Searching Molly’s body, wading through the mass of white fabric of her dress now coated in blood, I tried to find something I could do. I couldn’t. I wasn’t a damn doctor. I wasn’t prepared for this shit.
Her breath shallowed, and, whipping my attention back to her face, I spotted a gash on her lip. Using my thumb to take a closer look, I frowned. “Baby? Why’s your lip bleeding? What the hell happened to you?”
I was losing her. Her eyes were glazing and her body was no longer reacting to the pain. I sent prayer after prayer to God, begging him to save my girl. I couldn’t lose her. She was my everything.
“Mol?” I asked, and my body stilled as her eyes began to close. “Mol! Stay with me, Mol!” I screamed, holding her closer in my arms.
“Y-your mother hit her and she fell against the table. W-we… I d-didn’t know she was pregnant… We were just trying to scare her off. Things got out of control…”
Shelly. Shelly stood shaking beside me.
Rage like never before surged through my body like pure octane at Shelly’s confession. She went on to inform me that my momma had snuck away, and, acting on pure instinct, I made to move, to go after her. I wanted to end all this shit once and for all, but when Molly’s trembling hand laid on mine and she begged me to stay with her, I could do nothing else but break down in sadness, whispering, “Baby, I’m so sorry… Our angel… Our angel…”
But she’d gone. Molly had gone still in my arms, her breath almost nonexistent as her blood continued to pour out.
“Rome,” Ally’s broken voice sounded beside me. “The EMTs are here. They need to take Molly to the hospital now. Come on, darlin’, let them do their job.”
Looking up, two men were moving frantically into the room and took Molly immediately from my arms. Standing, completely numb, I registered the mass of eyes watching the scene, and gripping Molly’s limp hand on the gurney, I followed her out to the ambulance, ignoring the flash of cameras and whispers from the horrified guests.
The EMTs pushed the gurney into the ambulance and began firing questions at me.
“How far along is she?”
“Nearly three months.”
“What happened?”
“Apparently she was hit and fell against a table edge… I wasn’t there… I couldn’t help her…”
The paramedic worked nonstop on my girl, attaching IVs and Christ knows what else. The ambulance flew through the city, but I never let go of my girl’s hand. She’d asked me not to leave her; it was one promise I wouldn’t break.
*
“Your girlfriend has suffered a severe blow to the stomach and that caused irreparable damage to the placenta, and I’m sorry to have to tell you, but she lost the baby. We have also found evidence of internal bleeding and are prepping for surgery as we speak.”
I didn’t know how to deal. I’d lost all feeling.
“Will she survive?” I rasped out, my voice rough from crying.
“We’re going to try our best, son. Someone will be out to keep you informed of her progress.” And with that, the doctor left me alone in an empty family room while he raced off to patch my girl back together. He might be able to repair her body, but fuck knows what her mind would be like when she woke.
A light knocking on the door sounded, but I couldn’t look up, too entranced by the speckled pattern in the linoleum flooring.
“Rome!” a female voice cried, and I recognized it as belonging to Ally.
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and sobbed uncontrollably. It went that way for a while—all of my friends crying, hugging me close. Even Austin, the strongest person I’d ever known, broke down, hugging Lexi afterward. Then when there were no more tears to be shed, we each took a seat in the room and sat in silence.
“Bullet, I can’t tell you how sorry I am, man. Molly and I were given a note when I took her to the bathroom. We thought it was from you. I can’t stop blaming myself.” Cass rubbed at his back as tears streamed down her face.
“What did it say?” I asked tiredly.
Ally shifted forward, her eyes darting to the floor nervously. “I managed to speak to Shelly before we left. Your momma set it up, darlin’. Apparently she wanted to scare Molly away for good. Shelly admitted she’d told your momma about the notes you give Molly before a game, and while your daddy stalled you with football talk, she used it to get her alone.”