Diana was sitting on a park bench watching as children played around on the jungle gym set. The sun was starting to set and parents began to collect their kids when the bench she was sitting on creaked when someone sat down.
“He’s having so much fun out there isn’t he?”

Diana looked at the stranger and smiled as she recognized her brother.

“We used to love this park so much when we were growing up and now I can’t keep Owen away from here. He always begs me or his father to bring him after school.”
Diana and Jimmy sat and watched Owen playing for a few more minutes until the only other kid beside him left. He ran up to Diana and hugged her, sweaty and covered in playground dirt.

“Ready to come home kiddo?”

“Actually he’s coming home with me Diana.”

Diana looked at Jimmy questioningly and Owen walked over to Jimmy and hugged him around his legs.

“You can’t take my baby Jimmy.”

By now Jimmy had Owen in his arms and turned to walk away. Owen looked over his uncles shoulder and smiled at Diana and blew her a kiss.

“Bye bye mommy.”

Pain. That’s all Diana could feel as she was ripped from her sleep. The pain she felt wasn’t the emotional one that one would expect after a dream like that but a physical pain.

“ZACHARY!”

Diana clutched at her stomach and could feel the hot tears roll off her face. It was a matter of seconds before Zacky barreled through the door and was at her side.

“Diana what’s wrong you have to tell me so I can help you.”

The pain seared up her back and caused her to cry out again. She attempted to sit up and pull the covers away which revealed the root of her pain. It wasn’t even a few seconds later and Zacky had her in his arms and rushing downstairs to the car. He sat her in the front seat and whipped out of the driveway and to the hospital. Once there, he took her out of the car and into the emergency room where she was bombarded by nurses and was quickly put under sedatives.

When she awoke later her body screamed for her to stay still. She could hear soft snores beside her bed and the warmth of a body. She slowly opened her eyes to see Zacky asleep in a chair with his head next to her arm on the bed and it took all her power to move the couple of inches to softly stroke his hair. After a few minutes she could see him becoming aware that he was being touched and woke up.

“Di are you okay?”

“I think so. I hurt and feel weird.”

“Diana do you know what happened?” His tears started brimming the bottom of his eyes.

“Not really Zacky.”

“Diana you were pregnant.”

Diana stared at him and sighed.

“That’s why my dress didn’t fit anymore.”

Zacky wiped his face and laughed.

“In all this you were worried about your dress not fitting?”

“A little bit actually. Did the doctors say why?”

“We think it’s the stress of having lost Jimmy with drinking heavily. How did you not know you were pregnant Di?”

Diana shrugged. “I didn’t have any signs of it so I didn’t think I was. How long have we been here?”

“About five hours. I’m the only one they are letting see you right now.”

“Why don’t you go downstairs and get a coffee since I’m awake?”

Zacky nodded and kissed her on the forehead as he left the room. When she couldn’t hear his footsteps on the hard floors anymore she turned to her side and planted her face into the pillow and started crying. She had lost her brother and now her baby that she hadn’t even gotten the chance to acknowledge before this. She felt like she was drowning in misery and she felt like she was hurting Zacky as well.

Just another thing to add to the list.

Notes