Of All the People

“Athena, I’m afraid I have some bad news...” the moment the doctor said those words, I closed my eyes, and shook my head.

“You and the baby are going to be fine, but we’d like to keep you over night just incase.” She told me in a reassuring voice. I opened my eyes, and sighed. I had been really worried that my baby wasn’t going to make it.

“All right,” I said, looking up at Matt and Jack and smiling. They smiled back, and the doctor left us alone. I realized that I had some homework to do, so I asked Jack to go back to school and get it for me. He complied, and headed off to take Matt’s car.

Matt was sitting on my bed and we were talking. He was sort of dancing around the question that he really wanted to ask, about me and Jack and the baby. I finally hit him over the head, and said, “Oh my gosh, just ask me already, geeze.” I told him grinning. He smiled back, and was about to say something, when there was a really awful pain in my stomach, and I gasped. Matt immediately called for the nurse, and he grabbed my hand.

“Ah!” I exclaimed as another wave of pain hit me. Matt held my hand even tighter, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I heard some doctors talking in panicked voices, and I felt someone take my pulse, and then everything went black.

I woke up to hushed voices and a severe pain in my abdomen. I was starting to wake up, and I glanced down at my stomach, and I screamed. The bump that used to be my baby girl was gone. A couple doctors came to talk to me, but I couldn’t really focus on what they were saying just yet. I felt someone stroking my hair, and I saw that it was Matt.

“What happened?” I mouthed to him. He looked away, and tensed a bit. Then I realized that my baby was gone.

“No.” I said quietly, then again a little louder, “No!” and finally, I completely freaked out, “NO! NO! NO!” I shouted to no one in particular, just the world.

“Shh...shh...it’s all right,” I heard Matt tell me in a soothing voice. I started to shake, and then I finally got myself under control. I took a deep breath, and buried my face in Matt’s shoulder. The doctors left the room to give us some space, and I continued to cry. He patted my back, and whispered soothing things into my ear. When my sobbing finally subsided, I wiped my eyes, and picked up the hospital phone. Matt looked at me questioningly, and I mouthed,

“Jack,” he nodded, and silently left the room.

Ring...
Ring....
Ring.....

“Hello?” I heard Jack say. A few silent tears slid down my cheek as I though of what I was about to tell him.

“J-Jack...I-I...t-the baby....i-it’s gone!” I finally got out after a lot of stuttering. I heard Jack gasp, and then swear, then there was a loud crunch, and the line went dead.

“Jack?” I asked timidly, then once again with a bit more force, “Jack!” and finally, I shouted,

“JACK!” I heard someone fumbling with the phone, and a gruff voice asked me, “Hello miss? Do you know this young man?” I assumed that he was talking about Jack, and I said that he was my boyfriend. The man said that Jack had been in a head-on collision, and he had died instantly. I hung up, and burst into tears again. It seemed like lately I was losing everything that I held closest. First it was my dad, and then the baby, and now Jack.

Matt was sitting on my bed after I had told him the news. I thought that I should be crying more, but I was numb. I had no idea what to do, and I told Matt this. He looked at my pityingly, and I sighed. I picked up the phone, and prepared to tell my mom first, then my dad.

Ring...
Ring....
Ring.....

“Hello?” my mom said, I sighed, and said, “Mom? It’s me, Athena.” I told her.

“What is it honey? Are you all right?” she asked me, sounding worried after hearing my voice.

“Um...yeah, sort of,” I told her, trying to sound reassuring, but apparently it didn’t work.

“Thea, what’s wrong? Did Jack hurt you?” she asked me, and those two questions made me burst into tears yet again.

“N-no...t-the...i-it...” I sniffled. I then cleared my throat, and said in a slightly stronger voice, “I had a miscarriage, and Jack got into an accident on the way to the hospital, and he died.” I told her. After really saying it out loud, I finally realized what actually happened. I heard my mother have a sharp intake of breath, and she said, “Are you serious honey?” she asked me, I said yes, and she told me that she was coming to seem me, and that she was getting her plane ticket that instant. I told her that she didn’t need to do that, but she insisted, and she also told me to call my dad, and tell him what happened. I was really reluctant to do so, but it was a good idea.