“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Hadley let the tears run down her cheeks when she saw Tyler talking to the Doctor on his way to her room. The look on his face made her heart break into a million little, unrepairable pieces.
“Hadley?”
She couldn’t even look him in the eyes, so she turned her gaze toward the window.
“Hadley, what happened?”
Hadley squeezed her eyes shut, clearly hearing the heartbreak in Tyler’s voice. “I lost the baby.” she said quietly.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
Hadley shook her head. “It’s not your fault.” she sniffled. “The Doctor told me I had low progesterone levels.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s a hormone needed to sustain a pregnancy. My levels were really low and there was nothing the nurses could do about it.”
“Hadley, I –”
“Tyler, just stop.” Hadley turned her head and looked up at him totally emotionless. “Please, just stop.”
“What?”
“I can’t do this anymore.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked up at Tyler’s glassy eyes. “Please, just give me some space.”
A single tear from his eyes as he gazed deeply into Hadley’s ocean blue eyes. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and Tyler knew he put her through enough.
“I’m sorry, Hadley.” his voice cracked as he spoke which made Hadley’s eyes fill with fresh tears. Without another word, Tyler leaned down and kissed the top of Hadley’s head before mumbling, “I’ll always love you” into her hair.
Fresh tears fell from Hadley’s eyes as she watched Tyler walk out of her hospital room without looking back.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It had been nearly a month since Hadley last seen Tyler. She decided that the best thing was to not be a distraction to Tyler during the Bruins’ playoff run and she moved back to Brampton. Despite trying to cut ties with Tyler for a while, she couldn’t find it in herself to cut out the three girls who played a big role in helping her out of her rut.
“Hadley,” Jackie gave her a sympathetic smile as she let Hadley into the house.
“How’s everyone?”
“Good, really good.” she smiled as she poured Hadley a cup of tea. “Cassidy is at soccer practice and Candace is out with some friends.”
Hadley nodded. “That’s great. I’m glad they’re doing great.”
“Hadley,” Jackie reached out and grabbed Hadley’s hands from across the table. “Despite what happened between you and Tyler, thank you for not cutting us out completely. You have no idea how much impact you’ve had on Candace and Cassidy and I can’t thank you enough for being there for them when I couldn’t be.”
“Jackie, -”
“And I want to thank you for being the girl that showed Tyler what love is.”
Hadley looked down at her cup of tea and shook her head. “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but I miss him – I really do.”
Jackie gave Hadley’s hands a firm squeeze. “But you’re doing the right thing. You need time to think and he needs to respect that.”
“I need you to give him something for me.” Hadley pulled her hands away from Jackie’s so she could dig into her purse. After a few moments of rummaging through the contents of her purse, she pulled out a white envelope. “When he comes home can you give this to him?”
“Why don’t you give it to him yourself?” Jackie questioned softly.
She shook her head. “I miss him, but I still don’t think I’m ready to see him. I just need you to give him this for me. It’ll explain everything.”
Jackie looked at the envelope and nodded. “I can do that.”
“Thank you,” Hadley wiped away a small tear with her index finger.
Jackie looked at Hadley’s left hand and saw that she still wore the ring that she, Candace, and Cassidy helped Tyler pick out for her birthday. “You still wear that?”
Hadley glanced down at her ring finger and let out a slight laugh. “I forget that I’m wearing it sometimes.” Twirling the ring around on her finger, she gently tugged at the promise ring and pulled it off her finger. “I think Tyler should have this back.” she said quietly.
“Hadley, just because Tyler made a mistake, I want you to still feel like you’re a part of our family. We’re always here if you need us.”
“Thank you,” Hadley stood up from the table to give Jackie a hug. “Tell the girls I stopped by.”
“I will, don’t worry.” Jackie smiled and wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. “Take care of yourself, Hadley.”
“I will. I love you guys.” Hadley gave Jackie one last tight hug before walking out of the front door, leaving behind the letter and the promise ring she left for Tyler.