The truck swerved and skidded about, a few feet away from Lila. A forty something rough, unkempt looking man jumped out looking quite distressed.

“Lila!” Brian’s blood curdling scream echoed throughout the dark night. He raced towards her, throwing himself down next to her body which lay on the pavement. He was unaware of the scraggly truck driver at his heels.

“Baby?” he asked, his voice cracking. He felt for a pulse and after a few seconds finally found a faint one. “No,” he whispered at her stiff unmoving body. His brain clamoured uncooperatively with him, but he finally remembered the cell phone in his back pocket. He reached for it, roughly shoving it blindly at the strange man who stood by his side.

“Call an ambulance!” he yelled. The man pried the phone from Brian’s shaking hands. “Hurry up!” Brian barked. Brian reached for Lila’s hand and held it tightly. Her hand was cold to the touch as he pressed it against his face.

Lila’s usually smooth rosy face was covered with unsightly cuts and bruises. A thick stream of blood ran from a large bruise on her forehead down the side of her face. Her dress and hair were both matted with blood.

“It’s okay Lila,” Brian whispered. “You’re going to be fine,” he said clutching her hand tightly. “Tell them to hurry!” he screamed at the man who was still on the phone.

Brian stroked her hair and her discolored, pale face. Promptly he buried his face in Lila’s chest and began sobbing. His own shirt soon became stained with her blood. “You have to make it,” he told her urgently. “I can’t live without you.”

Jessica stared distantly out the window of Nick’s car. She kept her eyes on the luminous moon as they made their way throughout the dark night. One of Nick’s hands was on the wheel and his other clutched hers tightly. They had agreed to come back later with someone to pick up Jessica’s car. Neither of them wanted to leave each other alone.

Jessica breathed a sigh a relief, her first of the day. She was glad that everything was finally over. Justin was gone now although she was certain he would never cease to exist in her thoughts and nightmares.

There would be no police investigation for it was an open and shut case. Their neighbor, Mrs. Blair, the woman who had notified the police of her suspicions, was prepared to testify to the manner in which she had seen Justin enter the house.

As Jessica sat staring lucidly out the window, she suddenly couldn’t ignore the tiny nagging voice that screamed at her from the back of her mind. The voice was telling her to be careful. If she wasn’t, Nick would end up getting hurt again. She cared about Nick too much to hurt him again.

She tried to ignore the voice, but she couldn’t. It was a force to be reckoned with. She knew that it would remain there in the recesses of her mind for a long time. Jessica squeezed Nick’s hand tighter, trying to banish the voice from her head. Suddenly, Jessica was jerked forwards slightly as the car came to a rather abrupt halt. Startled from her thoughts, she peered out the windshield cautiously.

The flashing ambulance lights were blinding as they spun in maddening circles in front of her. A police car screamed, its lights flashing as it approached the scene. For some inexplicable reason, fear gripped at Jessica’s heart as she felt it plummet to the ground.

Compelled strangely, she dropped Nick’s hand and opened her door. As her feet touched the ground, a sense of dread washed over her body. Nick joined her side and together they wearily stepped forward. As they approached the accident, Jessica’s knees suddenly went weak. She felt herself slipping as she lost her balance. Thankfully, Nick caught her before she fell, steadying her with his strong arms.

She could feel her face contort in horror as she saw Lila’s lifeless body lying on the cold, hard pavement. “Lila!” she screamed hysterically. She tried to run towards her, but Nick held her back pinning her arms against her chest.

“Somebody help her!” she screamed trying to wrench her body from Nick’s hold. She watched in tears as a team of paramedics skilfully loaded Lila’s listless body onto a stretcher. The stretcher was then quickly loaded into the flashing ambulance.

Jessica and Nick watched helplessly as Brian argued with one of the paramedics, refusing to leave Lila’s side. The paramedic finally relented and a distraught Brian jumped into the ambulance with Lila. The ambulance took off down the deserted street on its way to the hospital.

Silence enveloped the hospital lounge as they awaited word on Lila’s condition. Jessica paced up and down the length of the room fidgeting incessantly with her hands. Occasionally she would mumble a word or two to no one in particular breaking the silence. Nick sat rigidly in one of the comfortable chairs running a hand worriedly through his hair.

Brian on the other hand stood silently gazing out the window. In his hand, he gripped the velvet box fiercely. He hadn’t said a word to anyone since they had arrived a few minutes ago.

The emergency doors opened suddenly and Elizabeth came rushing in tearfully, with AJ hot on her heels. Surprised at their simultaneous entrance, the two paused momentarily to size each other up.

On the way to the hospital, Jessica had used Nick’s cell to call Elizabeth. Too overcome with tears however, Nick had been the one to break the news to Elizabeth. He’d also called AJ as well and notified him of the accident.

Both Elizabeth and AJ paused noticing the unsightly bruises and blemishes that marked Nick’s face. Nick however immediately bowed his head before they could make any inquiries as to what happened.

Jessica rushed over to Elizabeth and the girls hugged each other as they cried. Lila was like a sister to them. They couldn’t imagine their lives without her.

Brian drifted away silently from the emotional group, unnoticed. He sat in a relatively secluded corner within earshot of them, but far enough that he could be alone with his thoughts.

He covered his face with his hands as his lips began to tremble. He couldn’t live without her. She was his everything. Almost an hour passed by as Brian sat unmoving, his head in his hands. To Brian, that hour seemed like the longest hour of his life. With each passing second, he could feel Lila slipping away from him.

“Mr. Littrell?” an authorative voice finally inquired breaking the sad silence that engulfed the air. Brian’s head shot up his eyes moist and slightly red rimmed.

“Yes?” Brian inquired hoarsely.

“Dr. Carlton,” he said extending his hand towards Brian. Brian took it and shook it quickly.

“Is it good news or bad doctor?” Brian asked getting right to the point as he swallowed hard.

“A little of both,” the doctor said quietly.

Everyone had gathered around the doctor now, listening intently as he spoke. Eyeing the doctor quizzically, they held their breath as they awaited the news.

Jessica reached out a comforting hand to Brian who took it gratefully, squeezing it for support. Elizabeth stood on Brian’s other side, grasping his shoulder supportively.

“The good news,” the doctor began, “is that it appears as of this moment, that Lila will eventually be fine. She sustained multiple abrasions and a minor concussion, but it’s nothing that time won’t heal. Unfortunately she did however, manage to break her arm and fracture her leg. We’re still awaiting test results but so far it looks as though there will be no permanent damage. The next few hours however are crucial.”

A sigh of relief emitted from everyone their except Brian who clutched Jessica’s hand tightly. The doctor raised a hand indicating he wasn’t finished. “She’s been slipping in and out of consciousness so she hasn’t remained awake long enough to speak yet. Her condition right now is still very weak, so we’ll be keeping here for observation for at least a week. Any new developments in her condition are critical so we’ll need to keep a close eye on her,” he added without any further explanation.

The doctor sighed allowing time for them to absorb the news he’d just delivered. He’d decided to keep the bad news for last. This was the part of his job he hated the most – delivering the bad news, especially when it followed good news. It always got to him seeing the pained looks on people’s faces when he told them he hadn’t been able to help.

“The bad news?” Brian prompted anxiously.

“I’m afraid the bad news is that the baby wasn’t as lucky as Lila was. The baby was killed instantly from the impact of the fall. I’m sorry,” he said softly, directing his apologies mainly towards Brian.

Jessica’s hand dropped immediately from Brian’s grasp as the blood drained from his face. “Baby?” he asked slowly. “She wasn’t… I didn’t know she…” he stuttered helplessly.

“I’m sorry,” the doctor said again, compassion in his voice. “Lila was in the very early stages of her pregnancy. Her medical records show she was only about a month pregnant yet. That’s one of the reasons we’ll be keeping her under observation. She’s very susceptible right now.”

Brian backed away from the group, his mind reeling. He ignored the doctor’s inquisitive stare and the sympathetic shocked ones of his friends. His tears sprung forth again as he felt a tugging at his heart.

Pregnant. She was carrying his child and she hadn’t told him. Their child. A child they created together. A child that sadly no longer existed.

[Next Chapter].[Table of Contents].