Page 128 of Rise & Fall

But Nolan decides that we’re done watching the movie as he clicks the button on the remote to turn it off and I can’t help but feel giddy because I’ve been waiting to get him alone.

“Keep talking.” I tease him, moving myself up on the couch so he has to scoot a little closer in order to get to me.

But that doesn’t stop him.

So instead of forcing myself to be a sitting duck, I decide to jump off the couch and run toward his bedroom.

“Fuck,” he growls as he starts to chase after me.

We both run down the hall, and I can feel him getting closer. I make it through the threshold of his door and right before I attempt to jump on the bed, his big hands reach around me and lift me up by my waist, his erection digging into my back and I feel a rush of liquid pool between my thighs. It’s almost concerning how wet I feel.

He spins me around so I’m facing him, and I laugh and scream as I beg for him to put me down.

But as he sets me down, I feel a cramp in the side of my stomach.

“Ouch,” I hiss as I clamp down on the spot where the pain is coming from and Nolan immediately jumps into action.

“Fuck, did I hurt you? Are you okay?” he asks, worry lacing his eyes as he scans me for any sign of injury.

“No, no. You didn’t hurt me, I just have a small cramp. Probably shouldn’t be running like that.” I’m not sure where the cramp is coming from, but I shake it off as I stand up straight and feel the relief come almost instantly.

He looks me over a few times before cradling my face in his palms, leaning down to kiss me.

“Take it slow, babe,” he whispers over my lips and I nod at him knowingly.

“I’m just going to use the bathroom really quickly and I’ll be right out.” I tap my index finger on his nose before I walk gingerly to the bathroom.

As soon as the door is shut behind me, I book it to the toilet. Something alarming me to be attentive and prompt.

I get to the toilet and pull my pants down and my head immediately starts to spin in a fury of dizzy fits when I see red.

Blood.

Lots of blood.

I try to scream, but the bubble of noise gets stuck in my throat like a large boulder damming a river.

I frantically reach for something, anything to clean up the mess but all I see is black spots crowding my vision.

“Is everything okay in there?” Nolan knocks lightly on the door, he can probably hear me freaking out in here even though I can’t hear anything.

My mind races a million miles an hour as I try to process what is happening, feeling like I’m having an out of body experience and before I can even manage to try for another plead for help, the bathroom door opens and Nolan stands at the doorway, fear cracking through the brown of his eyes and spreading over his face in a horrific stare.

“Dakota, what the fuck?” He rushes over to me and I’m frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

“No, no, no, no.” He attempts to reach for my face, my arm, anything, but the last thing I see before I black out and hit my head on the wall is the look of absolute heartbreak that crosses his face.

forty-two

Nolan

Noheartbeat.

That’s what the doctor said no less than six minutes ago.

There’s no baby.

Seeing Dakota in the state I found her in nearly three hours ago really took an emotional toll on me. I didn’t know what I was looking at and I didn’t know what to do.