“Stay with me lady…STAY WITH ME!” Rebecca could hear the frantic yells from what seemed like a distance away, but she couldn’t do what the voice was saying. She couldn’t hold on any longer. She could feel the blood draining from her body, coldness filing her heart just as coldness fills ones stomach after swallowing a big bite of ice cream.
She had never felt such pain before, the pain of being shot, the pain of a bullet impaling her flesh right between her shoulder blades. It still burned, she could feel it slightly, but mostly all she felt now was numbness….and cold.
“We’re losing her! Blood pressure is dropping!”
They were right, they were losing her, and there was no way to save her. The bullet had impacted itself into her left lung and she would be dead before they could get her to the hospital and remove it. They were trained professional, they knew she wasn’t going to make it, but more importantly, so did she.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, finding it more difficult with each passing second.
“What?” the EMT hissed, watching Rebecca’s mouth intently to read her lips. He grasped his hand around hers and prodded for her to say it again. “I’m listening,” he said pleadingly, knowing the words she would speak would be her last and wanting so desperately to let her know they would be heard.
“T-tell…tell them….I-I’m sor-ry.” With the last syllable out of her mouth she was gone but the ambulance continued to speed toward the hospital. There was still one life they would try to save and hopefully they weren’t too late.
The ambulance screeched to a stop outside the emergency room and a stream of medical personnel poured through the sliding doors towards the ambulance.
“OR is ready we just need to get her in there,” one of the nurses yelled to the EMT’s as they rushed to unload Rebecca from the ambulance. If they could get her into the operating room and perform an emergency cesarean section, the baby might be saved, but the chances were slim. As soon as Rebecca died, oxygen stopped flowing to the baby, and at this point, even if they could revive the infant after birth, the chances of brain damage were high.
Seconds later Rebecca’s body was being whisked into the operating room; the doctor’s and nurses hoping some triumph would come from this heinous crime, but feeling doubtful that any would.
“God be with her,” one of the EMT’s said quietly as he watched Rebecca’s body disappear through the large swinging door, making the sign of the cross quickly over his body. He was about to turn and leave when he remembered what Rebecca had said to him right before she passed on.
“Hey Lily,” he said quietly to one of the nurses at the desk. She was busy entering Rebecca’s information into the computer, but looked up politely at him.
“Yeah Greg?”
“She said something before she died, and I don’t know who she was talking about, but maybe her family will.” Lily grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the breast pocket of her scrubs and smiled.
“I’ll write it down and give it to whomever shows up to ID her,” she said somberly, waiting for Greg to continue.
“She said, ‘Tell them I’m sorry’.” Lily nodded her head and wrote the message down.
“Thanks for remembering that Greg; I’m sure that apology will be very comforting to whomever she meant it for when they find out what happened.”
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The shrill ring of the bedroom phone at two-fifteen in the morning startled Nick and Roslyn to awareness.
“What the hell?” Nick mumbled as he reached for the lamp and knocked everything off the night stand. The phone kept ringing, the loud noise filling the quite peacefulness of night sending an almost panicked feeling through his body and he raced to find the light and then the phone.
“Hello?” he said hoarsely into the phone after managing to answer it.
“Nick, this is Gladys Lei from The Surrogacy Center. Something’s happened with Rebecca and I need you and Roslyn to meet me at Good Samaritan Hospital.” Her tone was somber; sending a shudder of fear through Nick’s half naked body. Suddenly he felt chilled and his boxer shorts were not enough clothing to warm him.
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She ran down the long corridor blindly, stumbling and struggling to regain her footing with each falter, tears blurring her sight but refusing to overflow from their boundaries. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak, her mind playing the sentences over and over, smothering her with the truth she would have given her own life to change, the truth that God had taken His greatest gift to her away.
“Roslyn! Roslyn stop!”
She could hear Nick calling for her from behind, but she did not stop. She had to keep her legs moving, her heart racing, her body as alive as she could keep it for she was afraid that if she stopped, she would die of a broken heart.
“I’m sorry Mr. and Mrs. Carter, we tried everything, but too much time had passed….”
The words rang in her ears as she fled the confines of the building and ran into the parking lot.
“The child had been without oxygen for over 10 minutes and our attempts at resuscitating the infant were unsuccessful…”
More tears built up in her eyes without spilling over the lids; she continued to run blindly, scrambling for a way out of pain she was in.
“Roslyn, please! Stop running!”
Nick was still a ways behind her, running after her and pleading for her to stop, but she wouldn’t, she couldn’t. Her baby was dead, the baby she had wanted so badly, the baby that was scheduled to be born eight hours from now, the baby that she was going to hold in her arms but now never would.
She wiped at her eyes as she approached the street, realizing that she could not see where she was going but still not stopping. She heard the blare of a car horn and saw the beam of headlights shining at her but she did not stop. It was only when the squeal of the tires and smell of burnt rubber came over her that she ceased movement and buckled onto the pavement beneath her.
“Jesus Christ lady,” the driver of the car yelled as he jumped out. The hood of the car was stopped only inches from where Roslyn sat, sobbing for herself and the loss of her child. The man stared at her, his rage turning into concern and puzzlement as he watched this stranger’s heart breaking in front of him.
“Roslyn!” Nick yelled as he approached the scene and knelt down beside her, pulling her fragile, shaking body against his own.
“She ran right out in front of me,” the driver explained, unsure of what to say or what to do. “Is she alright?” His concern was evident as he stared wide-eyed, waiting for an answer. He could tell just by looking at her that she wasn’t, he didn’t need anyone to tell him that.
“I’m sorry sir,” a woman said softly as she approached the vehicle. She had on scrubs and her name tag read “Mona”; she was a staff member of the hospital. “This woman just received some very disturbing news and, as you can see, is very distraught about it. Please accept our apologies.”
The driver shook his head, glancing away from Mona and looking down at the sobbing woman on the ground. He didn’t know what news she had received, but it was obviously something very painful. God, be with this woman as she deals with her agony, he prayed silently as he got back in his vehicle and slowly backed up, veering his car away from the scene.
“Mr. Carter,” Mona whispered into Nick’s ear as she squatted down next to him, “let’s get your wife inside. We’ll find a room for her and give her a sedative; she’ll be able to sleep the rest of the night.” Nick nodded, standing up and pulling Roslyn off the ground with him.
With his arms wrapped tightly around Roslyn’s frame he led her back into the hospital and to a room where she could sleep.
“Here’s two for you as well,” a nurse said, holding out a small, clear cup with two blue pills in it.
“No thanks,” Nick said, shaking his head from side to side slightly. “I’m fine.” The nurse smiled a little at him and then set the cup down the table next to him.
“In case you change your mind,” she said softly and then exited the room, pulling the door shut behind her. Nick looked over at his wife, her face still streaked with tears, as she slept soundly on the bed. He knew he had to be strong, both of them couldn’t crumble at the same time, but now that she was sleeping, he could no longer hold it together.
It started as a few tears which he wiped away quickly, but eventually he couldn’t keep up as the drops turned into rivers and deep, painful sobs began bursting from his lungs. He didn’t hear anyone come into the room, and when he felt a pair of arms drape around him he didn’t move. Through his tears he saw the tattooed arms wrapped around him, comforting him, refusing to let him mourn alone. He knew it was okay to let it out, and he did, because there was nothing left to lose.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Okay guys...I have the next chapter done. I know this chapter may upset some of you, but please remember this is a fictional story and not all stories have happy resolutions to problems. I hope you enjoy it and I'll try not to make you wait so long for the next chapter!
