Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Jake's POV-

Tick. Tick. Tick.

I glare at the clock on the wall from the corner of my eye, eyes narrowing at the hands as they tick by. The repetitive sound of ticking becomes almost deafening due to the tense silence in the room. Beside me sits Ivory and Mum, both of them wearing the same worried expression I am.

I'd considered texting Emily's mother to let her know of her medical state but considering what happened when she was hospitalised months ago, I decide against it. The woman is probably still a drug addict, popping pills like vitamins. In my eyes, she doesn't deserve to be a mother and especially not to someone as amazing as Emily.

I lean forward, resting my arms on either leg as I stare at the same spot on the floor. It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to barge straight through the hospital doors, find a doctor and demand them to tell me what's wrong her.

Will she be okay?

Will the baby be okay?

I have so many questions. . .

"We've been waiting hours," I snap impatiently, talking to no-one in particular.

"These things take time." Mum responds quietly, her voice wavering. She stands up and walks over to the coffee machine, heels clicking as she goes. I watch her from the side of my eye before exhaling deeply. I run a hand over my face and lean backwards, my leg bouncing up and down as the seconds tick by like hours.

The sound of a coin dropping in the machine fills the silence followed by a beep. I hear Mum sigh before she walks over to me, holding out the coffee cup. I shake my head at her, the thought of eating or drinking anything becoming nauseating.

"Take the coffee, you're going to need it." Mum responds sternly, her blue eyes connecting with mine. I silently reach over for it, the warmth from the paper cup heating my hand up instantly. When I take the first sip, I feel my shoulders slump in mild relief at the comfort it provides me. Despite that, I can't help but shudder at the mediocre taste of hospital coffee —

"This tastes disgusting." I grimace, setting the cup down on the empty seat next to me.

"Do you want me to head over to a  drive through? I can pick us all up some food and decent coffee." Tobias offers, standing up and pulling his jacket on.

"Yeah, that'd be great." I respond, giving him a small smile. He nods in return before turning around to Ivory.

"Do you want to come with me?" Tobias asks her. I glance at her subtly, very aware of the fact she hadn't spoken a single word since she got here. Her face had drained of its usual colour and her eyes are constantly filled with worry.

"No." Ivory responds bluntly, her voice thick with emotions. She's sat on the furthest chair away from everyone, her knees tucked into her chest. I can tell she'd been crying because her eyes mirror mine, red and puffy.

"I'll be back in twenty minutes, ring me if anything changes." Tobias murmurs before heading out the doors. He invites a cold gust of air enter the room as he leaves and I shiver, feeling goosebumps erupt over my skin. It's frosty outside, ice settling on the windows.

This winter break was supposed to be different. I'd planned to spend the Christmas period with her, doing silly activities like baking gingerbread men and random snowball fights. I know it's what she wanted after years of disappointing Christmases with her own family.

The door swings open, pulling me away from my thoughts. The doctor treating Emily appears and glances around the room until his eyes land on me. I instantly shoot up out of my seat, my chest tightening as I brace myself for his news.

"What's going on? Will Emily be okay? Is the baby okay?" I ask him quickly and the doctor holds up his hand, signalling for me to pause.

"It's not good but it's not terrible either," The doctor starts off firmly, his voice sounding tired and drained.

"Can you tell me more?" I interrupt him, annoyed for his brief explanation when I'm desperate to know everything.

"Jake, give the doctor a chance," Mum says from behind, laying a hand on my shoulder. I nod, feeling the frown on my face deepen considerably. Ivory stands by my side, holding my hand for support and I squeeze it lightly, inhaling a deep breath. She quickly glances at me, her own eyebrows knitted together in worry.

I feel a lump lodge itself in my throat as I attempt to ask the burning question on my mind. The thought of anything happening causes my stomach to flip on itself. I breathe in sharply before speaking again —

"Is the baby alive?" I ask slowly, forcing my tone of voice to level out. It seems like an eternity before the doctor finally nods. I release the breath I'm holding, feeling my shoulders slump in utter relief. A smile stretches across my face and beside me, Ivory gasps in shock.

"Oh, thank god." Mum says excitedly, clapping her hands together. When my eyes land on the doctor, he doesn't seem to be thrilled by the news. There's a look of remorse in his eyes and I feel my smile fade as quick as it appeared. A bad feeling settles inside the pit of my stomach and I drop Ivory's hand, taking a slow step forward.

"What is it? What's wrong? Something is wrong, I know it." I say to him. A silence falls upon everyone in the room and just like that, the relief is snatched away from us in a millisecond.

"It's Emily. . . Isn't it?" I ask him, my voice spoken in a hushed whisper. I feel an invisible hand wrap itself around my heart, squeezing tightly. The doctors eyes flicker over to me —

"Just because the baby is alive doesn't mean Emily is in good health. Actually, it's quite the opposite."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I respond immediately, the tight hold on my chest increasing until it's painful. It's like a heavy weight had been dropped on me, slowly crushing me as each second passes.

"I think you should all sit down." The Doctor speaks his words quietly, motioning towards the chairs. His expression remains neutral and I'm completely unprepared for what he's about to tell me. His eyes fill with guilt and remorse but the question is. . .

Remorse for what?

I immediately fall backwards onto a seat, my hand fixed over my mouth as I try to clear the buzzing inside of my head. The doctor stands several feet away from me, his eyes flickering over each one of us in the room.

"The first thing we did is a scan. Emily is roughly six weeks pregnant. The baby is completely fine, healthy and growing as it should be. However whilst we were doing the scan it became clear of the strain the baby's growth is having on Emily. Her body hasn't fully recovered from the bullet wound and the pressure of the growing uterus against her scarred intestinal tissue from the bullet wound is causing her severe pain." The doctor explains to me slowly, pausing for a moment to allow us to digest the information.

"Is that why she fainted?" I ask him, a permanent frown on my face. The doctor nods and I feel anger slowly building inside of me. She'll never be able to move on from the horror she went through with Jones, her bullet wound is a clear reminder of that.

"So what does this mean?" I ask feeling my hands curl into a fist. The doctor nods and quickly scanned over his notes before answering.

"It means the more the baby grows the more dangerous it is for Emily. The severe pain from scarred tissue isn't usually evident until the third trimester so it's a very rare case. We don't know yet the extent off the effects it may have on Emily's health. As you know, she passed out with severe abdominal pain and she's only in her first trimester."

I feel my breathing hitch, the sound of my heart thumping wildly against my chest. The noise of it echoes through my ears, making it hard for me to listen. I feel my features scrunch up in confusion as an eerie silence falls upon the room. It feels like an eternity passes before I finally speak again, my voice low —

"What are you suggesting?" I ask him quietly. Deep down inside my heart I know what he's inferring however I want to hear him say it out loud.

"From my professional opinion, I would recommend you both consider an abortion, for Emily's best chance of surviving this." The doctor admits grimly, his eyes dropping to the floor. He stands up —

"I'm very sorry Mr Melvin. You can go visit Emily when you're ready."

And with that bombshell he turns around and walks away, leaving me stunned in complete silence.

*****

My mind buzzes with a thousand different thoughts, my body numb to any sort of feeling. I feel like I'm stuck in a daze, unable to escape the nightmare Emily and I can't seem to wake up from.

Mum left the hospital to go home and rest before coming back tomorrow. From the look on her face, it's clear she was as shocked as I am. Ivory decided to stay with me but she hasn't spoken a single word since the doctor dropped his bombshell.

"This is a nightmare, right? Please someone tell me this is a nightmare." I mutter, my head in my hands. Ivory places a hand on my back, shaking her head sadly.

"I'm so sorry Jake. I don't know what to say."

"How can they expect us to. . . " I drift off, unable to say the words. The doctor wants us to abort our baby?

"Jake. . . This baby can kill Emily," Ivory says quietly. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly, knowing that she's right. Speaking of Emily, I stand up on my feet wavering a little from exhaustion. I haven't slept in over seventeen hours and it's starting to wear me down.

"I'm going to see Emily, she needs me. Are you coming?" I ask Ivory, holding out my hand to her.

Ivory nods, placing her hand in mine. I pull her up slowly, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. She leans into me, her eyes glazed over with unshed tears. I never once stopped to think how much this would be effecting Ivory too.

"Come on, I've got you." I murmur to her quietly, supporting her weight against mine. I squeeze her shoulder and we both gradually make our way over to the doors. The closer we get, the more my heart starts to beat faster.

What do I say to Emily?

Has the doctor already spoken to her about aborting the baby?

What decision would Emily make?