Rose Garden [book two]

Chapter Two

I pace back and forth on the linoleum white floors, pouring my eyes out. I should have just taken her to the doctor the minute she had gone over normal body temperature. She should have been checked out after the moment she first refuse to eat.

Maura tried to pull me into a seat as I couldn't control my sobs, but I pulled away from her grip. My hearing was deteriorating as the battery was draining from my uncharged hearing aids. I hadn't even brought my phone and nor did Maura just incase we got news back to tell Niall or call anyone to come down to the hospital.

"She's okay, Rose," Maura herself was crying. "If Rosemarie were dead, they would have told us by now."

Suddenly I didn't feel like being anywhere near Maura. The word dead and my child in the same sentence made me want to scream. The thought of the baby that I had given birth to, lifeless in a box made me crumple inside.

I wanted to be the best mother I could for her, to protect her. For her to never have to go through what I had with a crappy mother-daughter relationship. Then the thought of my lifeless mum appeared, and that's when I allowed a scream to roll off my tongue.

"Excuse me, ma'am. We're going to ask you to leave until you can calm yourself. You're frightening our first floor patients."

And immediately I pick myself up off the floor, pushing past the male nurse, going outside. Fresh air is what I need to pull myself together.

My child is sick, not dead.

I take deep breaths through bleary vision. I wasn't even in the proper attire to be out in public. I was wearing a white tank top along with Niall's batman pajama pants. I hadn't even grabbed myself any shoes, I only had on socks!

Across the street is a very large lake. For a moment I just admire it's beauty to distract me from the rest of the world. I do that for about an hour under the beaming sun, waiting for Maura to come out and tell me that the doctors have news for us.

For another moment, I stare at the lake, and suddenly I notice that there's a pretzeled car inside the water, and power walking towards me is a drenched guy with black hair.

James.

I jump to my feet, a scream stuck in my throat, turning to break into a run.

My body suddenly collides into an unknown body that I know for certain is one of James' partner. When I drop to the floor, I start to cry and pray.

God, please don't let James hurt me again.

Please don't let his friend hurt me either.

Please let Rosemarie be okay.

"Rosaline," I hear a very distant voice, but I know the person is standing right over me. It must be my hearing aids dying.

The masculine hands pull me up by my forearms, and I slowly look up at the face in surrender. But it isn't James or anyone working with him.

"Greg?" I hiccup.

I must have looked like an emotional wreck to Niall's brother and his wife who I noticed over his shoulder.

"Why are you on the ground? What happened?" He says.

I whip my head around in remembrance, but there is not pretzeled car and there is no James running after me. However, it is a man with a camera.

Instead of telling him about my hallucination, I cry to him about Rosemarie. Greg doesn't quite know what to say afterwards, so he slides off his jacket and drapes it over my shoulders, leading me back inside.