He left his sick and pregnant wife on the side
of the road.
But took care of her, what a love story.
I went to the hospital.
After I checked in.
<
Mark was running towards me with Tiffany in
his arms.
Before I could say anything.
Tiffany started to fake cry, “Sarah, I’m sorry I
hurt your relationship, if you want I’ll get on my
knees and apologize.”
She started to cry.
I looked at her, “you know you shouldn’t call
other people’s husbands in the middle of the night right? Then get on your knees.”
She froze.
People were staring.
She started to cry and hobbled away.
Mark ran in front of me and grabbed my arm
“are you crazy?! If anything happens to her, I’ll
<
kill you!”
“Let’s go apologize to Tiffany!”
I couldn’t breathe and was shaking.
Mark didn’t notice.
The doctor stopped him.
100
And saw that my water broke, and said, “her
water broke, take her to the ER.”
Mark looked at me and went pale.
He ran at me, “Sarah! Are you crazy! You’re
killing our baby!”
The doctor started at him, and said something
that knocked him off his feet…
く
10:22
Chapter 2
“Sir, the baby already suffered severe brain damage from alcohol exposure. Termination is medically necessary,” the doctor said, her voice clipped. “The mother’s in a critical state. Please
don’t obstruct us.”
She practically shoved Mark out of the way and I was wheeled into the operating room. I’d never been more scared. My stomach churned and I
started to cry.
Outside, Mark was losing it. I could hear him
yelling.
“What the hell are you talking about? Brain damage from alcohol? That’s impossible!”
“This is malpractice! I’m gonna sue you!”
“It was just one beer! I Googled it! Nothing like
this could happen!”
He was completely unhinged
Two burly security guards finally showed up and
wrestled him back. He was still clinging to the
door frame
“What’s your relationship to the patient?” 1
heard a nurse ask.
“I’m her husband!”
“Ms. Johnson said her husband was deceased?”
she asked.
I wanted to disappear.
“Also, Ms. Johnson has been with our practice
since finding out she was pregnant, we have
never seen you,” she continued.
The last sliver of space in the door
disappeared. The anesthetic hit me, and
glanced at Mark one last time. His face was
ashen
When I woke up, I was in a hospital room.
Empty and sunken like I did after Thanksgiving
The emptiness where my stomach used to be
told me it wasn’t a dream Ivy baby was gone.
As soon as my eyes fluttered open, Mark
rushed in, grabbed me, and hugged me so light
I couldn’t breathe “Marah, you’re awake! Thanks
God!” His voice cracked
The bug was crushing, suffocaling. I shoved him
away: “Mark, what’s with the sudden hero not?”
His back stiffened. He looked down, quilty
The room fell silent.
3 100
When the doctor came in for rounds, I learned
how close I’d come to dying. I understood why Mark looked like he’d aged ten years.
Apparently, he was informed that I had signed a “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) for me and the baby.
After the examination, I asked the doctor to see
my baby.
The doctor hesitated, but led me to a side
room.
The baby lay there, tiny and still. My little girl,
who would’ve had dimples and a knack for
making everyone around her smile, her face
was cold and covered in a purple bruise.
I only glanced once before gasping and backing
away.
<
Mark rushed over, blocking my view. “Sarah,
don’t look. We’ll have other kids.”
The floodgates opened. A wave of grief
overwhelmed me.
I slapped him across the face. Hard. “Are you
even human? This was your child!”
“Even if we have ten more kids, they won’t be
this one! And guess what, we’re done. We’re
over.”
Mark’s cheek reddened and swelled. If this was
the old Mark, he would have gone ballistic.
Instead, he ignored the nurses who were staring
and reached for me.
“Sarah, I messed up. I don’t know how this
happened… It was just one beer…”
“You love me, you can’t just leave. You’re just
<
saying stuff.”
((
100
I backed away.
Alcohol allergy? Really? A guy who swims in cologne?
