Book To Read
Chapter 26
26 Deadly Diagnosis
26 Deadly Diagnosis
(Winona)
voll
"I'll drive you."
""You don't have to."
""It'll be faster. Come on."
"Thanks Jayden."
He leaves a wad of cash to cover dinner and tips on the table and takes me by the arm as he ushers me out. That touch burns into my skin but I can't think about that right now. My baby is in intensive care and I need to get there. The valet brings the car and Jayden opens my door. I get in and before long we roar off into the traffic, weaving and beeping.
"Jayden, slow down, I don't want to have an accident or be delayed if the traffic cops stop you.
"Sorry. Look, you relax, just let me drive. I understand how this must make you feel."
"No, no you don't. Only a parent could understand what it's like to have their only child, maybe the only child they can ever have, in a life-threatening situation. I almost yell the words because stress has me wired so high. He glares across at me. "Only a parent huh?
"That's right." I snap back.
T
"Well, isn't that what I am? She's my kid, isn't she? You go on about honesty, but you can't even tell me the truth about something so important. You're a hypocrite."
"I don't want to talk about it right now. I told you; Phillip is her father." Tears rolled down my cheeks. This is a nightmare.
When we arrived at the hospital, they rushed me up to the ICU wards. Anne is with her and it's only two visitors at a time.
"No need to stay." I tell Jayden as I walk into her room and choke up at my baby all hooked up to tubes and monitors.
"Winona. It was so sudden. One minute she was playing and the next she was unresponsive. I'm so sorry. The ambulance was so fast."
I touch her little face and those cheeks I love to squish. A nurse comes in.
"Are you Abby's mother?"
1 US
"I am. Can you give us any idea what's happening?" I rub her soft hand as I speak. I want to scream. My heart is breaking for her. She must have been so scared and I was at damn dinner.
This is stupid. I'm trying to protect her, to build a stable life for her and when she needs me the most, I'm
26 Deadly Diagnosi
not there. My hands start to shake.
"Take a seat with her for a few minutes. The doctor will be along shortly. He'll speak to you outside the room. We don't want any...excitement, in here."
I nod. "Of course. Thank you, Nurse," I whisper.
I sit beside her, holding her hand, rubbing her cheek. Anne is behind me and she rubs my shoulders. What a mess I've gotten us into.
"Oh, Anne... Why didn't I just stay where we were? Life was so much simpler then."
"Regardless of where we lived, all of this would have still happened. You weren't to know Abby would get ill and I know you came back to face up to the past and try and make it right. So Abby could know her father." Tears pour down my face. "But I could have just married Phillip and Abby would have known him as her father, and a good one."
"Perhaps. But one day Abby would find out and come and ask you. There's no easy way out of the past. You have to face it sooner or later. May as well be now, while she's too young to remember much of Whoing on."
I suck in a breath as I sob. "I guess."
The nurse comes back in. "We need to do some more tests so if you could both just wait outside."
"She'll be okay? You'll call me if anything happens," I ask.
"She's stable right now. I'll call you, yes. Go wait for the doctor."
I briefly wonder if the same doctors are still here. When I miscarried, I was looked after here and diagnosed. Jayden and I were both very distraught because we had no clue what was happening at the time and there was so much excruciating pain and blood. He'd had a hard time when they wouldn't let him in with me. He carried on in his pretentiously entitled way but they stuck to their rules and said he'd be escorted from the building if he didn't calm down.
That's when he wanted to start a wing for families going through trauma. So they could keep their support system with them and also get the care and attention they needed from the medical staff.
When they would finally let him in, and he heard I was pregnant and had a complicated miscarriage, and also that I may never be able to conceive again, I thought he was going to cry. He said he'd never realized how much he wanted something until it was taken from
him.
That one day, we'd have our little family and even if we had to start with nothing, we'd be okay. Together.
My phone buzzed pulling me from my daydream. It's Phillip.
"Anne, you go home. Phillip just text that he is on his way. I'll keep you updated."
"Are you sure? I can stay."
"I'm sure. Go get some sleep. That way you can take a turn tomorrow while I rest. Thank you for everything. I really appreciate you and all you do for us."
26 Deadly Diagnosts
"That's what familles do." She gives me a hug and leaves.
Then Jayden walks around the corner with two take-out coffee mugs in his hands.
"I thought you left."
"Nope."
"Well, you can. I'm fine."
"Nope. I thought you might need this."
He hands me a cup.
"Jayden, I..." I begin to tell him to go but he just sits down.
"I'll wait here until Phillip arrives. I assume he's on his way?" "Yes, he is.
"Great. How is Abby?"
I sat beside him. "I don't know Jayden. I really don't. She looks so helpless and tiny." I sniffle. "The doctor is coming to speak with me." I almost dropped the cup because I'm shaking so much. Jayden carefully takes it out of my hand and sits it on the side table.
"I'm sorry for everything. Sorry for this happening to your little girl. I wish things were different. I think she's my daughter, but I get why you've done what you've done. Any parent must protect their child. I'm beginning to see now what a toxic environment it is around me." His eyes are pools I want to throw myself into forever. Get a grip, girl. It's just your emotions running wild,Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
His hand is still holding mine and the warmth is the comfort I remember and my traitorous self doesn't want to let it go again. I stare at him and he begins to pull me closer. I let it happen.