Brothers at War [#Wattys2017]

bonus chapter iii

It was the knock at the door that night which forced me from the confines of my wife's arms. Sophie had been unwell for the last three days and, at the doctor's insistence, she was on bedrest until she was told otherwise. I had taken the time off work to look after the kids, to cook for my wife, and to enjoy the life which I knew I had been missing out on.

I had enjoyed spending time with Sarah, Logan and Sammy. I had loved waking up to Sammy's cries in the night and simply sitting in the nursery with him until he fell back to sleep again. I had been able to read Logan a bedtime story and give him a kiss goodnight. I had even been able to sit through a tea party with Sarah and her dolls, and I had never smiled as much as I did.

I loved my family and I would do anything for them.

That's why I was shocked when Callie was the one at the door at three in the morning. She had tears rolling down her cheeks and her arms were wrapped tightly around her stomach.

"Callie? What's wrong, baby?" I pulled my daughter into my arms and wrapped my arms tightly around her as she sobbed into my shoulder. It's then that I noticed Parker stood behind her and he also had tears in his eyes, but I could tell he was trying to be strong for his wife.

"M—My ba—baby," Callie wept and I knew, without her even needing to tell me, what had happened. I had never felt heartbreak as I did in that moment and I had to hold my own tears back; I had to be strong for my daughter and I had to hold it together for her.

"Parker?" I whispered. I needed clarification, just to be sure that I wasn't jumping to conclusions.

Parker took a deep breath and I led the both of them into the living room. I eased both myself and Callie onto the sofa, Callie's grip never wavering as she continued to weep into my shoulder. I wanted to take the pain away, I wanted to make everything right for my little girl, and I wanted to give her everything she deserved.

"Callie had a miscarriage late last night. They only released her from the hospital an hour ago." Parker ran his hand through his hair and I noticed a lone tear sliding down his cheek. Callie was completely distraught and Parker was trying to hold it together for his wife.

"Do they know what caused it?" I held Callie tighter and it pained me that there was nothing which I could do for her. I can't even begin to imagine what her and Parker must be going through. Not when my babies were asleep upstairs, safely tucked up in bed.

The closest I came was when Sophie was hospitalised whilst she was pregnant with Logan. Sophie began bleeding, heavily, in the middle of the night and she ended up in hospital for just over two weeks. They thought that she was going to lose him and that was scary enough.

"There was an issue with the placenta. It didn't develop properly and the baby didn't receive enough oxygen."

"How did they not notice it before?" Callie's sobs had subsided now and she leant against me in silence, doing nothing other than staring at the wall on the opposite of the room. I didn't know how I would begin to put my daughter back together and I certainly didn't know how I was going to help her recover from this either.

"Callie was only eleven weeks. We weren't due another scan for a week and a half," Parker signed. I knew what he was like and I was sure that he was going to blame himself for this. I was worried that this would set off his depression again and he would fall down the hole which he escaped from not long before the wedding.

They were both so excited to be parents. Sure, I was shocked when Callie announced that Sophie and I were going to be grandparents, but when I got over the shock, I was ecstatic. I had embraced Callie and told her I couldn't wait to meet my grandchild.