Silly girl, Rose.
She’s bleeding everywhere, for fuck’s sake.
She’s hemorrhaging. She’ll need a transfusion.
Is it alive?
Smack!
A baby’s scream.
The feel of him latching onto my breast.
My hands begin to shake, and I drop the ring. It hits the wooden top of the desk and clangs as I push the chair away, but no matter the distance, the emerald eyes of the snake shine at me, as if coming to life. A sign of those terrible days coming back to claim me. Imprisoning me again. I look down at my stomach. “Oh God,” I breathe, feeling sweaty but cold, heart palpitations taking my breath away, making it harder and harder to find air. “No, no, no,” I gasp, standing, but I immediately sit down again when my legs give, grabbing the edge of the desk. I close my eyes and try to breathe steadily. I try so hard.
Will she be able to carry again?
Unlikely.
The moment he was ripped from my arms flashes through my mind.
Please!
You can’t take care of him, Rose.
Gone.
“No!” I yell, my hands grappling at the wood of the desk, searching for an anchor.Breathe. Just breathe.
The door flies open, and I see Danny vibrating on the threshold of his office. But he’s hazy. I can’t see his face. Can’t focus. Can’t see the man who won’t let the evil get me again. “You are not fucking going!” he bellows.
I can’t.
I can’t go back.
I can’t.
Air. I need air.
I stand.
I think.
And then there’s just...
Darkness.
“Rose? Jesus, Rose, can you hear me? Rose, answer me. Come on, baby, open your eyes. Please, please, open.” His voice is broken with emotion. Ragged and strained. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Rose, can you hear me?” Doc asks softly.
“What the hell happened?” James.
“Rose?” Beau’s here. “Oh my God, is she okay?”
I open my eyes and immediately slam them shut again, wincing at the harsh glare from the ceiling lights. “My head,” I murmur, my brain feeling like it’s bouncing around in my skull. I blindly reach up, but a hand claims my wrist and lowers it back down.
“Can you open your eyes, baby?” Danny asks, soft and begging. “Please, let me see you.”