Among The Roses

Chapter 49: Drew Comes Clean

Mara went with LeeAnne in the ambulance so she wouldn't be alone, and Luke, Gary, and Drew followed in Drew's car. Ned stayed home with baby Sienna. He also kept watch for Chiara's truck so he could fill her in as soon as she came home, which she did, just as the sun was setting.

She saw Ned motioning for her to come, so she went up to the house, wondering what was going on.

"Where is everyone?" she asked, smiling at Sienna, who gave her a droolly smile in return.

Ned quickly sketched what had happened, watching the look of horror grow on Chiara's face as he explained.

"Oh my god," she murmured. "Have you heard from anyone? Do we know anything?"

Ned shook his head. "It's been over three hours," he told her.

"Maybe you should text them," Chiara suggested, taking the baby from him.

He sent a quick text, and his phone dinged almost immediately.

"Oh," he said, surprised. "They're on their way home already. She says they'll be back in about half an hour, we can talk then."  Chiara nodded. She knew that Mara got motion sick when she texted from the car.

They had tea ready when Drew's car pulled into the driveway twenty minutes later, and luckily, Sienna had just taken a bottle and fallen asleep, so they were free to talk without interruption as soon as Chiara laid her in her bassinet, which was in the lounge.

Ned looked expectantly at everyone as they filed into the kitchen, passing out cups as they sat around the table.

"She had a miscarriage in the A & E," Mara began without preamble.

And in spite of everything, the horrible way LeeAnne had treated her, the despicable things she'd said and done, Chiara's brows drew together in sympathy for the poor girl who had lost her baby  all alone, on a continent with no blood relatives to speak of, no mother or sisters to be with her.

"The poor little thing," she murmured.

Drew looked at her sharply, swallowing, his tea sitting forgotten in front of him.

"And her head? She have any other injuries?" Ned prompted.

"She had to have five stitches, but they're just inside her hairline, so the doctor doesn't think they'll show," Gary said, showing with his finger where the stitches were. "They did a scan, and they show mild concussion, nothing serious. If not for the miscarriage, they would've released her in the morning, but because of the bleeding, they want to keep her until day after tomorrow, just to make sure there's no hemorrhage." He looked over at Drew. "The doctor said that, as LeeAnne is young and healthy, there's nothing to contraindicate further pregnancies in the future, and it's possible that the fall just hastened a miscarriage that would've happened anyway because she got pregnant so soon after giving birth to Sienna."

Luke, who was sitting next to Drew, put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, mate. We're all, so, so sorry." Everyone murmured words of agreement. "I mean, I know it wasn't under ideal circumstances, but it was still your baby, your child, and you lost it tonight, and that must be just awful--"

"It wasn't."

Drew's voice was so low that at first it was lost in the general hubbub, and Chiara wasn't sure she'd heard it at all.

"What?" Again, it was Luke, the closest, who spoke.

"I said it wasn't. It wasn't my child."

"What do you mean. You mean it wasn't a child yet? It wasn't a baby yet?"