Caramel | Rip Wheeler

Caramel - Chapter Seven

Kayce rushed into the hospital doors, looking around frantically. When he spotted Rip sitting in a waiting chair he ran toward him. "Where's my girl?" He grabbed him by his collar, in a swift movement, pressing him against the wall. "Did you do this, Rip?"

John peeled Kayce off of Rip, tossing him back a bit. "Kayce, what the hell has gotten into you?"

"Everything bad that happens, happens around you." He pointed an angry finger at Rip, who stood quietly, inhaling calming breaths to compose himself.

Nothing was said until Kayce was calm, John made sure of it. He instructed him to sit in a chair and not move or speak until he could act like an adult. Rip let out a stressed huff, slumping back into his chair again.

"Have the doctors said anything, Rip?" John sat next to him, nodding his head almost as if he was answering his own question. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"She's okay." He answered. "They haven't said much else."

"And my child?" Kayce stood up again. "They didn't say much? What is that supposed to mean–"

"Son." John barked. "It means they haven't said anything about the baby."

"I want to see her." His angry footsteps descended in the way of the reception desk.

Rip shook his head a bit in disapproval. "Just wait 'till he finds out he can't go back there and see her yet."

"Rip Wheeler?" His attention was pulled to the opposite direction, a nurse stood with a clipboard in her hand. He stood and John watched as he walked toward her. "Come this way please, she wants to see you."

John hummed as they walked down the hallway together and out of his view. "I'll be."

They continued down the hallway quietly, their footsteps softly moving across the shiny tile. "Is she okay?"

The nurse stopped in front of a door labeled 'fourteen', offering a small smile. "She's gonna be fine." A small sigh threatened to escape her lips. "As far as the baby; I'm afraid the fetus wasn't growing at a normal rate, there was no heartbeat."

Rip's face fell and she kindly patted his shoulder as a comfort. "We'll probably keep her here a couple hours or so, just to make sure she's ready to head home. I'm incredibly sorry for your loss, dad." His heart ached while she reached for the door, pushing it open. "I'll give you two a minute."

He entered the room, where she laid still, her eyes staring at the pinkish colored wall with tears in them. He shut the door behind him, clearing his throat subtly. "Hey." He stood, sliding his hands into his front pockets. She turned her head toward him, her bottom lip beginning to tremble. "Hey, hey, hey." He began toward her, she sat up so when he sat down next to her, he could embrace her.

She sobbed into his shoulder, her hands gripping his shoulder blades tightly, her nails digging into  the skin under his shirt. She cried and cried and cried some more.

Down the hall, Kayce was raising hell trying to get pass the nurses who kept telling him there was only one person allowed in the room. "The hell there is." He would say, pulling his arm from their grip angrily.

"The father is in there right now sir, you have to wait in the waiting room." They would repeat it, time after time, causing his anger to grow. "We have to respect their privacy."

He almost laughed in their face as he reached for the door knob, turning it slightly. When he pushed the door open slightly, his heart sank. He saw the scene in front of him. It looked like love.

He swallowed but still couldn't make words. It looked like a father consoling a mother on the loss of their child. He felt as if Rip was in his place. In his head, that's what he thought he and Maria looked like to everybody else. But he realized that wasn't the case.

When he regained his posture, he puffed out his prideful chest and cleared his throat. "Baby." He said.

The two parted and Rip stood up, taking a couple of steps back. "I'll leave y'all to it." When he walked pass Kayce, he nodded slightly, which he returned so Rip could exit the room respectfully. He shut the door behind him, leaving the two alone.

"Hi baby." Kayce spoke softly, his heart straining as he took small steps toward her.

"Hey." She mumbled, scooting over a bit.

He sat down next to her, then began leaning back so she could lay against his chest. "I'm sorry this happened to us." He held her, her soft sniffles filling the empty conversation.

She wrapped an arm around his stomach, shutting her eyes. "Me too."

Nothing was said after that, they grew quiet until her gentle snores indicated she was asleep. He kept replaying what he had seen, it played over and over again in his head like a bad movie. His heart hurt because he knew that the woman he was in love with couldn't possible be in love with him and hold another man like that.

He knew what the loss of their baby meant, it was a sign that it wasn't meant to be them.