Royce(47)

~~~

Royce rushed to the hospital, not even aware if he stopped at any of the lights on the way. Daniel had said she was hurt and that the doctors wouldn’t tell him anything. Royce remembered asking about her uncle and was assured he was on his way as well. Royce rushed in the emergency room and right into Jay York’s arms.

“Where is she? Is she all right?” He realized that Jay was speaking to him but couldn’t seem to understand. “Just tell me she’s all right.”

“They took her to surgery. She was awake when I saw her briefly, but she… There was…oh God, there was so much blood. All I could think about was her mom. I saw Leah all over again.”

Royce held the man as he cried. Blood, Royce thought, so much blood. He wondered if it was an aneurism and tried to shy his mind from that. But he knew she’d lost the baby, lost their child.

“She didn’t lose the baby,” Jay said before he could ask. “She…the doctor said that she was lucky and that she’d have to stay down for a bit, but there was a good chance that she’d deliver to term. She was so scared and crying. She said to tell you she didn’t do anything to hurt the baby. She wanted you to know that she’d never do anything like that, ever. I didn’t…she’ll be all right, he said. He said she’d be just fine.”

Royce looked at him. Why would… “I never thought she did. Why would she think something like that? Why would she have you tell me something like that?”

“Because she had it in her head that all you wanted was the kid.” Royce turned to his brother Daniel as he spoke. “She talked to Curtis today. Everything was set up that you’d get custody of the baby once it was born. The money you sent to her last week was going into a trust fund for her aunt’s care. And then once she left the hospital she was leaving the area.”

Royce sat down in one of the plastic chairs, feeling as though someone had hit him. He rubbed his chest where most of the pain radiated from. She believed that. He knew he had given her no reason to believe otherwise, but it hurt him to know that he’d hurt her.

“The doctor, did he say what happened? Did he know why she’d lost so much blood?” Jay was shaking his head. “Then what happened to them?”

“He said that she’d been slightly underweight anyway and her body was telling her that she needed to take it easy. He said these things just happen and that she was one of the lucky ones. After a few days in here, she can go home with me then I’ll—”

Royce saw his mother come through the doors. He needed her. Needed to have his mother tell him that things were going to be all right. He stood up when she came toward him. Between the three of them, she was brought up to speed and they went up to the surgery floor.

The doctor had closed off the small tear in her womb, but it would be hours yet before they would be sure that everything was fine. Two hours later they were all sitting in her room. Jay had cleared it with the hospital that they could be there. Royce had already told them that he was staying until she left or threw him out. He was reasonably sure that he could very well be thrown out, but he was willing to take the chance. He looked up when Kasey made a small noise.

She looked right at him. He could see the pain in her eyes and he hurt for her. He moved his chair closer to the bed and took her hand. He kissed it gently and smiled at her.

“The doctor said you’re going to be fine. That you might be weak for a few days, but otherwise, you’d be all right.” She nodded. “Do you need anything? Food? Something to drink?”

“No.” She looked over at the people behind him then back at him. “Why are you here?”

“Daniel called me when you called him. He thinks you might have hit last called when you picked up the phone. He said you kept calling for your uncle.”

“I don’t remember that. I was…I was hurting and I thought I’d dialed Uncle Jay. I’m sorry I bothered him.” She turned her head and wiped at the tear with her other hand. “I lost the baby. Your baby. I’m sorry about that. You don’t need to hang around now. I’ll understand if you—”

“No, Kasey, you didn’t. It was close, the doctor said, but you didn’t lose him. You’ll need to be on bed rest for a while, but that…Kasey, I love you. I’m sorry for the way I’ve been—”

“Don’t please. It’s not important anymore. It’s okay that you don’t love me. The baby made you—”

He put his hand over her mouth gently. “Don’t tell me that I don’t love you. It’s taken me nearly thirty years to figure out that I do and I plan to say it a great deal. So unless you have something profound to say back to me then I want you to hush and get better.”