Chapter Forty

Jayme sat on the beach, worried and wondering where Rex was. The thought crossed her mind that he could’ve lost his way but she was convinced that wasn’t the case. Rex was fairly coherent when it came to directions, although she was better. Jayme left a note on the table when she left but with the wind blowing across the ocean, it blew the note under the table.
Rex didn’t see the note, he only assumed the worse. Seeing the back door open, he walked to it and looked out at the ocean, wondering where they were. Bella began to cry and fuss, she was growing hungry. Scooping her up off the warm sand, Jayme stood up and headed back inside. She had left the door open because Rex had the key.
Before Jayme walked in the back door, Rex left through the front, shutting the door behind him. For a chance encounter, he walked around the side of the cabin to look out over the beach. But he did not see her. Then he heard some commotion inside the cabin. Walking to the back door, he opened it and saw Jayme. Rex went to them and put his arms around them both. “Oh my God, Jayme, where have you been?” Rex asked.
“We were on the beach. I sat there to watch the sun go down. I left a note, didn’t you see it?”
“No.” Rex answered.
“Oh, it was on the table.” Jayme said.
“You left the door open, maybe the wind blew it away… God, Jayme, when I came back and you were gone, my heart sank. I felt like I died.” Rex said, hugging her again.
“I’m sorry…” Jayme said just as they heard a knock on the front door.
Jayme and Rex looked at each other, wondering who could be knocking on their door. As the door opened, Jayme looked up to see Scott standing in the doorway. “Well, what do we have here?” Scott said and pulled a gun from his waistband. “This damn cop with my wife. Again. “I’m just going to have to kill you to keep you away.” Scott said as he pushed his way into the cabin, shutting the door behind him.
“You’ll have to kill me, that’s the only way I’ll stay away from My Wife.” Rex said and lunged for the gun. Just as Rex grabbed the gun, Scott instinctively pulled the trigger, sending the bullet deep into Jayme’s stomach. Jayme grabbed her stomach and fell to her knees. Rex overpowered Scott, ripping the gun from his hands.
Holding the gun to point at Scott, Rex fumbled for his cell phone. Scott smacked the gun from Rex’s hand and ran out the front door. Watching Scott running out the door as he found his cell phone, Rex placed the gun on the table and called the number, requesting the police and the ambulance. Rex knelt down beside Jayme.
Although it was only moments, it seemed to take the ambulance forever to get there. Jayme felt the cramping in her abdomen and worried the bullet hit the baby. As Rex and Jayme waited for the ambulance, she began to bleed from between her legs. It was the moment Jayme knew Scott had shot her unborn baby. Jayme assumed it was already deceased.
As the ambulance was on it’s way to the hospital, Jayme felt the cramping grow progressively worse. And she could feel the blood and fluid flowing out from between her legs. “I’m losing the baby.” Jayme spoke in a frail voice to Rex, the tears beginning to fall from her eyes.
“Shh, try not to worry.” Rex returned, speaking in a low voice. Leaning toward her, he stroked her head. “If we do lose the baby, we’ll just try again.”
Jayme merely looked at him and shook her head but his words didn’t make her feel any better. Physically or emotionally. She knew in her heart and soul that she was losing their baby. It was the moment she broke down into a hard cry. It seemed to only make her pain worse. Not only did she have increasing pain in her abdomen, she also had an increasing pain in her heart.
With the worsening cramping and inevitable miscarriage, Jayme remained silent although she cried the entire time. Rex did not leave her side. She even pumped her breast milk as she didn’t feel like nursing. At this point, she didn’t even want to be anywhere near Bella. Her depressive state pushed her further away from Bella.
As Rex sat in the chair feeding Bella from a bottle, Jayme reached the point that made her feel like pushing. She asked Rex to get the doctor, knowing it was time for delivery. She could feel the head crowning and knew the baby was coming. Although the fetus was approximately five and a half pounds, the birth was just as difficult as if it were an eight pound baby.
As Jayme cried out in pain, Rex removed Bella from the room. She didn’t need to witness this and Rex understood, although he wanted to be there for Jayme in her critical time of need. Waiting in the hallway, Rex could hear every noise Jayme made to push the stillborn child out. He began to walk down the hallway, just to get Bella away from the agonizing sound. In his heart, Rex was shattered but he stayed strong for both Jayme and Bella.
Exhausted after her excruciating birth, Jayme was asleep when they moved her to a private room. She slept for four hours before Rex had no choice to wake her. Bella was fussing and hungry. But as Jayme woke up, she instantly began to cry and pushed Bella away.
“Please, Jayme, don’t do this to Bella. She needs you just as much as she always has. If you don’t feel like feeding her, either pump some milk or allow her to have formula.” Rex said.
“She will never have formula again, as long as I can help it.” Jayme grumbled and reached for her.
Holding Bella up to her chest, Jayme exposed her breast and offered it to Bella. Eagerly, Bella found it and began suckling. Jayme held her but couldn’t look down at her. The expression on her face was straight and emotionless although there were still tears coming from her eyes. Rex could see she was in a deep state of depression. He knew he needed to contact the doctor about it.
Waiting until Bella was finished eating, Rex changed her diaper before stepping out of the room, carrying Bella down the hallway. Finding the nurses station, he spoke with a nurse about the situation. She agreed to notify the doctor of Jayme’s situation.
Within fifteen minutes, the doctor came into the room. Rex was sitting in the chair, holding Bella as she was asleep. Rex nodded at him and he looked at Jayme. Jayme was sitting up and looking at the doctor as he approached her bed. “How are you feeling?” The doctor asked.
“I’m sore.” Jayme answered shortly. Still, there was no expression on her face.
“I can give you something to help that.” The doctor said. “How are you feeling, emotionally?”
“I don’t know. I feel numb.” Jayme said and began to cry.
“I can give you something to help that too.” The doctor said.
Jayme just looked up at him and nodded. She knew she could use something to help take her mind off her incredible loss. Looking at Rex, she began to cry again. “I’m sorry…”
“No, Jayme, it’s nothing you did. It was Scott, remember?” Rex said and rose from his chair, walking to the other side of her bed.
“I know, I just feel so… horrible. “She said and broke into a hard cry again.
“I’ll be right back.” The doctor said and walked from the room.
Sitting on the side of her bed, Rex held Jayme as she cried. “Please stop crying… Things will be alright, you’ll see.”
“What if that bullet ruined my chances of having anymore children?” Jayme sobbed.
“Shh… try not to think about that, you’ve already got one tragedy to deal with. We’ll deal with that later, if need be.” Rex said.
Returning to the room, the doctor injected a syringe of liquid into her IV line. First, she tasted the strange taste in her mouth, then began to feel the effect of the drug he injected. After a few minutes, it made her feel high and tired. Jayme laid her head back and closed her eyes. She was asleep.
The doctor turned his attention to Rex. “And how are you feeling? Is there anything you might need. I know it is hard on you too, especially seeing that Jayme is taking it hard.?”
“Oh, thank you, but no. I’m going to be fine. Besides, I have this child to look after while she’s in this state. I can’t be drugged up.” Rex said.
“I understand. If you need something mild, just let me know.” The doctor said.
Rex nodded his head and forced a slight smile. He was feeling down but knew he needed to be strong for both Jayme and Bella. In the bedside chair, Rex sat, holding and playing with Bella. He knew how much he loved Bella, as well as Jayme, and knew that Bella would have a good life and grow up happy with them.