Work Hard, Play Hard

21. Mine

I took a train back to Cleveland. I was going to get to my unborn child's belongings and I didn't care who was there because no one was going to stop me.

I reached Jace's parents' home and knocked on the door, hoping that someone was home.

After a minute Jace opened the door.

"Hey." He said, as he opened the door.

I didn't make eye contact with him. "Give me my stuff." I demanded without a care in the world.

"Not even a hello, how ya doing Jace?" He mocked as I glared at him.

"I don't know why you think this is funny." I said, looking him straight in the eyes.

He stepped onto the porch and closed the door.

"Stop being like this. We both know that you wouldn't dare step inside my parents' house and take things." He said with a smile.

I wanted to slap the smile right off his face.

"But those things don't belong to them. If I told them how you've been speaking to me lately, I don't know if they'll be so proud of their little boy anymore." I teased as he ran his hands over his face in frustration.

"Look, you need to behave and be rational."

"No. Give me what I came for and I will leave." I said, getting really upset.

"Callie. You're making me mad and I don't want to be mad." He said as he clenched his fists tightly.

I laughed. "Oh, are you gonna punch me? You're gonna punch the mother of your unborn child? A pregnant woman?" I teased as I could see the anger building in his eyes.

He opened the door and let me in.

"I would never do such a thing." He said as he backed me up against a wall.

"Are you sure? You'd end up in jail. That's called assault." I continued to tease.

"Would you just stop!" He shouted as he let go of me.

I quickly tried to run up the stairs to where the baby's stuff was, but I was not fast enough.

"Where are you going?" He asked, as he pulled my leg and I tumbled down the stairs.

I yelled out in pain.

"Are you stupid?" I shouted as I held onto my side that had been hit on the wooden staircase.

He backed up. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." He said as he began nervously pacing all over the place.

The pain intensified and all I could do was scream on the wooden floor. My baby. What if something happened?

"Jace. Hospital." I said, unable to say a full sentence as I was doubled over in pain.

I didn't know what was going on.

We arrived at the hospital and all I could do was scream and cry as the pain kept getting worse. The doctors ran an x-ray which showed that I had a broken rib.

"Ms. Carolson. I need you to take deep breaths for me." The doctor said as I tried to relax. "The baby was injured during the fall. We need to do an emergency cesarean section."

I immediately looked at Jace who was sitting next to me.

"What? At 8 months? That's a premature birth!" I shouted on the verge of tears again.

He nodded. "We are aware. Your baby developed quickly, so we can do it. The baby will be okay. She is healthy, but has minor injuries from your fall. We need to get her out to treat her."

Five hours later I woke up without pain. They had given me pain medication for my rib and anesthesia for the c section.
I opened hospital gown and looked at the scar across my lower abdomen. It was stitched up. Then I remembered that my baby had been delivered.

"Jace, where's Aurellie?" I asked as he looked at me with swollen, red eyes. He had been crying.

"She's fine. I saw her. She'll need to be in the incubator for a week, that's all." He said, calmly and quietly.

I felt a rush of relief knowing my baby was okay. "Why are you crying?" I asked.

"It's all my fault." He replied. "I caused all of it and I'm so damn sorry. I'm going to be a terrible father."

"That's not true. You made a mistake."

"Doesn't matter what it was. I did it. I'm so stupid."

"Jace, Aurellie and I are fine. It's okay." I tried to reassure him.

"My parents are on their way and they're gonna freak when I tell them I pulled you down the stair case. They raised me better than this." He cried, uncontrollably.

I decided he needed some time alone, so I asked the nurse if she could take me to see Aurellie.

My rib didn't hurt, but everything felt sore as I found the strength to walk across the hall from my hospital room to the nursery.

I saw Aurellie in the incubator and it broke my heart that I couldn't hold her. She was seven pounds, five ounces. A healthy weight baby surprisingly.  Her little body was wrapped in a white blanket and she had a little hat on. The way I wanted to hold her was indescribable.

She looked so innocent and pure. If only she knew the circumstances surrounding how she came into this world.