Chapter 11 - CALEB STOPPED BREATHING
Caleb improved slowly.
Then, on his sixth night, everything crashed.
I was sitting beside his incubator when the alarm sounded.
A nurse moved immediately.
Then another.
Then a doctor.
Caleb’s oxygen level dropped.
His tiny chest struggled.
“Ma’am, we need space.”
I stumbled backward.
“What’s happening?”
“His oxygen saturation is falling.”
Someone guided me out of the room.
The doors closed.
I could still see through the glass.
Doctors surrounded my son.
My knees gave out.
My father caught me before I hit the floor.
“This is because of me.”
“No.”
“I should have called 911 sooner.”
“Claire.”
“I waited twenty minutes.”
Dad grabbed my face gently.
“Listen to me.”
“You were scared.”
“You were in labor.”
“You had been conditioned to doubt yourself.”
I shook my head.
“My baby is suffering.”
Then a voice came from behind us.
“And his father is responsible too.”
I turned.
Travis stood at the end of the hallway.
Security was with him.
For one second, I did not recognize him.
He looked exhausted.
His clothes were wrinkled.
His eyes were red.
“Why is he here?”
A nurse approached.
“He received notification as the father because there was an acute change.”
I looked at Travis.
His eyes were fixed on the NICU doors.
“What happened?”
I said nothing.
“Claire.”
“Don’t.”
He looked at me.
“I need to know if my son is alive.”
The word my ignited something inside me.
“Your son?”
He flinched.
“You left your son on a sofa before he was even born.”
“I made a mistake.”
“You went to lunch.”
His face changed.
“You know about that?”
“I know everything.”
He stepped toward me.
Security immediately blocked him.
“Claire, my mother pressured me.”
I laughed.
The sound shocked even me.
“You were thirty-six years old.”
He lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
“No.”
“You still don’t.”
The NICU door opened.
The doctor stepped out.
Everyone went silent.
“Caleb is stable.”
My entire body sagged.
“He had an apnea episode.”
“We’ve stabilized him and adjusted his respiratory support.”
I covered my mouth.
Travis began crying.
For a moment, I almost felt sorry for him.
Then he looked at me and whispered.
“Please let me hold him.”
May you like
I stared at the man I had once trusted with my life.
“No.”
