After hours

Chapter Twenty-Six

(VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!
My actual advice to this chapter is to NOT read it. This chapter deals with extremely controversial matters. I'm going to make an authors note directly after this that will tell you what happens in this chapter and from there you can decide whether or not you want to come back to read all of the tragic details. So yeah, skip this part, read the next and THEN decide if you want to read this or not. It really sucks. Sorry folks.)

Seven weeks later

I finally caved and grabbed the phone. Dialing Daniel's number. I covered my mouth to try to hold back a sob I knew was threatening to burst free.

"Hello?" The female voice asked over the line.

Of course Victoria would answer his phone. What possible excuse would I have for calling Daniel at this hour? "Hey Victoria." I tried my best to make my voice sound friendly and casual but it shook as I spoke. "Can I talk to Daniel?"

"He's actually asleep right now. Would you like me to take a message?"

"I, uh, could you wake him? It's important."

The line was silent for a long time, I pulled the phone away and looked at it to see if we were still connected. "Hold on." She said softly.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to take deep breaths as I waited.

"Hello?" He said sounding irritable.

"Daniel!"

"Yeah?" He dragged out the word in annoyed impatience.

"Daniel, I'm-" I hesitated and put a protective hand over my stomach and lowered my voice to a stark whisper. "I can't hear the baby."

"You can't what?"

"We tried all day with some heat beat thing." I said bursting into a case of hysterical sobs again. "My sister and Nathan were here today, we spent all day, literally all day trying to find it."

"I'm sure you're fine."

"It's not Daniel. I can feel it." I pleaded. "Something isn't right. We could hear Nathan's heart beat, we could hear Amy's and Amy's baby, but not our baby."

"Your sister is further along though isn't she?"

"No, Daniel. She's not."

He was silent for a long time.

"Daniel?"

I heard low voices in the background. They sounded like they were arguing, and then he was back in my ear. "Ryan, do you think you can hold down the fort until morning?"

It was such a ridiculous question I couldn't even help but laugh. "You can't be serious. Daniel," I lowered my voice. "This is our baby."

"Alright, alright. Just...keep them on the line until I get there" He said feigning annoyance in front of his loving wife.

I hung up the phone and for the first time in a long time I was sufficiently disgusted with him. I held my stomach sobbing. It took Daniel nearly a half hour before he came in the door. He was dressed. I glared at him from my spot laying on the couch.

"What's happening?" He asked rushing to my side.

"Why did it take you so long?" I yelled.