Page 14 of Christmas Games
‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘My tummy hurts, that’s all.’
‘What can I do? Hot water bottle? Cup of tea? Should I go up the hill and ring the midwife?’
Zoe’s face was pale. ‘No, I’m fine. It’s nothing.’
‘Are you—’
‘No, no, no, no, no!’
Fuck!‘What’s wrong?’
Leaping off the bed, she ran for the bathroom, leaving a puddle of blood behind on the sheet.
It was huge.
Fear strangled him, turning his vision white. Stumbling off the bed, he followed her, blood roaring in his head. He had to hold it together even though he was being torn apart.
Zoe was sitting on the toilet, rocking back and forth, her hands clasped in her lap.
Rory knelt by her side. ‘What can I do? Shall we go to the hospital?’
She was shivering. ‘Can you clean the bed?’ she whispered. ‘I don’t want to see it.’
He nodded and dashed out. He had to deal with Zoe’s shock first, so returned to drape a blanket over her shoulders and help her feet into fluffy slippers. She murmured something, and he crouched down.
‘What did you say, love?’
‘It’s common to bleed during pregnancy. I’m sure everything’s fine.’
‘I know it is,’ he replied, not believing a word he was saying. ‘Can I get you anything else before I deal with the sheets?’
She shook her head.
Closing the bathroom door behind him, Rory stared at the bed. There was bleeding during pregnancy, then there was this. He’d seen blood before, and he’d seen death. But nothing had ever felt like this. His heart was being ripped to shreds.
Hehad done this.
He had hurt the love of his life, and most likely cost her the thing she wanted more than anything else in the world.
Clenching his jaw against the rising tide of nausea, he pulled the sheet off the bed. The blood had soaked through tothe woollen mattress protector. He dragged it off. The stain continued, as if burrowing its way to the centre of his soul.
How could he ever forgive himself?
Chucking the linen in a bucket of cold water, Rory scrubbed the mattress as best he could, then rushed back to check on Zoe.
‘How are you doing?’
She shrugged. Her cheeks were dry, and somehow that made everything even worse.
‘I don’t want to leave you, but I should call the midwife, see what they say?’
She nodded. ‘Yes, please.’
‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’
Pulling some pads from the cabinet, he put them on the side. ‘I’ll just grab you some water and some painkillers.’
The nod of her head was almost imperceptible.
