A month had passed since Madison had told him she was pregnant. Amy no longer spoke to him. And neither did Bright. But he was the talk of the school. When he walked the halls, the other kids pointed and stared at him openly. As much as he wished he could change the fact, he was going to be some kid's father. Therefore, once the baby was born, he and Madison planned to get a one bedroom apartment together. But for now, he visited her every other day. As he turned the corner onto her street, he saw an ambulance and a crowd of people in front of her building. Thinking nothing of it, he continued slowly on his way. But once he got closer, he heard an elderly male voice say, "She keeps asking for Doc Brown. Someone call the doc."
Madison, Ephram thought as he pushed his way through the crowd. When he reached the periphery, the paramedics were lifting her into the ambulance.
"Madison," he said pushing forward and rushing up to the doors.
"Get back son," a bear of a man said, grabbing Ephram by the arms.
"That's my … my," he stalled. He didn't know what Madison was to him exactly. His baby's mother sounded too coarse. "Girlfriend," he finally said for lack of a better word.
"Okay calm down. Joe," the burly man said turning to a younger guy, "this is the woman's boyfriend."
Joe reached out his hand and helped Ephram into the ambulance. Ephram, in turn, grabbed Madison's hand as he sat down on the bench next to the stretcher.
"Oh god Ephram. I'm so sorry," she said, tears falling from her eyes, her body taunt and sweaty. She was agitated, thrashing from side to side like a fish out of water.
"What happened?" Ephram asked Joe.
"She's bleeding heavily and there's some cramping."
"What does that mean?"
The paramedic cocked his head in Madison's direction but said nothing, a sign that he felt it best not to talk in front of her.
"My father's a doctor. Maybe you should radio him so that he can meet us at the hospital."
"He was the one who called us. Apparently, she called him first."
"I'm so sorry Ephram," Madison moaned.
Fear and confusion gripped him. "Everything will be okay," he said.
"It's all my fault. All my fault," she mumbled.
"No. You didn't do anything wrong."
Fifteen minutes later, the ambulance pulled into the hospital emergency area. As soon as it stopped, the burly paramedic hopped out of the cab and threw open the ambulance's back doors. Behind him, Ephram saw his father, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, flanked by a team of doctors in green surgical scrubs.
"Dad," he said as he jumped out.
"Everything will be okay," Andy said as he wiped his hand over his mouth and beard.
Next, they pulled Madison down then rushed her though the emergency room doors. Ephram stood still watching after her until Andy nudged him on. Eventually, they made their way to an empty waiting room with yellow walls and brown furniture.
"Can't you do anything to help her?" he asked his father.
"No, these people are better qualified to help Madison than I am. But, I'll go check on her," Andy said, patting Ephram on the shoulder. He then left the room.
Ephram felt so alone, so helpless. Was this God's way of punishing him for not really wanting the baby? Yes, he'd felt overwhelmed by Madison's pregnancy, but he'd never wanted this. He sat with his head in his hands and silently began to pray.
Twenty minutes later, he looked up to see his father staring at him. Dr. Andrew Brown suddenly looked so much older than his years.
"Well?"
"Nothing yet," Andy answered.
"What happened?"
"I need to be honest with you, Ephram."
"Yes."
"It looks like a miscarriage."
Suddenly Ephram felt nauseous. He'd never meant for this to happen.
"Madison is going to need our support. She may feel as if she did something wrong, but she didn't."
Immediately, Ephram thought of her ravings in the ambulance. "Oh god," he said running his hands over his head.
"Hey," Andrew said standing up and moving to sit next to his son. "I'm here for you and Madison."
An hour later, Dr. Rodriguez, a tall, thin woman came to see them. Madison had indeed suffered a miscarriage. Slowly, Ephram made his way down the hall to her room. Upon entering, she appeared asleep, the blanket pulled up to her chest, but as he got close to the bed, her eyes flew open.
"I'm sorry Ephram."
"Hey, there's nothing for you to be sorry about," he said, grabbing her hand.
"I put you through so much," she mumbled. "I never meant to hurt you."
"You didn't. Shhh. Go to sleep. We can talk tomorrow."
"I want you to be happy."
Happy, he thought, as he reached over and began stroking her hair. He couldn't imagine ever being happy again. Whatever adolescence he'd had left after his mother's death was now gone forever.
"You're free," she said softly before drifting off to sleep.