“Oh no. She looks tired you should probably put her back in the basinet.” Brooke says, hugging her arms to herself.

“Oh no, it’s fine. She shouldn’t nap yet anyway,” Rebeca said.

Brooke does not move. she seems to freeze up.

“Brooke,” I chastised as quietly as possible, “you’re being rude. Stop it.”

“I-I can’t…I…” she stutters. All eyes seem turned to her.

“You know she really does look tired. I’ll just put her in the basinet,” Sonia says to alleviate some of the tension. But I could not let it go.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Brooke?” I demand. She opens her mouth and closes it like a fish. “Do you not know how to hold a baby or something? Because if so, now would be a great time to learn considering we’re going to have one of our own soon.”

Rebecca gasps. “You guys are pregnant.” But it falls on deaf ears as my sole attention is on Brooke.

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s just…I… I’m not… I just don’t want to hold her.”

“What! What about our baby?”

“I don’t know. I just figured after…you know…we divorce, you would keep the baby.”

I see red, and if someone tells me smoke billowed out of my ears, it would not shock me.

“Excuse me,” I said in a low dark voice.

Brooke’s eyes widened even more, fear prickling through her. She hugged herself tighter, folding in on herself.

“Can we not talk about this here?”

“What you don’t want everyone to hear that you don’t want your own child?” I say angrily.

Daisy starts crying, and Rebecca scoops her up attempting to sooth her.

“It’s not that I don’t want him—”

“You don’t even know if it’s him yet.”

“I-I—”

Her words almost seem to slur. I watch her eyes roll to the back of her head, then she is falling. Before she can hit the ground, I am catching her, cradling her to my chest. I can hear noise all around me but cannot make out the words. I only stare down at her lifeless body for the second time. Something is wrong with her; pregnancy does not cause you to faint constantly, and I am determined to find out.

“Brooke, Beagchaithnini Sneachta,” I whisper to her, “whatever’s going on were going to fix it. My heart can’t take this anymore.” I gently kiss her forehead.

Suddenly, people are taking her from my arms, and I tighten my grip, pulling away from them.

“Landon, you have to give her to them. They’re here to help her.” Derik’s hand rests on my shoulder as he tried to talk sense into me. “They’re going to take her to the hospital.”

I finally release her, and they take her away from me.

“Do you want to ride in the ambulance, sir?” the medic asks. I nod and he instructs me as to where to sit. They situate Brooke on the gurney and put her in the back with me and a medic. The medic asks me all kinds of questions, and I answer to the best of my ability.