Learning to Love Again

Prologue

(Mason's POV)

I sat bolt upright in my bed, a scream caught in my throat. I ran a shaky hand though my sweat dampened black hair as I closed my eyes, trying to slow the rapid beating of my heart. There isn't a night that I can get more than a couple of hours sleep before I replay the events of the worst day of my life.

I ran down the hallway of the hospital to find my fiancée. I'd received the call while in a personal training session at the gym. I reached the front desk and asked for her breathlessly. "I'm here for Taylor Jameson..."

The nurse barely afforded me a glance before asking, in a nasally voice, "Relation?"

"She's my fiancee."

I nervously tapped my fingers on the desk while she looked up the information I needed. She spared me another glance, with an expression I couldn't decipher. "Dr. Hastings will be with you momentarily to discuss her condition."

With a terse nod, I retreated to the waiting area, chewing on my already nonexistent thumbnail. I watched the door, waiting for the doctor to emerge. Minutes seemed like hours and I became increasingly nervous as I sat on the hard chair. What was taking so long?

Finally a tall man in a white coat approached me, asking, "Are you here for Taylor Jameson?"

I stood quickly, nodding. "Yes, sir. I'm Mason Lopez. How is my fiancée?"

The doctor met my eyes with a grim expression. "I am terribly sorry, Mr. Lopez. We did all we could for her. I'm afraid she didn't make it. Her injuries were too severe."

I blinked, sure that I misheard him. "I-I'm sorry? There must be a mistake... she can't be gone..."

I saw a flash of sympathy in the older mans eyes as he shook his head. His voice was kinder, less clinical as he spoke this time. "The trauma from the injuries sustained in the car accident caused massive internal bleeding. There was no chance for mother or baby to come out unscathed."

My eyes widened and I stopped breathing for a moment. When I spoke, my voice was barely a whisper. "Baby?"

The doctor nodded, referring to the file in his hand. "Yes, we found that Ms. Jameson was five months pregnant."

My whole body began to shake as I processed this information. Taylor was pregnant? I was going to be a father? Did Taylor know? Why hadn't she told me? The questions continued running through my head, causing it to spin. It didn't matter now. Taylor's dead. Our baby is dead. Oh god... what am I supposed to do now?

I found it hard to breathe and I could hear a buzzing sound in my ears. I saw the doctor's mouth moving but I couldn't make out what he was saying. My chest ached and I couldn't tell if it was from the lack of oxygen or my heart breaking. The last thing I remember was my knees buckling, hitting the tile floor of the waiting room hard before my world went black.

I splashed cold water on my face and stared at my bloodshot brown eyes in the mirror. Heaving a heavy sigh, I straightened up and hopped into the shower. It was already 5am. May as well start my day since I won't be getting any more sleep.

After showering, I got dressed and made a cup of Starbucks coffee with my Keurig. I dumped the brew in my travel mug and grabbed my keys off of the kitchen counter. I left my apartment to face another
day. Another day of going through the motions.