Dani watched their car leave, after a while. She was safe now. She stood there, on the grass for a few moments, contemplating what to do next, contemplating how to feel. Her life was ruined. There was a loud rustle in the bushes, which made Dani jump.
"Who's there?"
There was no answer. She moved towards the sound. He couldn't still be here, could he? Waiting for her. Her heart beat faster in her panic.
"Kane?"
There was still no answer. She took a deep breath.
"Kane please come out now. I'm not scared." A figure slowly came out from behind the bush. It couldn't be Kane, could it? Her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"Hello Dani." Josh's voice.
"Josh?" His face hit the moonlight. "What are you doing outside my house?"
"Just waiting."
"Waiting? Waiting for what?"
"For that creep to leave, " he said smugly. "In his car."
Dani looked down, to regain composure. She noticed he had a toolbox in his hand. "But why do you care so much?"
"Because I still love you, and I want that creep to get what's coming to him."
"As if. He's already got my sister."
"She didn't come home? To stay?" Josh was beginning to freak out. "I thought you were going to make her stay? Jade told me so, I thought Kane was only giving her a lift?"
"Why do you care what my sister does?"
"Because I…, I did something. I've got to go, I've got to leave."
"Wait!" Dani was left confused, as Josh raced off into the darkness.
***
The monitor beeped again. Nurse Kay was annoyed; she was near the end of her shift when two teenagers were brought in. A car collision. The girl was pregnant, and in a critical condition. The seatbelt in their old car wasn't on properly; the bump made sure of that. Complete with dodgy front locks, she was thrown through the passenger door, luckily with a hedge breaking her fall. She might have been dead otherwise. The boy she was with was fine. Not even a scratch.
"Have you contacted her next of kin?" she asked a nearby doctor.
"No, not yet. I understand that she's Kirsty Sutherland and 16 weeks pregnant."
"Is the baby OK?"
"It's hard to say. We shall have to administer an emergency caesarean. I don't think it's safe to leave the baby inside her."
"Surely it can't survive?"
"Stranger things have happened."
Elsewhere in the hospital, Kane woke up. His mind was hazy. He felt the side of his face; the bruise Rhys gave him was still there. Then it all came back to him. The car was out of control, the brakes didn't work, Kirsty's seatbelt setting her free, past him, out the door. All his fault.
"Kirsty!" he shouted. "Where are you?"
"Shhhhh, calm down, " said a calm female voice. "How are you feeling Kane?"
"I'm fine, I am, but where is Kirsty? What's happened to her?"
"She's going into theatre as we speak."
"Will the baby be OK?"
"It's hard to say. The chances of survival are slim at the moment."
Kane felt sick. Because of his recklessness, he'd killed their baby, and almost killed his girlfriend. He looked out of the window. It was morning. He would bet his life that her family would be here soon, blaming him for everything, and then Kirsty would wake up and dump him, ruining everything. There would be no point in living.
"Kane, the police will be here soon. They'll need you to make a statement. The man driving the other car wasn't injured, but he was over the drink driving limit."
"It's still my fault."
Kane sank into his bed. He couldn't face the world now.
***
A sharp pain hit Kirsty's head as she woke up. Her vision was blurred, all she could see was white. She tried to move but couldn't feel her legs. She was numb.
"Kane, are you there?"
"Kirsty!" It was her father's voice.
"Dad? What's going on, where am I?" Her mind was blank. One minute they were going home the next she was here.
Rhys took a deep breath. Where could he start? Ever since he'd gotten the call, his life had gone from bad to worse. The baby was dead, due to extensive internal injury. Ever since he'd found out his daughter was pregnant, he'd resented the baby, but now he felt the pain of losing it.
"Kirsty!" Dani ran towards her sister, almost dropping the cup of coffee she was holding.
"Easy Dan, " said Rhys.
There were tears in Dani's eyes. "How are you feeling?" She whispered to Rhys, "Does she know?"
Rhys shook his head and sat down.
"I don't get this, " said Kirsty. "What happened?"
"I don't know if it's best to tell you now."
"You can't keep this from her!" Dani exclaimed. "I know what it's like to have things kept from me, it isn't nice."
"But Dani, she's in no fit state to hear this, she's just recovered from the anaesthetic."
"What anaesthetic? Have I been in an accident?"
"Yes, " Rhys took a deep breath. "Kane was driving you home and for whatever reason the brakes failed. Your belt wasn't on properly and you fell out of one of the front doors."
Kirsty tried to take it in. "Then what?"
"The baby took the fall badly. I'm afraid it's…" Rhys tried to compose himself. "You've miscarried."
Kirsty felt hazy again. Surely it was all a dream; even a dream within a dream. She'd wake up properly any minute now.
A faint voice, "I knew we should have waited. She's dozing off again."
Dani was hardly listening. She went over the facts again. Kane's car was unsafe, his reckless driving caused the accident; but how did Josh fit in? He looked so shifty outside the house, with his toolbox, what had he said, 'I want that creep to get what's coming to him.' Then he got scared and ran away. Surely Josh hadn't sabotaged the car? Surely he wouldn't try to get Kane and his sister killed?
"Dad, where are the police? I need to speak to them."
"Why?"
"I know how Kane's car got sabotaged. It was Josh."