She knew it was a joke, but his words hurt. “No, I don’t. I guess I’m not a woman like the ones you usually fuck and leave after one night.” Putting her hands on her hips she glared at him.
“Don’t throw my past at me.”
“Past? Why does it have to be in the past? That blonde was all over you the night of your party. For all I know that’s what you’re doing with your days. Fucking every woman you can find because it will be much better than being with me.”
“Stop putting yourself down.” He yelled the words at her.
“I’ll do whatever the hell I like. I’m doing all this because the only person I can really rely on is myself. If I leave it to you my baby will come here and not have anything to sleep in.” She pointed a finger at her chest as she shouted.
“I never asked for this.” Patrick yelled the words across the room. He slapped the walls and kicked the crib across the room. “You’re not letting me be part of everything.”
She looked at the nursery and wondered what had set him off. They’d been planning for the nursery to be finished well before she gave birth. “You never want to come in here, Patrick. I’ve tried to get you to help, and you’ve left me to do everything. I don’t understand what’s wrong, Patrick. What have I done? Why are you so different towards me?”
“You’re rushing everything. I was fine when we were doing everything together. We don’t know everything about each other, and the rate you’re going the baby will be here and then we won’t have a choice in what we decide,” he said.
“This is what you wanted.”
“No. I wanted to spend time with the woman I met in the garden. This,” he gestured around the room, “is too much for me. I’ve got to get out of here. I don’t want this.”
He looked pale as if all his colour had left him at once.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not ready to be a father.”
His words hit her like a slap to the face. She watched him storm out of his house. The pain in her back was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. She let the tears fall and didn’t bother wiping them away.
Jennifer walked out of the nursery and sat on the bed. She was so pleased she hadn’t agreed to marry him and got engaged. The phone rang, and she ignored the call. She didn’t know how long she sat there looking down at the floor.
Gazing out of the window she saw night had fallen. Jennifer walked to the shower and tried to wash the day off her. The pain continued to hurt. She ignored it. It was over between them. Patrick had finally realised he didn’t want to be a father. She should never have hoped it would work. She’d known there was no chance for them.
Once she finished in the shower, she curled up in a ball on the bed. Jennifer closed her eyes as she started to accept what had happened between them.
Later that night the pain that gripped her abdomen woke her up out of her troubled sleep. It was excruciating, and she couldn’t think past the next wave of pain. The other pain she’d felt was nothing like this. She reached for the lightshade and turned it on. Jennifer couldn’t contain her next scream as the pain intensified. Pushing the blanket off, she stared down between her legs. There was the crimson of blood on her pyjama bottoms.
Her hands shook as she reached for the telephone. Patrick still hadn’t returned from storming out of the house earlier. She dialled the only number she trusted.
Unable to contain her sickness, she leaned over the bed and vomited everything she’d eaten that day.
“Hello? Who is this?” Linda asked.
“Help, Linda, please.” The tears fell from her eyes. She begged her friend for help.
“Jen, what’s the matter, honey? You’re scaring me.”
“I’m losing the baby.”
The next few hours were a nightmare. Once she ended the call, Jennifer curled up in a foetal position. The pain continued on. She heard Linda enter the room followed by two men with a stretcher.
“I called the ambulance, Jen.”
Jennifer couldn’t think of any words as the next few hours passed. Linda stayed with her through it all holding her hand.
“I hope that sick comes out,” Jennifer said.
“What?” Linda asked.
“The sick on his carpet. Patrick likes clean carpets.”
Jennifer closed her eyes as sleep claimed her. In that moment, she never wanted to wake up again.
****
Patrick woke up with a pounding headache. His mouth tasted like shit, and he glanced around the apartment he’d rented out some time ago. He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten there. Looking around the room, he saw whisky and beer bottles on the table.
The banging on his front door finally woke him up. Rubbing his eyes to try to wake himself up, he walked to the door.
“Open the fucking door,” Linda said. Her voice was raised, which made him angry.
“Keep your voice down. I’ve got neighbours.” He opened the door.
Linda looked pale and as if she hadn’t slept all night.
“What brings you to my door? Jennifer have a change of heart and sent you to beg for her?” he asked, chuckling.
“Jennifer’s in the hospital, Patrick. She lost the baby last night and almost died. Congratulations, you’re a free man again.”
He paused as her words penetrated his brain. “What?”
“She said you wouldn’t care. You slammed out of your home last night because of your stupid argument. I thought you were different from what the tabloids made out. You’re a fake.” She threw the morning’s paper at him. “She’s better off without you.”
“Jennifer lost the baby?” he asked.
“Yeah. I thought you’d like to know.” Linda stormed off before he got chance to say anything else.
He felt sick and ran for the bathroom. After twenty minutes of non-stop vomiting he glanced down at the paper. It showed him with his arms wrapped around another woman, and it looked like he was about to kiss her.
“Jennifer’s in the hospital, Patrick. She lost the baby last night and almost died. Congratulations, you’re a free man again.”
Closing his eyes he let the tears escape. He didn’t want to be a free man. Last night she’d needed him, and he hadn’t been there. Getting to his feet, he turned the shower on and started to get undressed.
When he was showered, he called a taxi. He was in no fit state to drive. On the journey to the hospital he stared down at his cell phone. Should he call anyone? Had Linda taken care of everything?