Chapter 23

Annelise felt like hell. This was a different kind of discomfort than the usual pregnancy symptoms. She’d been up all night, throwing up, unable to keep anything down. Now, she was crampy and just felt off.

She’d been sleeping on and off all day. She was grateful she didn’t have any classes on Fridays and that she’d already turned in her final proofreading and her thesis. It was eleven o’clock, and she got out of bed to get some ginger ale.

She was wearing pants and a tank top, her usual sleepwear. But after her time with Michael, she’d gotten used to sleeping naked. She’d gone back to her old pajamas, but they felt strange.

Leslie was in the kitchen, typing a paper in between classes, and smiled when she saw her.

“Hey, babe, how are you feeling?” she asked.

“Like crap,” Annelise replied, heading to the fridge to get a ginger ale. Suddenly, she stopped, a massive cramp seizing her, and she gasped, clutching her stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Leslie asked, rushing over to her.

“I don’t know!” Annelise said, her voice shaky. “I have this terrible cramp!”

“Let’s get you to a chair, and I’ll call my mom or your doctor,” Leslie insisted. But as Annelise was sitting down, she gasped and noticed. “Ani, you’re bleeding!”

Annelise tensed up, looking at the red slowly spreading on her pants. “My baby!”

Leslie got her to the hospital as quickly as she could, and they sent her up to the women’s floor. In a panic, she called her mom. She was crying when Naomi arrived, and they waited for what felt like forever.

“Is Leslie or Naomi Rothchild here?” A nurse came out and asked.

Both women went to her and followed her to a room where they found Annelise in a bed, crying. They rushed to her side and hugged her, asking what was wrong.

“I’m losing my baby,” she whispered.

Naomi and Leslie gasped and began crying with the young woman they loved. The doctor came in and explained that they would be doing another ultrasound to make sure everything was going as it should.

They’d hooked her up to several IVs and were getting fluids and other minerals into her since her body chemistry was really off from vomiting for such a long time.

She would heal better if her body was functioning properly. Annelise just laid in the bed and cried, thinking the last piece of Michael and Ollie was gone, and she had nothing left but memories.

She told that to Leslie and Naomi, but all they could do was hold her and let her cry. She woke up from a restless sleep to terrible cramps, and they got the nurse. They took her for another ultrasound and brought her back with news.

“So your body isn’t releasing the tissue fully, and we need to go in and take it out with a D and C. Annelise is going to bleed heavier if we don’t, and we don’t want her to become anemic or have other complications,” the doctor said.

“I have to get everything ready, and we will be back to get you in about ninety minutes. I want to get some more fluids in you; you’re pretty dehydrated, and that can cause complications as well.”

A nurse opened up the IV to get the fluids into her faster and explained that they were going to keep her overnight since it was going to be early evening when they were done.

Naomi kissed the two young women and went to the hallway to make some calls. She called her family to share the news, and then she found the number she had never called before and was actually nervous as she dialed it.

“Hello?”

“May I speak with Kim Morgan, please?” Naomi asked.

“This is Kim.”

“Hello, Kim. This is Naomi Rothchild.”

“What can I do for you, Naomi?” There was a chill in Kim’s voice.

“I… um, I’m at the hospital with Anelise. She’s been admitted and will be having a minor procedure in a little while…,” Naomi said.

“~What?!~ Oh my God! Is she at the medical center?” Kim cried. Naomi heard her moving around quickly.

“Yes, fifth floor, room 527,” Naomi responded.

Kim hung up, and Naomi sat down with a sigh, “Shit’s gonna hit the fan!”

Two hours later, Annelise was wheeled away, and Naomi, Leslie, and Johnathan were sitting in the waiting room for an update. After an hour, a nurse informed them that she was in recovery and would be back in her room in about an hour.

They thanked her and sat back to talk quietly about the impending drama with her parents, who would arrive anytime.

Leslie got up, took Anelise’s phone, and looked for a number. She typed the number on her phone, pressed the green button, and took a deep breath as she waited for someone to answer.

---

Michael was laughing at his seven-year-old nephew, Justin, as he ran around the playroom with a bag on his head.

Monica rolled her eyes and told him not to egg him on. “You’re just making it worse!”

Michael pulled out his ringing phone. He didn’t recognize the number, but something told him to answer.

“Hello?”

“I’m looking for Michael Whitlock,” a southern voice said.

“This is Michael. What can I do for you?”

“My name is Leslie Rothchild. I’m Ani’s best friend,” she said, and Michael felt his heart start racing.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?” he asked urgently, jumping up from the couch, alarming Monica.

“I’m not sure how to say this, but Anelise had a miscarriage and was bleeding, and she had to go in for a D and C,” Leslie said sadly.

“Oh my God… Which hospital?” he demanded, looking for his keys and wallet as he left the playroom.

“The medical center at the university.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can!” he yelled, ending the call before Leslie could say another word.

He grabbed his coat and found his keys on the hallway table.

“Michael, what the hell is going on?” Monica demanded.

“Ani is in the hospital. Can you watch Ollie? You aren’t leaving until Tuesday. I’ll be back by then.”

“Can I help with Ollie? What’s up with her? Is she okay?” Monica asked, her voice laced with concern.

He turned to face her, his expression grave. “She had a miscarriage…”

Monica’s eyes widened in shock. “She was pregnant? You knew?”

“~No!~” Michael’s voice was sharp, his words biting. “Do you really think I’d be miles away if I had any idea?”

Monica raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, watching as he stormed off to the garage and then sped off down the street. Michael drove like a man possessed, his destination the airport.

Whenever he could, he broke into a run, making a beeline for the first ticket counter he saw. He asked for the earliest flight to Nashville, regardless of the airline. The ticket agent, seeing his distress, asked if it was an emergency.

“Yes, the woman I love is in the hospital,” he said, his voice desperate. “I need to be there with her!”

The agent checked the system and found a seat on a flight leaving in forty minutes. Since he had no luggage to check in, he paid the fare, grabbed his boarding pass, and sprinted through security, all the way to the gate.

He made it just in time, the doors closing behind him. He squeezed into the middle seat, his heart pounding as he prayed, “Please God, let her be okay! I’m on my way, sweetheart. I’ll be there soon!”