Chapter 28
A smile found Callie's lips as she heard the familiar sounds of a Someone's Little Sister song. Listening to Brandon play would always make her stomach warm, especially now that he was playing classical again. He still played in the band, but classical would always occupy his heart more. The pride she felt in watching him win the Idyllwild competition a couple of weeks ago was indescribable. Now he was playing at the annual end of summer party at Anchor Beach.
"You know, it's pretty awesome that our boyfriends play in the same band." Mariana said from her spot beside Callie. "When they get gigs to play in we get to watch them and hang out together."
Callie smiled as her hand rested on her nearly nine-month pregnant belly. "I don't know how many gigs I'll be going to."
"Right. Well, you can just bring her with us."
Callie burrowed her eyebrows at the younger brunette. "I don't think it's really suitable for an infant to be at gigs. Unless they're playing here or a fundraiser or something."
"Well yeah, those times." Mariana agreed. "I can't believe you're due in like a month."
Callie inhaled deeply. "I know. I…"
"Are you okay?" Mariana asked with concern after Callie paused mid-sentence, clenching her stomach. "Did we just jinx it? Are you going into labor?"
A small laugh escaped Callie's lips as she shook her head. "No. It's just these Braxton Hicks contractions. They've been bothering me all day."
"Why don't you go sit down? I was going to go say hi to Tia, but I'll get you something to drink. You need to stay hydrated." Mariana suggested.
"No, go say hi to Tia. I'll go sit."
"Okay, but I'll get you something to drink after." Mariana promised. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes." Callie nodded. She watched Mariana take off into the crowd before turning and walking in the opposite direction to the seating area. She winced as the pain in her abdomen strengthened. Her feet stopped moving. She had been experiencing what she assumed was Braxton Hicks all day, but this felt worse and it continued to worsen with each wave of pain. This was a sharp pain rather than a crampy one. She inhaled deeply as the pain eased into a dull ache. Her eyes glanced around the beach, but Mariana had disappeared into the sea of people and she couldn't find Lena or Jesus in the crowd. A small gasp escaped her lips as the pain shot through her abdomen and back. Her hand found her stomach as she began to take off into the school. She wanted to get somewhere quiet, away from all the people. Apparently, she wasn't okay. Maybe she really was in labor. She would get to the bathroom and text Mariana to meet her there. She practically stumbled into the bathroom as she felt a gush of fluid. Her body froze. The pain intensified. She hesitantly looked down. Utter panic erupted in her stomach as she saw her shorts soaked in blood.
Another stab to her abdomen sent her to the floor as she clutched her stomach. Her heart raced in her chest, fearing for the life of her daughter. Something was definitely wrong. Bleeding in the third trimester was never a good sign. Bleeding this much at any time of the pregnancy was never a good sign. Why did she insist to Mariana that she was okay?
She reached into her pocket for her phone. She had left during Brandon's last song and she no longer heard the distant sounds of the base. The phone rang twice. Callie prayed to a higher power that he would answer. Finally, on the fourth ring, his voice came through the phone. "Brandon, something is wrong. I'm in the bathroom closest to the beach."
Brandon's heart sank to his stomach. It sounded as though she were crying. He sprinted towards the school's side entrance. "I'm on my way."
Callie gritted her teeth as the pain continued to worsen. She threw her head back against the wall as tears tumbled down her cheeks. How did this get so bad so suddenly? "Please be okay, baby girl."
Brandon darted into the bathroom, his heart stopping when he saw his girlfriend doubled over on the floor, her pants red and a puddle of blood forming beneath her. His knees buckled and he nearly fell to the floor. "Oh my god."
"It hurts." She choked out, fear and pain glimmering in her eyes. It felt as though someone was stabbing her over and over again with a searing knife.
"I'm calling 911." His shaky fingers dialed the numbers as he ran to the entrance of the bathroom. His eyes darted around the hall to find someone entering the school. He waved his hand to grab their attention. "Go get Lena now!"
Brandon turned back to Callie. His stomach churned. The blood pooling beneath her only seemed to grow. She was trembling violently, her hands still holding her stomach. Her face had turned a ghostly shade of white. "Brandon, the baby."
He knelt beside her, pushing her hair out of her face. This felt like an awful nightmare. How did this happen? He had left her twenty minutes ago. She had been fine and now she was lying in agony, bleeding profusely. "It's going to be okay. Help is on the way."
The sound of heels clicking against the hard floors approached. Lena was suddenly standing in the entrance of the bathroom, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped. There was so much blood. She had to blink more than once to make sure she was seeing correctly. "Oh god."
Everything became a blur for Callie. Brandon was on the phone with 911 while Lena asked her questions. A crowd had developed in the hall outside the bathroom as people tried to see what was happening. But Callie couldn't focus on anything but the excruciating pain and the fear for her daughter's life. Sirens blared outside the school. Paramedics rushed into the bathroom with a stretcher.
"Brandon, please don't leave me." She cried, her grip tight on Brandon's hand as they started to push the stretcher out of the bathroom. She was trembling violently, and her eyes were glossy.
"Lena has to ride with you. I'm driving straight to the hospital." Brandon told her as he walked with her. The thought of leaving her nearly tore his heart out of his chest. But there was no time to argue with paramedics. Time was crucial right now and he would be damned if he wasted any second.
"No, please." She let out a helpless sob, tightening her hold on his hand. She needed him. There was so much unknown, and she needed him there with her. "Don't leave me. Please."
Lena's panic surged as she watched the girl plead desperately. Callie wasn't even trying to be strong nor was she making any attempt to hide her pain. Even after she had nearly been beaten to death, Callie put on a hard face and refused to admit just how much pain she was in. Even when Callie wanted Brandon more than anything, she never begged for him. And so, based on Callie's current demeanor Lena knew it was bad.
"We can fit in two people." One of the paramedics told Brandon. If the teenage boy made the girl feel better, he could let him stay.
"Mama!" Mariana shouted as she pushed passed the crowd where everyone was watching Callie being loaded into the ambulance. Her eyes doubled in size when she saw the blood coating Callie's thighs. She didn't understand. Callie had said she was fine. Guilt swam in her stomach for leaving her alone. She should have insisted to stay with her. "What's going on?"
Lena whipped her head around to see her daughter's nervous eyes. "Mariana, call Mom. Tell her Callie needed to be brought to the ER. Find Jesus and Jude and tell her to pick you guys up and meet us at the hospital."
Mariana nodded pulling out her phone to call her mother.
"Callie, how far along are you in your pregnancy?" A young blonde in a paramedic uniform asked as they closed the back door. The sirens screamed again as the truck started on the road.
"Thirty-four weeks." Callie whispered. She felt like the world was spinning around her and she wasn't sure if it was from pain, fear, or blood loss; probably a combination of all three. Someone was placing a mask over her face while another slipped an IV needle into her arm. She felt a cuff tightening around her upper arm. Her eyes found Brandon, who took her hand in his. Tears spilled over her lids. "Brandon."
"I know, I know." He whispered softly, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. His heart pounded against his chest. "They're going to help you, okay? And I'm not going to leave your side."
Tears tumbled down Lena's cheeks as she quietly watched the encounter. So much had happened so fast and she couldn't process what was happening. All she knew was that it felt like an eternity had passed before the ambulance pulled into the emergency room entrance.
"Seventeen-year-old female, thirty-four weeks pregnant, suspected placental abruption." The paramedic announced as she brought the stretcher into the emergency room. "BP 70 over 50. Heart rate 118."
Callie watched doctors race around her, shouting words to one another that she didn't understand. She saw a tall brunette in scrubs slip on a pair of gloves and suddenly her hand was between her legs. Callie shrieked as she thrashed at the touch. She couldn't even remember when her shorts were taken off.
The doctor was alarmed by the sudden reaction and pulled her hand away. Brandon tried to soothe Callie, pushing her hair off her sweaty forehead. He was pretty sure this situation couldn't get any worse. It felt as though his heart was being torn from his chest. Watching her suffer was more than he could handle.
"This pregnancy is a result of…assault." Lena told the doctor, whose face contorted into sympathy.
"Callie, I'm not going to hurt you. I have to check to make sure the baby is okay." The doctor said softly. "I'm going to be quick and gentle."
Callie nodded, squeezing Brandon's hand. She flinched when the doctor presumed the pelvic exam. As if what was happening wasn't bad enough, Vico and Liam's faces floated behind her lids. They somehow haunted her in nearly every situation.
"She's fully dilated. The placenta is completely separated. The baby has already dropped. She needs to deliver this baby now." The doctor announced urgently. Nurses scrambled to get the proper materials, while others poked and prodded Callie, still hooking her up to different machines. "Callie, I need you to push for me."
Callie shook her head frantically. She was supposed to have another 6 weeks; 6 weeks for the baby to continue to grow and develop. "No, it's too soon. It's too soon."
"I know, but this baby needs to be delivered now or you and the baby will be in danger. A baby has a very high chance of survival at 34 weeks." Her heart was breaking for the young girl before her who was clearly suffering from physical and emotional pain.
"It's okay, Callie. You can do this." Lena said, taking her other hand and squeezing it gently. She couldn't imagine how scared the girl was at this moment.
Callie let out a sob and nodded. She began to push, but it felt like she was climbing a mountain with fifty pounds on her shoulders. White, hot pain erupted behind her eyelids.
"I can't find a heartbeat." A nurse whispered as she watched the flat line on the monitor.
Her heart stopped. She swore her heart actually stopped for a moment. She couldn't find a heartbeat. She couldn't find her daughter's heartbeat. The child that she had been carrying for over eight months, protecting for 34 weeks, loving for 238 days, had no heartbeat. Time stood still.
Lena felt her more tears slide down her cheeks. This girl couldn't catch a break. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve any of this and yet the world kept playing one cruel trick after another on her.
"Callie, I need you to keep pushing. The head is crowning." The doctor encouraged.
"I can't. I can't." She sobbed. The pain was unbearable. She was exhausted. And now her heart had been ripped through her chest.
Brandon pressed a ginger kiss to her forehead, blinking back tears. He was hoping this was just an awful nightmare. That he would wake up in a cold sweat any minute and find Callie sleeping soundly beside him, Melody still healthy inside of Callie. "Callie, you can do this."
"One more push." The doctor said, urgency in her voice. She needed this to be quick, so she could tend to Callie. "C'mon Callie, I need you to push one more time."
Callie threw her head back, shaking her head frantically as tears streamed down her cheeks. This was a pain like no other. This was an emotional turmoil. "I can't. I can't do it."
Brandon pushed the hair that clung to her sweaty forehead away. His tear glistening eyes looked into hers, filled with utter heartbreak and despair. "Yes, you can. You're my Callie, you can do anything. C'mon, one more push and it's all over."
Callie choked out a cry as she nodded. She squeezed Brandon's hand tightly and pressed her chin to her forehead to give one final push. The doctor was suddenly holding the tiny baby, wrapping it in a pink blanket. The baby was silent, lifeless. She handed the baby to Callie, who took it in her arms and let out a heart-wrenching sob. The baby girl was so tiny, yet so beautiful. Her eyes were shut, but she resembled Callie so much with dark hair, almond-shaped eyes, and button nose. Callie cradled the baby to her chest, her aching body heaving with sobs.
Failure. That's what Callie felt right now. She had failed at protecting her daughter. She had failed at providing her a safe place to grow and nourish before she came into the world. She would never take a breath, never open her eyes, never cry, and never learn to crawl or walk or talk.
Brandon swallowed down his own cries as he watched his girlfriend cradle the little girl. The baby he had been so excited to meet. The baby he had helped create a nursery for, picked out clothes and necessities for. He had felt the baby beneath Callie's belly; he had felt the actual life of the baby. He had talked to her and watched Callie talk to her. They had picked out a name for her. He had visions of the two of them raising the little girl, holding her, playing with her, loving her. And yet the baby he had anxiously been waiting to meet was suddenly gone; lying in Callie's arms lifelessly. It wasn't supposed to be this way. He wasn't quite sure how losing someone he had never met could be so painful, but it was. It was so painful.
Callie's eyelids grew heavy. Black spots danced in her vision. Her eyes fluttered. Brandon blinked back his tears and placed a hand on her cheek. "No, keep your eyes open. Callie, stay awake."
"She's losing too much blood." The doctor announced, a hint of frustration in her voice.
"Bp is dropping. 60 over 40."
A nurse took the baby from Callie's arms. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and suddenly her body fell limp. Lena let out a sob and Brandon shook her gently. He shook his head as he broke down in sobs. "No, no, Callie, wake up. Wake up!"
"She's in hypovolemic shock."
"Should we prep for a hysterectomy?" A nurse questioned.
Lena shut her eyes tightly. This girl had gone through hell and now her chance at having children was going to be stolen from her too?
"No, she's too young. I can't do that to her. Start a blood transfusion. Page the OR." The doctor shouted as the machines attached to Callie began to scream. "She's going into v-fib. Push one of epi."
"No, no, no! Callie! You can't leave me!" Brandon cried as he watched the lines on her heart monitor fall to a flat line. Someone was pulling him away, but he was trying to fight it. He couldn't leave her. He needed to be with her. "Let go! Let me stay with her! Callie!"
"Sir, you can't be here. She's going up to surgery." A male in scrubs said as he pulled Brandon out of the room, Lena following behind. Brandon wasn't even sure when this guy appeared in the room. He watched as they rushed Callie down the hall to what he assumed was towards the OR.
Brandon threw himself against the wall before collapsing to the floor. He drew his knees to his chest and buried his head in his hands as sobs wracked his body. This was too much. It was all too much. He just watched his girlfriend deliver her lifeless baby; the baby that he saw as his daughter. He watched her suffer from excruciating physical and emotional pain. And then he watched the life escape her body. He watched her heart stop. The girl he would sacrifice his own life for, the girl he would move heaven and earth for, the girl he would do anything for, the girl he loved more than anything, more than life itself, heart stopped. And they whisked him away from her before he had the chance to see it beating again. He couldn't lose his daughter and girlfriend in one day. He couldn't lose Callie. He couldn't survive in a world without her.
Lena watched through her own tears as her son sobbed on the floor. Her mind was screaming to comfort her son, to be the strong one. She was a mother after all; that was part of her job. But her legs were frozen. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Brandon. She couldn't find her words. She normally told her kids that it was okay, that everything would work itself out, that they would get through this. But this was different. She couldn't make those promises. She didn't know if Callie was going to survive, and if she did nothing was okay; they just witnessed the heart-wrenching loss of her baby.
Thanks for reading! I know, it's dark. This was actually the plan from the start. We'll find out if Callie is okay next chapter.
Review!