At thirty-four weeks of gestation, Rosie was rushed to the hospital.
The doctors’ prognosis was discouraging.
The pregnancy was difficult.
The clock in the waiting room had already struck midnight.
I stared at the double doors through which Rosie had been wheeled in, hoping they would open with good news.
Ben sat down next to me, moving his knee.
“She’ll be okay,” I whispered, more to myself than to him. “Rosie is strong.”
Ben covered his eyes with the palms of his hands.
I heard a sound from her that was halfway between a sob and a prayer.
The clock in the waiting room had already struck midnight.
Then a doctor broke down the double doors.
Ben jumped to his feet.
The doctor’s face revealed the truth to me even before he spoke it.
“She has lost a lot of blood. We have stabilized the babies, but Rosie’s condition is worsening. We are doing everything we can, but we have to be prepared.”
The doctor disappeared again behind the doors.
Ben stood there, motionless, swaying slightly.
“You must prepare yourself.”
I put a hand on his back.
My best friend.
My brother.
“Ben, look at me. Rosie chose you because you make her feel safe. Give her that same strength now.”
“My promise,” he whispered.
Before I could ask him what he was talking about, he turned to me.
There was something in her eyes that I couldn’t define.
“I need to talk to you,” he said. “Away from here.”
“I need to talk to you,”
He led me down the corridor to a small alcove near the staircase.
“I made a promise to Rosie,” Ben said. “Before they brought her back. She told me, ‘If I don’t wake up, tell me everything.’”
“Tell me what?”
Ben put his hand in his jacket.
“It’s time you understood the real reason I married her.”
‘If I don’t wake up, tell my sister everything.’
I grabbed onto the wall to keep my balance.
“Please don’t ruin four years of my sister’s smiles because of you.”
“Do you really think I want to stand here in the hallway telling you these things while she’s inside? I’m struggling.”
All the horrible thoughts I had tried to push away suddenly came back to me.
He did it for money.
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