Page 70 of Burned

Sadie shifted in her chair feeling slightly uncomfortable. Her bladder was heavy and she felt moisture in her panties. Needing to give herself some time before answering Carys’s question, she stood up.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I need to run to the bathroom. I’ll be back.” By the time she made it to the bathroom, the throbbing in her back had returned but this time sharper than before. When she pulled down her panties to use the toilet, she noticed a large amount of blood.

She let out a cry of horror. Sadie had read that some women bled through their entire pregnancy which resembled a light to medium period. This, however, was more than she’d ever bled. Much more. She quickly emptied her bladder and started to panic when she saw clumps of blood in the toilet.

Tears stung her eyes. She was only twenty-four weeks pregnant, barely showing. She’d read babies weren’t viable until the twenty-fifth week of pregnancy. Sadie went through her medicine cabinet and retrieved a couple sanitary napkins. The next few minutes were a blur. She rushed out of the bathroom and grabbed her purse. Her only thought was to get to the hospital. She hoped and prayed a doctor could tell her everything would be allright and this was just one of those things. She was so focused on her getting to the hospital, she’d forgotten Carys.

Carys gave her a puzzled look. “Uh, Sadie where are you going?”

Sadie sniffed. “Oh God, I’m so sorry Carys but I have to run to the hospital. I’m bleeding.”

“Oh no! But you’re pregnant. Is that supposed to happen?”

“That’s why I’m going to the hospital. I have to get out of here.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Sadie hesitated. She couldn’t very well leave her here without any means of getting home. Maybe when the doctor examined her and told Sadie everything would be okay, she’d take Carys home. “Ok. Let’s go.”

With a passenger in the car, she tried to hold it together, but she couldn’t stop the tears. Carys patted her on the shoulder. “Sadie, it will be okay. I’m going to call my Dad okay?”

If Sadie wasn’t so wrapped up in getting to the hospital, the teen’s words would have registered but her only focus at the moment was saving her child.

* * *

Rhys did his best to concentrate on the research for his next book but all he could think about was his last conversation with Sadie. He couldn’t blame her for being cautious but his quest to win her back was frustrating as hell. Colin had told him to give her some time but it was difficult. He loved her. She was pregnant with their child and they belonged together. He wished she’d let her guard down just a little to let him in again.

The obnoxious ring tone Carys had set on his cell phone went off breaking him out of his musings. He grabbed it off his desk and saw Cary’s name pop up. “Hello, sweetheart. Do you need me to come pick you up from Marcy’s?”

There was a slight pause. “Dad, I didn’t go to Marcy’s. I had her drop me someplace else.”

He adored his daughter but sometimes she could push him to his absolute limit. He had to take a deep breath as he chose his words carefully. “Oh? Are we going to have to have a discussion about lying when you get home?”

“Dad, I went to see Sadie. I had to but before you get mad, we’re headed to the University Hospital.”

His heartbeat sped up. “What happened?”

“Sadie is bleeding. She’s scared she might be losing the baby.”

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up without giving her the opportunity to reply. He had to get to the hospital. He didn’t know much about pregnancy but he thought after the first trimester had passed the likelihood of miscarriage was slim. He didn’t want to lose this baby so he could only imagine how Sadie must feel. He hoped and prayed she would be okay.

His mother was still visiting from Wales but she was visiting Colin today. He thought about calling them but decided he’d wait to see what was going on at the hospital before getting either of them involved. As he drove to the hospital at a breakneck speed, he prayed silently that Sadie and the baby be okay.

* * *

When Sadie got out of the car, the blood had soaked through her pad and clothing. She was crying hysterically as she walked to the ER, a trail of blood following her. She was vaguely aware of Carys walking next to her clinging to her arm. The next twenty minutes flew by in a series of events: checking in, going to the bathroom to switch pads, collapsing to the floor as the pain in her back became unbearable, pulling the cord for assistance, being wheeled to an examination room and then being transferred to another room.

It didn’t dawn on her what was going on until she was placed on a table and her legs were placed in stir-ups, one nurse on either side of her legs. One of the OBs from the practice she visited for her prenatal care entered the room. Sadie was still waiting forsomeone to assure her everything would be okay but that didn’t happen. She vaguely heard the doctor mention something about the baby’s head being in her cervix. What did that mean? Could they stop whatever was happening to her? Could they save the baby?

“Okay Miss Flowers, the next time you feel that pain in your back, I want you to push.”

Already hysterical from the speed in which events were happening she let out a tortured scream. “Noooooooooo! The baby is too early. It’s too early!”

She cried and screamed and refused to push until the nurse kindly said to her, “If you don’t push, the baby will die for sure.”

Reluctantly, she pushed when the pain in her back hit her again. She barely felt anything sliding out when another team of doctors swarmed her and took away a small bundle. It wasn’t moving nor did it cry. Sadie was sure her baby was dead.

“What’s going on?” she demanded trying to get off the table to see where there were taking her child.

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