The Broken Tale

Scream

Her screams echoed throughout the entire mansion. There was no hiding from it, there was no running from it.
"Help me!"
The words echoed through each and every room.
Furniture was being knocked over.
Screams and cries seemed to be a plague that Brian just could not get out of his head.
He bolted up the stairs. Layla was just where he had left her. On the floor in their bedroom, holding onto her belly in shatter and tears. He ran to her, slipping down onto the floor. His knee hit the bedpost so hard that he could hear his knee crack but felt nothing.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Does it look like I'm fucking okay?"
"Does it hurt that badly?"
"I don't know!"
She cried out, her tears flowing down her cheek to her mouth. She seemed to have been crying out more in fear and panic than in fear.
"Wh-What d-d-did...Chanel s-say?" Layla asked between sobs.
"She's flying over, babe, everything will be alright." He said as calmly as he possibly could, "She said you should lie down and relax. Everything will be fine."
"C-Can't w-w-we g-go to the h-hospital?"
"No, Laili, we can't. It's dangerous." He picked her up in his arms, "But baby's take ten to twelve hours to arrive if not more. Chanel's in Toronto, she'll be here in a few hours."
He set her down on the bed.
"What the hell can Chanel do? She's not a doctor!"
"That's not your worry, Layla babe." He replied, sitting down on the bed by her, "Just imagine, babe. In a day or two, we'll have our baby in our arms."
She didn't reply but she did stop crying.
"What do you think our baby will be?" He asked, running his hand through her hair, "I'm still hoping it'll be a girl."
"I don't care, I just want to hold my baby."
"If it's a girl maybe Chanel can easily get us a lot of baby stuff. Since she has two daughters of her own, she probably has a lot of experience in buying baby girl things."
Layla smiled through her tears, "What do you want to call her?"
He shrugged with a grin, "Anything that can live up to her mommy's beauty."
Layla suddenly grinned her teeth in pain, alarming Brian.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded, "So this is what contractions are like."
"M-Maybe you should take a hot bath?" He stuttered in panic, "I've seen that helps in movies."
Too tired to resist, Layla just nodded.
Brian scooped her up in his arms and started walking to the bathroom. He kept her up in one arm while he opened the faucet with the other, adding the soap as well. The steam rushed up into the humid air, clouding the mirror. Brian shut the bathroom door and set Layla down on the side of the tub.
"It'll be okay." He whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead.
He lifted up her dress over her arms and slipped it off, tossing it into the laundry basket. He unclasped her bra and slipped off her panties, tossing them aside as well.
By then, the tub had already filled up with the warm water with bubbles rising to the surface of the water. He never stopped smiling as he lowered her down into the hot water. The water seemed to relax Layla's forehead wrinkled with pain and worry.
"Do you feel better?" He asked.
Layla nodded, "A bit."
"Does it hurt a lot?"
"Everyone kept telling me that contractions only come every few minutes but...something just hurts constantly."
"Constantly?" Brian asked in concern.
She nodded, "Is this normal?"
He didn't know the answer. Concern hit him like a slap across the face.
What if it was not normal?
What if that was their baby dying?
What if that was her dying?
Or the baby arriving?
But he sighed either way. He could not tell her that he didn't know. What good would worrying her do?
"I think so. Chanel said it's fine to feel discomfort." He said as convincingly as he could, "It's the first time you give birth so everything will be a bit...difficult."
"I already expected that."
"What name have you thought of?" Brian asked, trying to change the topic.
"We don't even know the gender yet."
"Let's just say it's a girl."
"I think it's a boy."
He laughed, "Okay then, let's say it's a boy. Have you thought of a name?"
She thought a little, "Maybe Jason?"
"Jason?"
"Don't you like it?"
"I do...do you have anything else in mind?"
"Hm...Maybe Mason?"
"What's up with the rhyming?"
She shrugged, "I just like it. Don't you? If not then how about Kaiden?"
He gave her a smile.
"I like it. I like Kaiden, it's so lighthearted."
Hour and hour ticked by. For almost six hours, Brian tried his hardest to keep his smile plastered on his face. After two or so hours, Layla's contractions got much worse. Now she helped her out of the bathtub and onto the bed. She was no longer forcing herself to hide her pain, she was now grunting in pain and every now and then when it got too bad, she could not stop herself from screaming.
Left feeling helpless, Brian could do nothing but to talk to her and try to calm her down. He had never felt so alone, the walls felt like chains on his wrists, his own ribs were the prison bars imprisoning him.
"When will Chanel get here?" Layla asked in tears.
"Soon, Babe, soon."
"The baby's coming, Brian..." she wept helplessly, "What do we do..."
"Chanel will be here soon, Layla, just a little longer."
"It hurts..."
"I know it does, baby, but it'll be okay. Just a little longer and Chanel will get here."
"I can't."
"Try to get your mind off of it."
"Easier said than done when a baby is kicking your kidneys around, Brian?"
"Look, um...do you want me to make you some hot chocolate? Just to calm you down?"
Layla just nodded to get him away.
Brian hurried downstairs, almost falling down the stairs plenty of times. He rocketed from the cabinet to the sink, his hands trembled while making the chocolate and his chest almost being crushed under the pressure he had to carry alone. He added a bit of sugar to sweeten the drink up as Layla liked.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
Her scream was glass breaking, curdling his blood in his own veins.
His mind was left blank as it struggled to grasp the cup falling from his hands, shattering on the floor or Layla's screams or the front door being slammed shut.