Against the Odds (Fighting to Survive #2)
Brenda Kennedy
Chapter One: Living a Nightmare
Leah
We go to the cemetery and visit Jamie. We tell her no matter what she is our little girl, and we will always love her. We drive to Bruce’s office mostly in silence. My sobs are the only noise breaking the silence. I walk into the office through blurred vision. I can barely remember how we got here. Robert and I are led into a conference room. Bruce is already there waiting for us.
“I’m sorry we’re late; traffic was heavy,” Robert lies.
“That’s all right. Do you need anything? Leah?”
I shake my head no. I don’t look at him or say anything. I can’t see through the tears.
“No, thank you,” Robert says as he pulls out a chair for me to sit on.
When we are both seated, Bruce says, “I haven’t opened these yet.” I look at him; he is holding up two manilla envelopes. “We have the results from the hospital and also the results from Mason and Alec’s office. Once we have the results, then we’ll discuss a game plan if we need one.”
I nod, again. I swallow the lump in my throat. I can’t talk.
“Are you ready?” Bruce asks.
Robert holds my hand and says, “We are.”
My hands are sweaty and my knees are shaking up and down. Robert tries to slow the movement of my knees with his hands, but it doesn’t work. I hear the sound of the envelope opening and I still. I can’t move. I can’t breath. I wait for what feels like hours before Bruce speaks. I hear him say, “I’m sorry.” I scream. I don’t hear anything else. I already know what the results are. If she were our daughter, he wouldn’t have started a sentence off with, “I’m sorry.”
He continues, “Jamie is not your biological child.”
“No!” I scream. I slide from my chair onto the floor and cry. I can’t see through my tears and I can no longer hear what is going on around me. I feel like the dark cloud has consumed me and is choking me. This is almost worse than her death. Now it’s like we never had her at all. “Jamie,” I cry between sobs.
Robert grabs my arm and pulls me into him. I cry and try to crawl into my body. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to hear anything else. This can’t be true; this can’t be real. I hold onto Robert as if he can keep the black cloud from claiming me. It’s hovering close and I can feel it pulling at him.
“Leah, it’s all right,” Robert speaks with a cracked voice.
I know that Bruce is in the room, I can feel his presence, even though he is quiet. I take some deep breaths and try to control the tears.
“Leah and Robert,” Bruce says.
I open my eyes and sit carefully back into my seat. Robert follows me, never taking his sad eyes from mine and never saying a word. Be strong, Leah, I beg myself. Be strong for yourself and for Robert. He needs you.
“Both results are the same? The one from the hospital and the one from Mason and Alec’s office?”
“I’m afraid so. It says that you and Robert have O negative blood types while Jamie had B positive. Parents with O blood types can have only a child with the same blood type. There is no possible way that Jamie is your biological child. I’m very sorry.”
“Now what?” Robert asks, quietly.
“Now we decide what you both want to do. Do you want to meet her? Do you want visitation? Do you want custody?”
“Yes,” I blurt out. “We do.”
“Leah?” Robert says. “We need to think this over. We need time to think this through.”
“Robert,” I say as calmly as I can. I am a wreck on the inside, so I need to appear calm on the outside. “It’s all I have thought about. I tried to think positively through all of this, but a part of me already knew that Jamie wasn’t our biological daughter. She didn’t look anything like you or myself. I didn’t care, she had her own beautiful, unique look.”
Bruce interrupts and says, “Leah and Robert. I want you to understand, this won’t be easy. The other family will be very upset that their child has passed. They may say things that are unspeakable.”
“I don’t care. If our biological child is out there, I want her.” I look at Robert and then at Bruce. “I want to see her, meet her, and raise her. Robert and I are wonderful parents, and we deserve to have our daughter to raise.”
“Leah, I’m worried that maybe you’re not strong enough.” Robert looks at me and I can see the sadness and concern in his eyes.
“Robert, after the accident you turned to drugs, and I got depressed. Never do I think that you’ll ever make that mistake again.” I try to smile and I hope he can see the strength in my eyes. “Please, don’t always assume that when something gets tough, that I’ll get depressed. I know you worry about me, but have faith in me. I’m not fragile and weak.”
“I just worry about you.”
“I know you do. This is sad news and I’ll be sad, but it doesn’t mean I’ll get depressed. Robert, we have a daughter. Our daughter is out there and she needs us. I can be strong for her.”
Robert holds my hand and squeezes it. “I know you can.”
“Thank you.” I lean in and kiss Robert.