Hollow Hearted
Disclaimer: I do not own Sweeney Todd or the associated characters.
It was London, a cold, rainy day. It poured down, like the sky's tears, the sky dark and depressing. But there was still excitement, happening at a certain pie shop on Fleet Street. Today was a good day for Mrs. Lovett, a baker who made meat pies, and a little less empty for the barber upstairs.
Mrs. Lovett was expecting a baby now, though it was early on in the pregnancy. She'd grown drastically on Sweeney, and though he had wanted to kill her sometimes, he thought about the fact that there would be no one else who understood him, lived in the darkness, just like him. Then he thought about the child she carried. Their child.
He hadn't been thrilled when she told him, but he wasn't quite angry either. Not more than usual, that is. Sweeney would see this baby grow, be a real father, for the first time. He'd missed so much with Johanna.
Nellie had wanted a child for a long time. Though Albert Lovett was a kind man, it just never happened. Not fully. She'd been pregnant a few times before, but they had been miscarriages only weeks in, very early. It was past that time now, so Nellie was confident it would be fine.
Her stomach was only starting to form a bump- albeit a tiny one. She thought of the little human that was forming inside her, how happy she would be to meet the little one. Maybe Sweeney would like that too. Getting to see it, watch it, like he'd missed with his girl.
Nellie loved him, but he couldn't voice the same thing for her. Maybe somewhere, locked up tight, he did. She did matter to him. Mrs. Lovett wasn't completely useless.
OOOOO
Three months pregnant, her stomach was growing. She'd been extra careful, and surprisingly it was Sweeney who enforced this. She wanted to work, to move, but alas, he couldn't let her or the unborn child get hurt. He couldn't stand anymore loss. The baby would be half of him, it would link Mrs. Lovett and himself together.
Things could never stay happy for long. Mr. Todd came to see her every night, as she had requested. He couldn't help but worry. Something must have been wrong. And that was right. He shared a bed with her, to give her company, and only that. He woke up to something wet and sticky soaking into him clothing. Moving the blanket away from where he and Nellie slept, he nearly fell to the floor. He was lying in a pool of her blood, thick and red. It coated his hands, as he shook her awake.
"Oh, Eleanor… Look at me."
She opened her eyes, fast, as her eyes met his. She looked at his hands, covered in blood. Her own blood. It hurt, her inside stomach, her heart.
"M-Mr. T?"
"Shh, stand up, Pet."
She did as she was told, and couldn't help but look back down at the blood stained mattress. A look between her legs confirmed her worry. She cried into his shoulder as he carefully lead her into the bathroom to clean both of them up.
She lost the baby. What a horrible mother she was.
"I'm- I'm so sorry… I don't know what to do, Mr. T. It's gone. I can't feel it."
"It's okay, my Pet. It's not your fault."
OOOOO
Months had passed. Nellie barely got up from her seat at the window. She'd stare out into the world of London for hours, barely touching food. Sweeney hadn't seen her smile since before the accident. She wasn't happy. She was just like him when he first arrived back. Empty, a shell of who she was. In a way, they traded places. She'd sit in from of the window while he took care of her. No words had come out of her mouth for weeks. Losing the baby had an extreme effect on her. Sweeney told himself it would pass. She was smarter than to let herself waste away like that.
It hurt them both. The new life that could have been but hadn't. It hurt more every day. They said it gets easier, but as the ninth month rolled around, it was a reminder of the baby they lost. After that, she worked herself hard, almost never sleeping. Sweeney became worried. There was nothing he could say or do to make her feel better. She got too weak too fast. He bought her a nice fancy ring- one that he'd been saving up for, for months. When he came back, she was away from the window, rather curled up on his bed.
They could get married, try again, he thought. But when he tried to wake her, he felt the coldness in her skin, the fact there was no movement from her at all. In only a year, he'd lost his new family. In only a year, he'd been so alone that it was worse that the loneliness in Australia.e
She was gone, and so was the baby.
He was alone again. Hollow hearted, and broken once more.
Author's Note:
Thanks so much for reading! Sorry it's such a depressing story, published on Christmas. But who cares, it's something to read! Special thanks to Little Collie Lovett, who's been helping me out with my stories.
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