Page 65 of Tortured Whispers
I pulled down the tank top she’d slept in and let a roar, thick with anguish, leave my mouth. I ripped the thin fabric in half and wrapped Brook’s bloody wrists in the shreds. My eyes were too blurred with tears to notice if the bleeding stopped.
I snapped my eyes shut and rocked back and forth over her, praying that God spared her. I knew that loving her the way I did was selfish but she didn’t deserve this shit. Not my Brook.
“Please, Brook…I don’t know what I’d do without you,” my voice was a hoarse whisper as I buried my nose in her hair. Lavender and honey broke me down into dust.
“Sir, we need to get to her,” an unfamiliar voice made my eyes open. I moved out of the way and let the EMT’s get to Brook. They moved in a flurry to bandage her wrists once they found a pulse.
“I’m riding in the ambulance,” I told them. “I’m her uncle.” They nodded and directed me out of the house behind the stretcher she was lying on.
The ride to the hospital was a blur. Signing papers that allowed her to have two blood transfusions, one after the other, was a fucking blur. Sitting in the family waiting area while hearing nothing for hours was a blur.
My thoughts were underwater.
For the first time, I was the one drowning. I felt the anguish and terror that ripped through Brooklyn at every second when she was in the water. I felt every lash of torment and it was horrific.
I wanted out of my own head.
All I could do was imagine living without her and it was too staggering to envision. Life without Brook’s light was darkness. It was the blackest pit of loneliness and I never wanted to experience something like that.
I received call after call from Ronnie but I sent them all to voicemail and after a while, I put my phone on airplane mode. I was in no mood to talk or explain.
“Family for Brooklyn Powers?” A nurse scanned the waiting area with a clipboard in hand. I sprang to my feet with a burst of energy that came from nowhere. My chest tightened with each step I took.
What if there was bad news?
I would crumble in front of everyone.
“Your niece is in critical condition and we’ll be monitoring her through the night but she’s stable as of now.” A doctor told me once I was sitting inside a quiet office. It was too quiet. Nothing was right. Even though they told me she was stable, I still felt something rock solid and heavy as a boulder in the pit of my stomach.
“And what else?” I asked, knowing the other shoe hadn’t dropped yet.
“Dr. Powers,” he sighed, pushing glasses on top of his head. “Your niece lost a significant amount of blood. Since she was only six weeks pregnant, we couldn’t save the baby. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know if I should tell you the news or tell her when she woke up but…” His words were gibberish after I heard him mention a baby.
She was pregnant?
Brook was pregnant with my baby.
“I need a moment, please,” I said quietly into my balled up fist.
“Absolutely, sir. He rested a heavy hand on my shoulder and said, “I want you to know that if you hadn’t tied off the blood flow and gotten her in here when you did, she would not be alive. I know the loss of her baby is tragic but you singlehandedly saved her life. Let that give you comfort during this difficult time.” When he left, I disintegrated into nothing. I lost my kid.
All I’d been able to think about for weeks was seeing Brook pregnant with my baby and before I knew it was a reality it vanished. How was I going to break that news to her? She would spiral.
Nurses let me into her hospital room and I crumpled on her bed, bowing my body over hers. I grabbed her cool hand in mine and brought it to my lips. I kissed her hand, careful not to disturb the IV feeding into her vein.
“Please pull through. I need you. I need you so much, Brook.” I smoothed the hair from her face and kissed her forehead.
Time ticked on as I sat at her bedside holding her hand. Nurses came and went. They took her vitals and noted her improvement. They moved her to stable condition and into a different room. I still sat at her bedside, pressing kisses to her forehead.
Six hours had passed before her beautiful hazel eyes fluttered open. “There she is, hey Kiddo,” I smiled, tears clinging to the rims of my eyes.
“Don’t call me that, asshole,” She croaked out. A smirk lifted the corner of her lips. Seeing that smile made my heart soar into the roof of my mouth.
I curled my fingers around the back of her neck and crushed her lips with mine. I didn’t give a fuck who walked in. I’d never been more grateful for anything in my life.
“I should be dead,” Brook said as a tear leaked from her eye. “I can’t even die wight.”
“Brook, why the fuck did you try to kill yourself? Do you know what that did to me when I came in and saw you lying there with…with blood everywhere? I thought you were dead. Fuck, Brooklyn. I thought you were…” My words dissolved into helpless tears. I’d never felt so broken. “Losing you means losing me.”
