Crossing the Line

Chapter 24: Snap Back to a Harsh Reality

I walked into class on Friday and sat in my seat. My friend Stephanie was one of the people who didn't know about my episode.

“Did you study for the test?” Stephanie asked quietly. I nodded.

“Yeah, this test is going to be easy,” I smiled. My stomach started cramping badly just then. I held my stomach gingerly and rested my head on the table. “Are you okay?” Stephanie asked. I closed my eyes and nodded against the table.

“Yeah, just a cramp,” I breathed. There was a slight hesitation to her.

“You're bleeding,” she said softly. I looked at her confused.

“I'm on the pill, it wouldn't even show through if I was on my period,” I breathed.

“Then explain that,” she said, looking at my pants. She was right. The blood wasn't from Mother Nature, it was something entirely different, only I didn't know what. The teacher gave Stephanie permission to take me the nurse. The nurse gave Stephanie permission to take me to the emergency room. The doctor checked everything and had us wait for a long time. The whole time, I was still bleeding. Finally, I just passed out.

When I woke, I was told that the D&C surgery was successful. I was really confused now, but the anesthesia had my loopy still. I was in a hospital gown. Finally, once the anesthesia started wearing off, the doctor came in to tell me what was going on.

“What happened to her?” Stephanie asked, jumping the gun. The doctor gave me a sympathetic look- definitely not a look you want to get from a doctor who has probably seen it all.

“I'm sorry, Ms. Atkins... you had a miscarriage,” the doctor announced. I froze in shock. Miscarriage? I didn't even know I was pregnant. My ruined clothes were thrown away. I was allowed a shower in the room's bathroom and Stephanie got me a change of clothes. She was silent the whole time. Finally, I was discharged and she drove me to my house. She stopped the car and we only sat there.

“A miscarriage?” she asked, not looking at me. Hot tears pricked my eyes.

“I didn't even know I was pregnant,” I answered softly. She looked at me then.

“I'm sorry Holly,” she said softly. I shrugged. She looked at me curiously. “Was it Eric?” she asked. I hesitated before I shook my head.

“Eric and I have a very complicated relationship, but I'm in love with someone else, and he loves me too,” I answered vaguely. Speaking of, he was parked in the driveway. I sighed before I opened the door.

“You should stay home tomorrow,” Stephanie said through the window. I nodded gravely before I walked inside. Crystal and Tristan both jumped away from each other. It seems I walked into a pretty intense make-out session. Just another great memory to add to this day.

“Holly! What are you doing home early?” Crystal asked. I froze near the stairs.

“I had to go to the hospital. They told me to go home and rest,” I answered. Holly was standing up now.

“You went to the hospital? Why?” Crystal picked even further.

“It was nothing,” I said. I wasn't in the mood to have the whole 'you had sex' conversation.

“Was it because of the pills? Holly, I thought you promised you wouldn't do that anymore! You know, that could potentially kill you if-”

“A miscarriage, Crystal!” I yelled. I sighed before I lowered my voice.  “I had a miscarriage,” I whispered hoarsely. She fell silent and only stared at me. I moved up the stairs quickly and slammed my room door. I didn’t even look at Tristan. It was only then that I let the tears fall into my pillow. There was a knock on my door. I ignored it and laid on my side facing away from the door. The door opened anyway.