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*February 2006*
The young woman wept bitterly, the sorrow she felt so profound, it nearly knocked her off her feet. It literally felt as though her heart were breaking.
"But I don't understand... Why would this happen?"
The physician tending to her squeezed her arm with gentle compassion.
"It's something that happens sometimes," the woman explained. "Usually, it happens due to extreme stress."
The patient cried a bit harder, but the doctor's words touched a nerve. 'Extreme stress...' She did feel a certain degree of stress in her relationship, and she knew it had everything to do with the man she loved.
"I'm truly sorry for your loss... If you feel you might need counseling, I can recommend someone you can talk to."
The young woman listened in silence. She seemed to consider the idea for a moment before dabbing at her eyes with the tissue the doctor had given her. She shook her head.
"No... No, thank you. I'll be... I'll be all right," she assured the older woman as she raised her gaze to meet her eyes.
After paying for her visit and the examination, the young woman stepped out of the building, her will to hold in the tears nearly cracking. Sniffling, she somehow managed to keep it inside for the time being.
She drove the short distance back home, multiple fears plaguing her. She had to face him, tell him the situation, and what had happened.
She parked the car in the driveway, then unbuckled her seatbelt. Catching a quick glimpse of her reflection in the rearview mirror, she brushed the long hair out of her eyes. She looked haunted and weary at the same time. She took a deep breath and exited the car, knowing there was going to be no easy way to break this news to him.
The woman walked almost reluctantly up the drive to the house, her head slightly down. She reached into her bag for her key but was unable to utilize it thanks to the excessive shaking of her hand.
Giving up, she pressed her forefinger to the doorbell.
"Hey," he said a moment later, a smile on his face upon seeing her. "Where were you off to so early in the morning?"
She stepped inside and turned to face him, her eyes meeting his. He really had no idea... She'd left before eight-thirty, had her appointment at nine, and she hadn't left him a note. He really didn't know, not a thing. Now, how was she supposed to tell him?
"I... had a doctor's appointment," she revealed. Her eyes cast down again as she felt them well up full of tears.
The man frowned as he realized her true demeanor. What was going on? He edged closer to his pretty girlfriend and tipped her head up. Her eyes were full of unshed tears, and one escaped her right eye and trickled down her cheek.
"What is it? What's the matter?" he asked.
She shook her head, hating that she hadn't talked to him earlier. On the other hand, things hadn't been smooth-sailing between them lately.
"I... I was..." She searched around in her mind, trying to decide the best course of action as to how to properly break the news to him. There was no easy way.
"What? Tell me," he demanded in a gentle tone.
"... pregnant."
All the blood seemed to drain from his face. So, that was it? She was afraid of how he would react?
"Wait..." he said, holding her by the arms. He stared into her tear-filled eyes. "... you *were* pregnant?"
She nodded. God, she felt so ashamed.
"You mean...?"
Reaching one hand up to her forehead, the woman sobbed bitterly.
"I lost the baby!" she moaned. She went limp and collapsed in his arms.
Although shocked, he wrapped her in his embrace, his cheek rubbing against her soft, fine hair. His expression stayed neutral, and he didn't know exactly how to swallow all of this. She'd been pregnant... She'd been pregnant with *his* child and had suffered a miscarriage. It was too much to take.
A full five minutes later, her sobbing seemed to subside a little, and he held her back slightly, just enough to gaze down into her blue eyes.
"It's okay, sweetie," Matt Hardy said. He gently ran a hand up and down her back. "It will all be okay... I promise you that."
Hugging her firmly against him again, his mind began working overtime. Somehow, he would fix this and make her
happy again.