Vanilla Dipped In Chocolate

Chapter 24: Alone (Part 1)

The rain beat down on the house waking Cassie from her peaceful slumber. Evan's side of the bed was cold and she sighed heavily. It took every bone in her body to slip from the bed, but she remembered that he was out of town on business again. She sulked but remembered that their Skype conversation was still up, she clicked the window finding him up and moving around his room, talking rapidly on the phone.

 She typed a cute message to him then retreated to the kitchen where she grabbed two cinnamon rolls and got back into bed with Jolie snuggled by her feet.

"Hey baby," He greeted her, watching her nom on the roll, smiling at her. There was now denying that she was pregnant, her stomach had begun to grow rounder. He kicked himself internally for not being there for every moment of her pregancy. 

"Mmm...hello," She waves lazily but jumped when she heard the thunder rolling and closed her eyes. Sure, she had come a long way in getting over this phobia of hers but usually Evan would be the one to hold her through it.

 "Is it raining there too? I swear England is the rain capital of the year," He tried to make a joke but failed. She squeezed her eyes shut until she heard the soothing sounds of his voice. "Take your laptop and walk to the front door," He pleaded with her for a few minutes before she obeyed. When she got to the door, her cell phone rang.

 "Open the door and step outside," She silently obeyed. The rain was pouring down but she made the first step outside. She was soaked immediately but said nothing as he continued to soothe her through the phone.

  Storm clouds lingered not only in the atmosphere but in her heart as well. She was becoming second to his job. He left her again...she was becoming sick of it.

 "I can't do this. Damn it Evan, I can't lie. I need you here, its been almost two months now and you're missing everything about my pregnancy. I know this is your job but I need you.. here," 

Where is this coming from?

"I'll try to be back as soon as possible Cassie. I'm hating myself for not being there. I'll be home in a few days, I promise," She shook her head as her tears and the raindrops beating down on her became one in the same.

 "You said that the last time," Days had turned into weeks. His visit to England was only supposed to last a few days but complications meant he was staying there longer. She got used to going to her doctor's appointments alone, choosing the furniture for the nursery alone and still handling her business. When she came home, she wanted to see her man, not a cold empty bed which was too massive for one person.

She disconnected the call running back inside to get out of the rain before she caught a cold. She ran past the laptop which still was running Skype. Numbly, she removed her wet clothes looking at her reflection in the mirror. This was supposed to be the happiest time of her life, but despite having her family behind her, she only needed one person to bring the life back into her eyes.

And he was a million miles away in England.

Her cell rang again and her little sister practically screamed through the phone. "Sis, you won't believe what just happened," She had never heard her sister sound so excited before but her heart wasn't in the details of the situation.

"What is it?" She asked flatly.

"Gary just proposed," She couldn't hold it together anymore. She looked at her reflection and wailed.  "Sis, are you okay?" She felt light headed and managed to keep her balance leaning against the bathroom wall. Her doctor was very concerned about her fainting spells which had been giving her shear hell.

"I'm fine," She lied.

"I don't believe you," 

"Congratulations sis. I'm happy for you," Her voice trailed off into a monotone. 

Then everything went black.

"Cassie," Her eyelids fluttered, reconnecting her to the world. Evan stood over her, but they weren't at home. She didn't smile as he stroked her cheek nor did she respond when he kissed her lips briefly.

"Do you remember what happened?" Faith asked. Her gaze drifted over to her sister, whose expression was grim. She shook her head, confused as to why she was here. "Gary and I found you passed out in your bathroom. We brought you to the hospital and you've been sedated since then," She watched as her sister leaned against Gary for support.

 "I can't remember anything. It's all so confusing," He held her head, feeling it throbbing. Her doctor entered the room, holding her case file. She had never seen her doctor look so worried. "What is it. Are my babies okay?" The device which was monitoring her heart rate spiked making a shrilling noise.

 "Calm down momma. Everything's fine for the moment. However you are showing signs of early preeclampsia which is worrysome to me since you have a multiple pregnancy,"

"That isn't good is it?" She asked scowling when the other woman shook her head.

 "Preeclampsia is caused by the combination of high blood pressure and protein the urine.At this point you should not even be experiencing things like this so early in your pregnancy. I've been warning you about this for weeks. So you're going to be in here a while till that blood pressure goes down,"

She scowled again closing her eyes, feeling tired. The medication was working.

Alone once more...