He Always Said Yes, But Never Heard Me Until I Left Chapter 06

Reid arrived at the hospital carrying a container of soup.

Before the car pulled up outside, he’d even asked his driver to stop at a florist so he could buy a

bouquet.

“Who are they for?” the florist asked.

He was looking down at his phone, replying to a message, but he couldn’t help smiling.

“My wife. We just found out she’s pregnant today.”

He’d bought the flowers in a hurry, but he’d still made the florist check the wrapping for anything

sharp that might scratch me.

He didn’t want me getting hurt.

But someone else was already occupying my hospital room.

An elderly woman was propped up in bed. She looked up when Reid entered and asked, “Looking for

someone?”

Reid backed out and checked the room number again.

A nurse recognized him. “The woman who was here has already been discharged.”

“Who let her leave?”

He frowned, pulled out his earbuds, and instinctively reached for his phone. He called me, but there

was no answer.

He tried texting me instead, but the message never showed as delivered.

The smile finally disappeared from his face.

“She’s in no condition to be running around. Why didn’t you stop her?”

The nurse stopped what she was doing.

“A family member picked her up. The discharge paperwork was completed.”

“If you’d answered your phone earlier, you wouldn’t be finding out about it now.”

Reid froze and opened his call history.

There were several calls from unfamiliar numbers.

They’d come in while he was discussing a deal. He’d handed his phone to Paige and told her to deal

with them.

You told me there wasn’t anything urgent.”

Paige stood behind him, holding the flowers.

“I did ask. They said it would be best if a family member came back to the hospital, so I thought..”

The nurse looked at her.

“I told you we were trying to save the patient’s life and that her family needed to come back

immediately.”

The hallway fell silent for several seconds.

Reid started dialing again, his hands trembling.

This time, he called my mother.

Her phone was on the nightstand. When it vibrated, I saw his name on the screen.

“Go ahead. Answer it.”

Mom glanced at me before putting the call on speaker,

Reid immediately asked, “Is she with you?”

“Yes.”

He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’ll come pick her up. She’s pregnant. She shouldn’t be putting herself through all this.”

Mom set my pajamas on the bed.

“Reid, who’s the one who’s been putting her through all this?”

“I know I haven’t taken good care of her. I’ll explain everything. Just make sure she doesn’t eat

anything she shouldn’t. The doctor said…”

“She’s allergic to peanuts.”

There was sudden silence on the other end.

Mom spoke slowly and deliberately.

“You’ve been together for five years. Did you even know that?”

A long time passed before he answered.

“How is she now?”

I reached out and took the phone.

When he spoke again, his voice was urgent, nothing like the way he’d sounded before.

“Text me the address. I’ll come right now. Please don’t hang up.”

“We lost the baby.”

For once, he didn’t answer with his usual “Yeah, sure.”

There was a pause before he spoke, his voice rough.

“What did you say?”

I could hear his breathing growing heavier.

“Wasn’t she only supposed to stay for observation?”

“When I left, the doctor said…”

I held the phone and stared at the needle mark that was still visible on the back of my hand.

“Our baby died while you were wearing your earbuds and sitting in a meeting.”

He couldn’t finish what he was saying.

In the past, whenever he stumbled through an explanation, I’d always been the first to give in.

I’d come up with excuses for him and convince myself to let it go.

This time, I simply waited in silence.

Eventually, all I got was a barely audible “I’m sorry.”

Mom took the phone from me.

“Now you know what happened. She needs to rest. Don’t call again.”

His voice grew desperate. “Please, just let me come see her. Just once.”

Mom hung up.

I sat there without moving.

It wasn’t until she placed my pajamas in my hands that I realized I’d been trembling the entire time.

I couldn’t sleep that night.

Mom dimmed the bedside lamp and stayed beside me.

“Mom, go get some sleep. I’m fine.”

She didn’t pretend to believe me. She just gently rubbed

my back.

I had no idea how much time had passed when my phone lit up.

A message had arrived from Reid, this time from a number I didn’t recognize.

He said he’d finally found out what happened. Paige never should have bought that oatmeal, and he

never should have fed it to me without checking the ingredients himself.

His last message read:

Reid: [Yell at me if you need to. Just don’t keep it all bottled up.]

I blocked that number, too.

A few minutes later, Mom’s phone rang.

She took it out into the hallway before answering.

Through the door, I heard her say in a low, firm voice, “She doesn’t owe you comfort right now.”

Then everything outside went quiet.

Mom came back and poured me half a glass of water.

“Would you like me to sleep in here with you tonight?” she asked gently.

I nodded.

And when I finally lay down, I broke into sobs.