Chapter 91: Chapter 91

JUNE

It stings. Everything hurts. It felt like I had a run-in with a truck, and lived to tell the tales. My entire body ached so badly, it seemed like a heavy load was placed on it, especially my abdomen.

The beeping sounds and murmured conversations caused me to open my eyes. I had to blink, to get my eyes accustomed to the brightness coming from the light bulb attached to the ceiling.

“You were supposed to keep her safe!” I heard Kristen shout. It wasn't a whisper now, but a full-blown scolding.

“I'm sorry,” Mark whispered. “It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let her leave my sight,” he sniffed.

Even without seeing him, I can tell he's crying. And that alone tugged on my heartstrings.

I opened my mouth, to call out to them, but I couldn't even utter a word. My throat felt parched. It felt like I hadn't taken any liquid for weeks—not like I had experienced that before.

“No, it's not your fault,” Kristen whispered. “It's mine. I should have kept her safe. Hell, I shouldn't have acted on my feelings! Had I kept my dick in my pants, where it belonged, nothing of this sort would have happened!”

I grimaced at the tone he used.

“No, you shouldn't think that way. This past month has been the best for her. I have never seen June as happy as she is with you.” Mark sighed, “If only I could turn back the hands of time, I would have made sure she never went in alone.”

“No, it's not your fault. Let's not take blame. For now, we need to pray for June's recovery. She needs us to be strong for him, chap.”

I raised my left index and tapped it twice on the bed, hoping to get their attention, but the door opened at the same time, drowning the sounds of the tap.

“Doctor!”

Both Kristen and Mark called out at the same time the door closed.

“How is she, doctor?” Kristen asked, followed by a similar question by Mark. They sounded so worried, it made me want to call out to them, to tell them that I'm alright.

There was a notable silence in the room before someone sighed. I can't tell, but I felt dread seep into my skin. Almost at that moment, I seemed to recall what happened in the restroom.

When I woke up, my entire thoughts were on the two men arguing beside me. But now, my thoughts seemed more focused on the incident. I tried to raise my hand, to touch my stomach, but I felt something on my left palm — probably an IV drip.

“I'm sorry, but she lost the baby.”

I can't tell whose screams were the loudest. Mine or theirs. My throat, which felt parched not too long ago, seemed to have broken away from embargo on it.

“June!”

Kristin rushed over to my side. He knelt beside the bed and placed his hand on my forehead while the doctor scrambled around. I couldn't breathe. It felt suffocating. My chest felt constricting, and it seemed like my nostrils were blocked.

“You need to breathe, June!” Mark yelled, but it sounded so far away.

It felt like I was submerged in muddy water. I couldn't see, and neither could I breathe. Everything felt so dark.

“June!” Kristen yelled out. “You need to breathe, Doll. Please don't leave me.”

The more they asked me to breathe, the more difficult it was for me to follow their orders. My body shook uncontrollably, and I became too cold.

“Please breathe!”

As if helped by an unseen person, I took a breath, then two, before I gradually regained consciousness. It was then that I noticed that I wasn't lying on the bed any more but in my uncle's arms.

“Fucking hell, June!” He yelled. “I thought I'd lost you.” He placed his nose on my hair and sniffed.

“My… My baby?” I managed to stutter out.

“Is alright. Your baby is okay,” Mark rushed to say, coming over to my side. “You don't need to worry about that, June. You are safe, and so is your baby.”

“That's not true!” I shook my head. “The doctor… I clearly heard what the doctor said! No, my baby. It can't be true!” I placed my right hand on my stomach as tears streamed down my eyes. “My baby is okay. She's got to be okay! I've planned the name I will give to her. She will just be like her father! A daddy's girl! No, it can't be true!”

In anger, I tore off the IV wire.

“June!” Mark closed the distance between us as the doctor, who was standing by the door, rushed over.

“You need to calm down, June. Your baby—”

“No!!!! I want my baby! I need to make sure she's okay!” I thrashed in his arms. “Tell me that my baby is okay, Kristen!” I placed my hand on either side of his face. “Just tell me that my baby is okay!”

He slowly nodded, looking like he was barely holding himself, “She's okay. Your baby is fine, June. Don't worry, when we get discharged, we will leave the country. We will go to a tropical Island like you have always wished. We can live happily with our baby girl and—” Uncontrollable tears flowed down his eyes. “Our baby is okay, June. We will even name her after your mother and—”

“No! You are still lying to me! The baby is—” I felt a sharp sting on my right arm, and when I turned, it was to see the doctor removing the syringe with a guilty expression on his face.

“I'm sorry, June. But you need to calm down,” he smiled, albeit a forced one.

“No! You—”

The dizziness came instantly. One minute I was ready to rip the intestines off any who dared to come near me, and in the next moment, I was succumbing to the lures of a not-so-needed sleep.

“I'm sorry, Doll. But this is the only thing I can do," Kristen whispered as I slowly lost consciousness.