Darren, Nadia, Dan, Leonie, and Donald sat impatiently in a private room waiting for information about Jack’s condition. A doctor soon walked in, the nametag on his lab coat reading “Cantrell.”
“Is Jack okay?” Darren immediately questioned.
“She’s resting comfortably, but she’s very sick. Jack has a cold, but it has advanced to nearly pneumonia, and unfortunately, it has spread to the baby. We tried doing an emergency c-section, but I’m very sorry, the baby died,” the doctor explained.
Darren stood dumbfounded and unable to speak as the doctor continued to talk about Jack’s condition. Everything past that point meant nothing to him. All he wanted to do was see Jack. ‘She’s going to be in hell when she finds out,’ he thought. ‘I’m in hell, for crying out loud. I just lost my first child. Why me? Why now? Why Jack?’ He didn’t realize that tears had spilled down his cheeks until he felt Nadia’s hand gently wipe them away.
“I’m so sorry, Darren,” she said with tears in her own eyes. Nadia wrapped her arms around him, and he began to cry consciously, his anger and fears finally hitting him like a heavy brick.
Dan stood near them, his eyes blankly staring into oblivion as he tried to absorb the news. This would have been the third time he had almost lost his cousin. He sat back down on the couch and took a few deep breaths before finally breaking down. He felt a hand on his back and looked up to see Nadia sit down beside him. Dan rested his head on her shoulder and they wept together.
~~~~~~~~~~
Darren aimlessly walked down the hospital halls, his fingers brushing up against the wall as he headed towards Jack’s room. Stopping by her door, he peered inside to find her fast asleep. The placid look on her face didn’t help him much even though it did ease his mind somewhat. He walked in and sat down beside her bed. His hand gently brushed up against her cheek as he tried to hold his tears back.
“Darren,” Jack mumbled as she opened her pale green eyes. Their sparkle was gone, taken away by this horrible disease.
“Yeah,” Darren whispered back. He smiled down at her trying to appear strong. She reached for his hand, her fingers tangling with his when she felt his grasp.
“Darren, what happened?” she asked in a tiny voice.
“You’re very sick,” he answered, stroking her forehead with his free hand. “The doctor said you might have pneumonia.”
“What about the baby?” Jack kept questioning as she felt the now normal slope in her abdomen.
Darren couldn’t hold the secret in any longer. He could feel the tears stream down his cheeks. He tried to look away, but Jack had already noticed and knew the answer.
“No!” she bellowed, her body beginning to shake as she cried. Darren took her into his arms and held her until she was out of strength. “Why me?” Jack said. “Why me?”
“It’s okay,” Darren replied, kissing her every so often.
Jack looked up at him and asked, “Is it?” He couldn’t answer. Instead, he cradled her in his arms until she fell asleep again. Even then he wouldn’t let her go until a nurse came into the room to check on her. Darren pried himself away but still couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her side. He walked out of the room, looking back one last time before heading to the waiting room so he could tell the others what happened.
“How is she?” Dan asked, noticing Darren in the doorway.
“Devastated,” Darren answered, flopping down on the couch beside him. “I didn’t even have to say anything. She just knew by the look on my face. Do you have any idea how horrible that is?”
“No, I don’t, and I’m not gonna pretend like I do because I know you hate it when I lie to you,” Dan replied. “Look, we’re all just as scared as you are.”
“Dan, I feel like shit. I’m miserable. I can’t stand seeing Jack in so much pain. It’s not fair for her to be going through this.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. Stay with her and comfort her. That’s the only suggestion that I have.”
Darren slumped back into his seat, his mind an utter mess. His first thought was to find a way to cheer her up, but even that would be hard to do. Instead, he sat there, grouchy, disoriented, and unhappy, staring at the TV blankly. The news was supposed to be on, but commercials had interrupted the program. It returned only to begin with a segment on Brett Meyer and how he though the final decision in his trial was unfair.
“Bastard,” Darren mumbled under his breath as he turned away only to have Dan point him back to the direction of the TV. Jack’s face was plastered onto it along with a taping of the trial when she passed out. “What the…” he began to say, but the newscaster’s words suddenly cut him off.
“Sources say that Jones was pregnant with her first child and that the stress of the trial had heavily impacted her health. As of yet, there are no further details about her condition. Hospital officials say that security around the hospital is tight and that no one is allowed to pass through the second floor where she is being treated…”
“Oh, my God,” Dan said slowly.
“This is insane,” Darren retorted as he stood up and turned off the TV.
“That’s why I hate the media so much,” Dan replied. “They manage to find everything out before you.”
“Let’s just pray that Jack didn’t see that,” Darren said as he began walking out the door.
“Where are you going?” Dan called to him.
“I’m going to check on Jack. Make sure that she’s still asleep,” Darren answered. He slowly made his way back to her room only to find her sitting up and staring at the TV screen with tears in her eyes. “Jack?” he softly whispered as he sat down beside her.
“I can’t take this anymore,” she whimpered. “I can’t take the press. I can’t take the media. I can’t take any of those damn reporters. I want me life back.”
“As soon as we leave the hospital, I promise we’ll take a vacation and get as far away from this as we can,” Darren replied, taking her hand and kissing it.
Jack looked up at him with red eyes. “Then what?” she asked. “What happens after that vacation is over? We’ll be right back in the center of all this again. I don’t want that, Darren. I can’t handle it. Look at me. I can barely see straight. My mind is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. My health is failing. This has to end.” Jack wiggled her hand out of his grasp and pulled the engagement ring off her finger. She looked up at him again, this time with tears streaming down her cheeks, and said, “Darren, I love you so much, but this life that you’ve showed me is not what I want. I always pictured my life to be simple, living in a cottage by the ocean where nobody knew my name except for my neighbors, and having a husband with an ordinary job. I know you’re not ready to give up the pop star life yet, and I don’t want you to, but I’m ready to give it up and get away from this. I’m so sorry. I just can’t marry you yet.” She placed the ring in his palm and closed his fingers around it.
The expression on Darren’s face was beyond hurt. Jack placed her hand on his cheek, but he moved away. “Darren, don’t do this,” she pleaded. “I love you more than anything in this world. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then why does this have to be over?” he asked.
“Because I need some time to piece through my life and get back on track. Maybe when I find myself again, we can get back together.”
“Maybe never leads to anything,” Darren retorted as he stood up and started for the door.
“Daz!” Jack called to him. He stopped and turned towards her. “Can we at least end this on good terms?” Darren turned around and left. Jack’s head dropped into her hands as she began to cry. A knock came at her door. She looked up sharply hoping to find that Darren came back, but only found Dan standing there watching her.
“What happened?” he asked softly.
“It’s over,” was all she said.
“What’s over?” Dan kept questioning.
“Me and Darren. I just broke off the engagement,” Jack answered, weeping wildly.
Dan sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Now what?” he said.
“I wanna go back to San Francisco and finish college,” she replied, wiping her eyes. “I can’t stay here. It’s too painful.”
“Okay,” he told her. “I’m sorry things had happen this way.”
“It’s just wasn’t meant to be, that’s all.”