Waiting For Love (Love In Montana Book 2)

"I know and I'm sorry about what happened but Jamie isn't completely at fault here," said uncle Cole.

"What do you mean?" Asked Ember's granny.

"They both were too drunk to know what they were doing. When Jamie came to his senses, he was distraught to find Ember gone. He tried to commit suicide when he realized what he'd done. He would have been dead had Josh not saved him. He's admitted to the hospital, Mrs Fischer. He needs psychological counseling. The boy isn't bad, he's an orphan and has no one to call his own. He might have liked Ember. Whatever happened shouldn't have happened and if anyone is at fault, it's us. We shouldn't have left the house and allowed that party to happen," said an apologetic uncle Cole.

"If you report to the police, he will be in a bigger mess and maybe this time we wouldn't be able to save his life. I will admit him for psychological counseling once he's released from the hospital. He won't bother Ember again but please, I beg of you, let it go," Ember's uncle pleaded.

"Fine then. I'm letting this go but please ensure that he never bothers Ember again," said granny.

"I swear, he won't, " said uncle Cole. Granny disconnected the call and updated her husband. They sat worrying about Ember.

The next two weeks Ember wasn't in a mental state to go to work. She stayed at home and refused to come out of her room. Granny tried talking to her lovingly, tried comforting her but when everything failed, she called their family doctor. Granny explained everything that happened to her.

"She needs counseling. You should have consulted a therapist immediately," said the doctor. "Here's the number of a good therapist. She's a consultant at Fordsville Public Hospital. Call her and take an appointment. She might be willing to come home to see your grand daughter, " said the doctor. Then he checked Ember and took her blood sample.

"I think your grand daughter is pregnant. I'll do a blood test and confirm the pregnancy, " he said, before leaving. Ember looked at the doctor, dismayed at the news. She was pregnant with Jamie's baby? She just couldn't believe it. What would she do now? She was doomed for life. All her dreams were shattered. She called Jazz.

"Jazz, can you give me Jamie's phone number?" She croaked in a small voice. Jazz was too stunned to react.

"Okay. How are you Ember? I'm sorry for forcing you to drink. I've never been able to forgive myself for it, " said Jazz.

"I forgive you. Jusy give me the number, please, " she disconnected the call. Jazz forwarded her Jamie's number.

Ember stared at the number unable to decide whether she should call or not. Finally, she decided to go for it. He should know about his baby after all. After repeated rings, finally he picked up the phone.

"Hello," he said in a hoarse whisper at the unknown number which had called him.

"It's me, Ember, " said Ember quietly. There was a pin drop silence at the other end.

"Jamie? Are you there?" She asked not being able to hear him. He started breathing erratically.

"Yes," he whispered again.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm pregnant with your baby," she told him. There was more silence. Ember couldn't fathom what he was thinking. He hadn't said a word so far. She could only hear his heavy breathing.

"Don't you have anything to say dammit?" She asked, losing her patience.

"I'm not good enough for you," he said in that same hoarse whisper as if he was having difficulty breathing.

"You should have thought about it before r*ping me," she yelled into the phone. Again silence. Was he crying? Ember couldn't make out clearly. He didn't say a word after that.

"Can you please tell me what I should do with this f*cking baby?" She asked in a pissed off tone.

"I can't.." he broke off. "I don't know," he said disconnecting the call and switching off his phone as he lay sobbing on the bed of the rehabilitation center where Josh had dumped him. He was mentally disturbed with a broken mind, a broken body and most of all, a tarnished soul. How could he bring up a baby under such circumstances? He was too drunk that night to know what happened between them. It was the first time he had consumed alcohol. In the morning he had searched for Ember like a madman. Josh had slapped him, punched him when he found out what he had done to his sister. So now he lost the only family who had loved him.

Ember broke down after that phone call. It was clear that he wouldn't take any responsibility for the baby. She didn't see any future for her and her baby. She was hurt beyond words by Jamie's behavior. She couldn't understand why he was so callous even after hearing about her pregnancy. For hours she thought about what she should do. When she couldn't think of anything, she walked into her grandparents room. Her granny had gone to the departmental store and her grand dad was busy with his garden. She took out the two bottles of sleeping pills that his grand dad was prescribed with for times when he suffered from insomnia. She came back to her room and consumed it all.

After five minutes, granny came home and checked up on Ember as she always did. To her horror she saw her lying at the edge of the bed in a strange posture, half hanging from the bed. She hurried towards Ember and touched her cold body. Panicking, she ran to granddad.

"Zoe, Ember's cold and not moving, come quickly," she yelled. Granddad came rushing and saw Ember. "Your sleeping pills are missing. Ember must have consumed it all. Oh my God, what do we do?" Cried granny.

"Need to take her to the hospital just now, " said granddad. He picked up Ember and rushed out while granny followed him with his truck keys, wallet and phone. She unlocked the door and granddad placed her on the seat while granny locked the house. They rushed over to the hospital and admitted her immediately. The next few hours, the doctors washed her stomach and tried to revive her. The next twenty-four hours were the most critical in her life. Granny sobbed outside the emergency room, praying for her granddaughters life. Granddad interacted desperately with every doctor who emerged from the room, asking about Ember.

"We couldn't save the baby, Mr Fischer. We're extremely sorry. Your granddaughter had a miscarriage from the all that sedative that seeped into her system, " said the doctor. Granny covered her mouth as more sobs escaped her.

"How long will she be critical, doctor?" Asked granddad.

"Next twenty-four hours at least, if not more," said the doctor. Granny and granddad sat at the hospital the whole night. They couldn't inform anyone at such short notice, it was so sudden. It was past midnight when Ember was better and shifted to a room. The nurse arranged for  bed for granny and granddad too in her room since they were senior citizens and had been at the hospital continuously for the past ten hours already.

Ember was released after forty- eight hours and a haggard granny and granddad took her home. The news of what she went through spread like a fire as Fordsville was a small town. Ember went into  a shell as she realized that her baby was no more. Granny contacted a therapist, Sarah Johansson who was a middle aged woman and extremely good at her work. She came twice a week but Ember didn't respond to any treatment. As days passed and more and more insensitive neighbors came enquiring after her, the more traumatized she became. Finally granddad stopped all visitors from entering their house and they went into isolation to give Ember time to heal. She resigned from the hospital and stayed at home, hidden in her room for months. Her uncle and aunt called many times from Chicago but granny stopped taking their calls. If they were so concerned, they should have come down to see her at least once. Thus life went on and months passed into years but Ember's grandparents never gave up hope and neither did her therapist.

After a year, Ember was better and started moving freely around the house but she still shied away from visitors and strangers and never set foot outside the house. She learnt to cook like granny and baked just like granny did. She was scared of men in general and apart from her granddad, she ran away to hide in her room at the sound of a male voice. It hurt granny immensely and she was worried about what would happen to Ember after they were no more. The thought made both her grandparents stress the whole day. They weren't getting younger, after all! The therapist was the only one they could talk freely about their concerns to. She advised them to be patient. So they waited patiently for a miracle to happen.

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Disclaimer: The events portrayed in this story are only for the purpose of narration. Neither the site nor the author supports such heinous acts. They are not intended to hurt anyone's sentiments and feelings.