright as pain shot through my abdomen. I cried out, but tried to muffle the sound, not wanting anyone to find me crying in the middle of their house. Once the pain subsided a bit, I walked gingerly towards the stairs. I started to climb the stairs slowly, one step at a time, afraid that some sudden movement would cause more pain. I made it halfway up when another bolt of pain rocketed through me. This time though, along with the pain, came a warm wetness between my legs. I was bleeding and the realization made me silently cry out. I slowly continued up the stairs and eventually made it to Asher’s door.
Hot tears ran down my face, but I was still silent, wanting just to get Asher and get out of the house. I didn’t need anyone finding me like this. Bleeding and crying in a frat house. I needed to get out of there unnoticed. I turned his doorknob and pushed the door open slowly.
I bled.
I cried.
I lost my baby, of that I was sure.
I stared at the only boy I’d ever loved, the boy who had promised me the world and then disappeared, laying underneath a blonde who was straddling him. Naked.
My hand flew up to cover my mouth. One hand silenced the pain I felt watching Asher f*ck someone else, the other hand covered my belly, trying to hold on to the last moments I had with my child.
My mind was in shock, not wanting to believe that Asher would really be having sex with someone else. And I might not have believed it if I couldn’t see my name, the name he’d given me out of love, in bold black ink, covering the arm that was wrapped around whoever was atop him. I left the door open and ran as quickly as I could out to Reeve’s car. When I made it in the car, all the cries I held in came pouring out.
“Please Reeve, get me to the hospital.” She peeled out of her parking spot and drove down the street.
“What happened up there?” Reeve looked panicked as she sped down the street. “Charlie, talk to me. What’s going on?”
“I’m losing the baby, Reeve. I can feel it. I’m bleeding and I’m losing the baby.” More sobs came from me, but I couldn’t stifle them back, couldn’t hold them in. My hands were occupied, cradling my stomach, the pain overwhelming. “Asher was in his room with some girl.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, he was f*cking someone else while I sat there bleeding in his doorway.” Reeve was silent. I didn’t really expect her to have anything to say. What was there to say? “I don’t want to talk about it. Just get me to the hospital.”
Once we got to the ER it was a complete whirlwind. The nurse at the admin desk saw me, saw the blood between my legs, and ushered me back to a triage room immediately. She tried to argue with Reeve that she couldn’t come and Reeve promptly put her in her place. I managed to convince the nurse to let her stay with me, confiding in her that I had no one else.
I was given a gown and when I changed, I cringed at the amount of blood that I had actually lost.
“Oh my god, Charlie,” Reeve said from her chair. I tried not to look, but it was impossible. Most of my pants were soaked with blood. After getting the gown on and climbing on the exam table, I could still feel more blood emptying out of me. The cramping was getting worse and it was all I could do to hold my stomach until the doctor came in.
A woman with dark hair entered the room pushing a machine. She looked me over, her face not showing any emotion, and introduced herself.
“I’m Dr. Lance. You’re Charlie?”
“Yes. That’s me,” I squeaked.
“How many weeks pregnant are you?” She asked while she started fiddling with the machine she’d brought in with her.
“I don’t know exactly. I haven’t had my first pre-natal visit yet. My last period was five weeks ago.” The doctor nodded and moved closer to me and the exam table.
“Ok, Charlie, I am going to do an ultrasound on your stomach to try and see what we’re dealing with, ok?”
I nodded my head, unable to use my voice in that moment. I was already positive about what was happening. Dr. Lance squirted some gel on my stomach and then took something from the machine that looked like a remote control, placed it on the gel, and moved it around. I looked up at the screen and it looked like a TV without a signal – black, with little, white snow. Finally, there seemed to be a bigger black area on the screen and the doctor stopped moving the wand around.