Chapter 2 - The Blood on the Kitchen Floor
The officer's name was Daniel Reyes.
I remembered it because he introduced himself while kneeling beside me.
He wasn't the first person through the door.
Two paramedics entered ahead of him, carrying equipment and calling out questions.
But Officer Reyes was the first person who looked me directly in the eyes.
"Ma'am, can you tell me your name?"
"Nora."
"Your last name?"
"Hale."
"Mrs. Hale, I'm Officer Reyes. These people are here to help you. Can you tell me what happened?"
Before I could open my mouth, Carter answered.
"My wife stumbled into the counter. She's pregnant, she's exhausted, and she's been overreacting all evening."
One of the paramedics, a woman with dark hair pulled into a tight bun, turned toward him.
"Sir, please give us some room."
"I'm her husband."
"Then you should want us to examine her."
That shut him up.
For about three seconds.
Mrs. Eleanor appeared in the doorway.
"She has a history of being dramatic," she announced. "You should know that before she tells you anything."
The paramedic didn't even glance at her.
"Nora, I'm Amy. I'm going to ask you some questions, okay?"
I nodded.
"How many weeks pregnant?"
"Twenty-nine."
"Any complications?"
"I've been having pain since this morning."
"How much bleeding?"
I looked toward the floor.
Amy followed my gaze.
Her expression changed.
She spoke quickly to her partner.
"Let's get her positioned for transport. Significant bleeding, abdominal trauma reported. Notify receiving hospital."
I felt hands supporting my shoulders.
Someone placed an oxygen mask near my face.
Amy took my blood pressure.
Her eyes flicked toward the reading.
Then back to me.
"Nora, has anyone hit you today?"
Carter stepped forward.
"That's an insulting question."
Officer Reyes raised his hand.
"Sir, stay where you are."
"I'm an attorney."
"That doesn't change what I just said."
Mrs. Eleanor made a disgusted noise.
"This is ridiculous."
Amy remained focused on me.
"Nora?"
I looked at my husband.
The familiar fear crawled up my throat.
For two years, every disagreement had followed the same pattern.
Carter would scream.
I would apologize.
His mother would explain what I'd done wrong.
And afterward, Carter would tell me that no one would ever believe me over him.
I had believed him.
Almost completely.
"Nora," Amy said softly. "Look at me."
I did.
"Has anyone hurt you?"
I touched my split lip.
Then my lower back.
"My husband slapped me when I came home."
Carter exploded.
"That's a goddamn lie!"
Officer Reyes moved between us.
"Sir."
"And his mother pushed me into the counter," I continued.
Mrs. Eleanor gasped.
"How dare you!"
"That's when the bleeding started."
The words seemed to drain the room of sound.
Officer Reyes turned toward Carter.
"You need to step outside with me."
Carter pointed at me.
"She's lying because she's embarrassed about her behavior."
The officer's expression didn't change.
"Outside."
"I know the Commonwealth's Attorney."
"Outside, Mr. Hale."
For once, Carter obeyed.
I heard him talking loudly in the hallway.
Then quieter.
Then loudly again.
Amy checked my pulse.
"Can you feel the baby moving?"
I pressed my hand to my stomach.
I wanted to say yes.
I wanted to tell her he was kicking.
That everything would be fine.
But the truth was worse.
"I haven't felt him move for a while."
Amy leaned closer.
"Okay. We're going to move quickly."
Tears ran down the sides of my face.
"Is he dying?"
She held my gaze.
"I can't tell you that. We need a doctor and an ultrasound. We're taking you to the hospital right now."
I nodded.
She squeezed my hand once.
"Stay with me."
They lifted me onto the stretcher.
As they carried me through the hallway, Mrs. Eleanor stood beside the living-room doorway.
Her arms were folded.
Her face looked strangely offended, as if the emergency itself were a personal insult.
"You've humiliated this family," she said.
I turned my head toward her.
For the first time, I didn't apologize.
I looked straight into her eyes.
"No," I whispered. "You did that yourselves."
Outside, red lights flashed across the windows.
Neighbors stood on their porches.
A patrol car blocked part of the driveway.
The night air hit my face.
I hadn't realized how hot the house had become.
Or how desperately I'd needed to leave it.
As the paramedics loaded me into the ambulance, I heard Carter shouting.
"You can't just take my wife somewhere without consulting me!"
Officer Reyes answered.
"She doesn't need your permission for emergency medical care."
The ambulance doors shut.
I wanted to laugh.
I wanted to cry.
Instead, another crushing pain tore through my abdomen.
I screamed.
Amy immediately leaned over me.
"Nora, stay with me."
Something warm spread beneath my hips again.
I looked down.
More blood.
"Oh, God."
"Keep breathing."
"Please save my baby."
"We're doing everything we can."
The vehicle lurched forward.
A monitor beeped beside me.
Amy spoke into her radio, giving the hospital an update.
I caught pieces of her words.
"Twenty-nine weeks."
"Abdominal trauma."
"Active bleeding."
"Maternal instability."
Each phrase sounded like another door closing.
I reached for her wrist.
"My phone."
"What about it?"
"My husband broke it."
"We'll make sure someone helps you contact your family."
"My dad."
"We can call him."
I told her his number from memory.
It was strange.
I had spent months avoiding that number.
Now I could barely stop repeating it.
Amy called using the ambulance's phone.
He answered immediately.
"Where is she?"
"This is Amy, a paramedic transporting Nora Hale. She's conscious, and we're taking her to the emergency department."
"Which hospital?"
She told him.
"I'm on my way," he said.
I heard another voice near him.
Ruth again.
Then the distant sound of a vehicle door shutting.
"Dad?" I called.
Amy held the phone nearer.
"Nora, I'm here."
"I'm sorry."
My voice shook.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."
His answer came immediately.
"You have nothing to apologize to me for."
"I thought I could fix it."
"I know."
"I thought if I tried harder—"
"Nora."
I stopped.
"Listen carefully. I don't care about the house. I don't care about Carter. I don't care what you told me or didn't tell me."
My eyes filled again.
"I care about you."
The ambulance took a sharp turn.
Amy braced herself against the wall.
"Sir, we need to continue treatment. We'll update you at the hospital."
"Please tell her I'm coming."
"I will."
The call ended.
I stared at the ceiling.
For the first time all night, I allowed myself to imagine surviving.
Then the monitor beside me sounded a warning.
Amy's partner looked up sharply.
"Pressure's dropping."
Amy checked me again.
"Nora? Can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"Stay awake."
My vision blurred.
The ambulance lights stretched into long red streaks.
I heard Amy say something about another IV.
Then my stomach tightened so violently that my breath disappeared.
"Something's wrong," I whispered.
Her hand closed around mine.
"We know."
I tried to focus on her face.
But the darkness was moving in from the edges.
My last clear thought was of the small blue blanket waiting in the nursery.
The one I had washed three times because I wanted it to be perfect.
Then everything went black.
When I woke again, someone was shouting.
"She's crashing!"
May you like
And a doctor was saying the words no mother ever wants to hear.
"We may have to deliver the baby right now."
