CHAPTER 5

Pregnant

Landon

Pacing the hospital room, I try to reign in my nerves. I hate hospitals. It always reeks of fear and desperation. I glance back over to the bed. Brooke looks even paler in the harsh lighting. When I finally went downstairs to tell Brooke to come and eat lunch, it had already been hours. Hours of her crumpled on the floor. In and out of consciousness. If I had not noticed her pushing her food around last night at dinner and noted she skipped breakfast, I would not have gone to get her at all. And that thought sent a chill all the way to the bone. They gave her a sedative and took some blood samples to take some tests. That was hours ago. They gave me a bunch of paperwork to fill out, and I found that I could not. I could not even answer when her birthday was because I never took the time to learn. I intentionally blocked out any information I could have learned about her. And seeing her grimacing in pain, drowning in that ugly hospital gown, I hated myself for it. I tossed the paperwork aside to agitated to try.

“Could you please stop pacing? You’re making me nervous.” Her voice is so faint and raspy. They asked her not to drink any fluids, and I imagine by now, she is quite thirsty.

“Maybe you should be nervous.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, with the way you were acting yesterday, it has crossed my mind that you might be suffering withdrawal.” I hate myself even more as the words fly out. Cursing myself mentally, I turn away from her devastated look.

“That’s what you think of me?” Her voice comes in a barely audible whisper.

“No, I-I don’t know why I said that.”

She does not say anything else just leans back against her pillows slightly turning away from me.

When the doctor came in ten minutes later, my anxiety reaches a peak.

“Well, how are you feeling today, miss?” he asks Brooke.

“I’m all right.”

All right? Is she crazy? She is not all right!

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. I got some good news to share today.” The doctor pauses and looks between the two of us. “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell. You’re pregnant.”

Brooke

Pregnant! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, I cannot be pregnant. I am on so many medications that the baby cannot have. I must do dialysis three times a week. This cannot be happening. I am pulled away from my panicked thoughts when Landon asks, “Why would that cause her to crumple in pain?”

“I’m not sure. Once we get her full medical history, we might be able to find out, but I think it was just caused by lack of nutrition for the baby. When was the last time you ate?” he asks me.

“Um I… I…don’t know. I haven’t been able to keep anything down.”

“So, the morning sickness has already begun then?”