Chapter Nine

Why am I bleeding?

I held onto the bed post for support as I was beginning to lose all train of thoughts. The fear and pain that I was feeling were overlapping any unnecessary notion. The excruciating pain in my stomach, it was killing me in a slow but steady process. My breathing reduced to shallow intakes of air, my right hand was clenching my abdomen as if it would lessen up the pain, and my other hand was grasping my phone tightly.

Help!

Dragging my feet, I made my way through the door and into the family room, leaving a trail of blood behind. "O-Onee-chan!" I screamed, but there was no reply. "M-Mom! D-Dad!" I screamed again, but there was only silence. I began to tear up, they must've been gone already. I was left alone.

"H-Help! Aaah!" I leaned against the wall, screaming and wailing in pain. I couldn't understand why it was happening to me. I didn't know what it was. The pain wouldn't go away. The bleeding wouldn't stop. The fear was eating me up. I brought my phone closer to my face and with blurry sight, I managed to make a call. Thankfully, somebody picked up immediately.

"H-Help.." I whimpered, losing my breath. "Please help me.."

"Nadeshiko? What happened?" Panic was traceable in his voice. And when I wasn't able to answer, I heard his fast and heavy footsteps as if he had started running. "What's wrong, Nadeshiko? Answer me!"

"P-Please.. H-Help.." I accidentally dropped my phone when darkness suddenly clouded my vision. I sunk into the floor, my body was beginning to get numb.

"Nadeshiko? Nadeshiko?! Nadeshiko! Damn it!"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I sat there on the floor, leaning against the wall. My own blood was starting to pool underneath me, my breathing was getting harder and harder, and all the strength I had left was draining out of me.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

I closed my eyes and prayed. I didn't want to die yet. Not yet.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Please, somebody save me!

Twelve minutes.

Thirteen minutes.

I heard our front door swung open, I slowly opened my eyes. Hanamiya Makoto's horrified face was the first thing that I saw, he was standing in front of me, panting and drenched in sweat.

"M-Makoto," I breathed out in relief with tears in my eyes.

"Jesus, Nadeshiko!" He ran towards me and quickly gathered me in his arms. I could feel him shaking in fear as he sprinted through our living room and out of our house while carrying me. "Baby, hang in there! Please!"

I gripped unto his arm tightly as I barely heard anything. The darkness that shrouded my vision was sucking me in. "I-I c-can't.."

"Don't close your eyes, okay? Look at me, Nadeshiko! Look at me."

With half-lidded eyes, I stared at his face. He looked dreadfully worried. There were tears in his brown eyes and sweat was trickling down to his temples. We entered his car that was waiting for us outside. He never once let me go, he had me secured in his arms. As the driver turned on the engine and we started moving, he planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"Please hold on. I love you, and I can't imagine myself without you." I heard him whisper in a desperate yet longing tone. But somehow, it was very melodic to my ears.

I gave him a soft smile before I submitted to the darkness that was trying to engulf my sentience..

***

"..I love you."

Those three words spoken by a familiar voice were the ones that dragged me out of unconsciousness. Two times. Three times. I wasn't even sure how many times I heard it. On and on, he kept on saying it remorsefully.

I opened my eyes slowly, my sight was blurred for a few seconds but it eventually adjusted to my surroundings. Everything was white and bright. A soft gasp escaped my lips after I realized I was in a hospital room. Then memories came rushing back to me, causing my heart to flutter in fear.

What happened to me?

I turned to my right side and there, my mouth feel agape. He was firmly holding my right hand, he was sitting down on a stool chair and his head was hung low as if he was praying or something.

"Makoto?"

He quickly raised his vision and met my gaze. Relief was hinted in his facial expression as he squeezed my hand lightly. He gave me a soft smile, "Hi, babe."

"W-What happened to me?"

At that, he slowly let go of my hand and stood up. He sat at the edge of the hospital bed and looked at me tenderly, his hand stroked my hair gently. "You're pregnant, Nadeshiko. We're having a baby."

My eyes widened. "W-What?" I asked hazily, falling into a state of shock.

"You're six weeks pregnant with our baby."

I opened my mouth but couldn't utter a word. I'm pregnant! So that's why I was having those sneaky morning sickness. But when I remembered the bleeding that I experienced just earlier, I panicked. I immediately held unto his forearm tightly as I looked at him straight in the eyes. "I-Is the baby okay? Is our baby fine?"

He nodded his head slowly while smiling. "Our baby is holding unto you tightly. It was a miracle, Nadeshiko." He caressed my cheek gently, "None of you gave up."

Relief flooded over me. I placed my hand on top of my stomach. Inside me there's another life. A tiny heartbeat. A baby! I didn't know what to feel. I'm just seventeen. For me to have a baby at such a very young age, I was scared. But somehow, the happiness that was embracing my heart was overwhelming. I was happy I didn't lose my innocent child inside of me. I couldn't stop the hot tears that flowed down to my cheeks.

"Because of stress and fatigue, you nearly had a miscarriage. With all the blood loss, you had to undergo a blood transfusion." He held my hand, brought it closer to his face, and kissed my knuckles. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

I couldn't respond and just stared at him instead. He was crying. He scooted lower and leaned his face against my stomach. "I was scared. I'm sorry for not listening to you. I'm sorry for doubting you. I love you, Nadeshiko. I love you so much. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you and our baby. I'm so sorry."

I blinked back the tears in my eyes and smiled. I stroked his soft, dark hair gently. "I love you too, Makoto. And I'm sorry, it was my fault too." I heard him sobbing softly. "Why are you crying?"

He straightened up and looked at me with tears still in his eyes. The expression on his face was so adorable. "I just-- I was scared, and I didn't know what to do. When the doctor said you're pregnant, I had mixed emotions. I suddenly felt nauseous but I also wanted to jump in joy. I didn't know what to do. I was worried about you too because I thought you're going to die. There was too much blood. I---"

I couldn't stop myself from chuckling at how silly he sounded. "Are you sure you're still Hanamiya Makoto?"

For the first time in history, he pouted. "Oi!"

But I only laughed, he was really cute. I wiped the tears in his eyes. "You're so kawaii."

"Tch," He fixed himself, raising a brow. "How come you didn't know you're pregnant? Didn't you feel any signs?"

"There was. I had morning sickness these past few days, then I always crave for ice creams or anything sweet and cold, then there were headaches too, and I always feel so lazy all the time." I enumerated, counting through my fingers. "But I never really thought I'm already carrying a baby inside of me. I thought I was just delayed, that's all."

He sighed then murmured, "Just the typical you to not know."

I glared at him, "What? Because I'm stupid?"

"Yes," he said flatly before giving me a smile. "But I'm really thankful you're stupid. Because you fell inlove with a jerk like me." He leaned closer then pressed his soft lips on my forehead. "I love you, babe."

"I love you too, Makoto. But I'm scared."

He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. "It's going to be okay, I promise. I will never leave you alone. I'll take responsibility to you and to our baby. Do you trust me?"

I nodded my head, snuggling closer to his chest. "Yes."

His grip tightened, "I'll take care of everything. Don't worry."

***

And he did..

He took care of everything.

My parents were shocked and disappointed. Very. Especially my father, he was furious. He had nearly beaten Hanamiya into a pulp, my Mother cried and cried, and my sister was kind of in the middle ground. She was upset but I could also see the excitement in her eyes. Hanamiya's older brother came too and there in the hospital room, they talked about what they were going to do with our present situation.

Dad tried to remain calm as possible when Hanamiya asked for my hand, Hiro-san said it was the best solution too. Honestly, I was surprised. I never thought Hanamiya was thinking about marrying me immediately--that when he said he'd take care of everything, he meant Marriage.

After the two parties finally settled everything out, I was relieved. I've never been that relieved my whole entire life. I've never seen my father that angry and the tension inside the room was nerve-breaking. It made me want to swallow nails just to forget about the heavy air around me that was creeping through my skin.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Nadeshiko." My Dad said in a low, restrained voice. Hanamiya and his brother went outside to talk and so we were left inside the room--us family. "I had high expectations from you. Where did we go wrong? We've done everything we could to raise you well."

I bit the insides of my lower lip as tears streamed down to my cheeks. My guilt was eating me up alive. It was painful. Seeing your parents cry because of you; seeing them blame themselves for the mistake you have done when in fact, they didn't do anything wrong; seeing them look at you with sad and worried eyes; seeing them lose all hopes in you---that's the most painful thing I've felt as a daughter.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I sobbed and sobbed. "It's my fault. I'm sorry."

"We're worried about you, Nadeshiko-chan. You're still so young. Bearing, raising, and providing a good life for your child at such a very young age is not easy." My mother held my hand gently. "I know you're scared now."

I wasn't able to answer, for she was right. I was scared. So very scared.

My father sat beside me then hugged me, "We love you so much, Nadeshiko. That's why this news is very painful for us. But since we can't change the fact that your already pregnant and that's our grandchild you're carrying, all that's left for us to do now is help and support you."

Hearing that made me cry even more. I hugged my father back and he tightened his embrace in response. "Stop crying. The doctor said that's bad for you and for the baby," he said in a soft voice.

"I hope it's a girl." We heard my sister squealed in excitement.

"I want a baby boy, I've never had one." That was my mother. She was surprisingly taking the situation lightly, that's because she really liked Hanamiya.

When Dad pulled away, he sighed then gave me a gentle smile. "I want a baby boy too."

I smiled and wiped the tears in my eyes, "Hai."

THE NEXT DAY.

"The doctor said you can go home tomorrow," Hanamiya said as he sat beside me then kissed my forehead softly.

I beamed, "Really? That's great." I pouted my lips. "It's boring here."

He furrowed his thick brows, "And what do you think you'll be doing at home? Complete bedrest for two weeks, Nadeshiko. And no volleyball anymore, I'm even thinking about dropping you out of school too."

I gaped, completely shocked. "What? That's too much!"

"Nadeshiko." He looked at me with dangerously threatening eyes. "You'll do what I say, it's for your own good. And for our baby."

"Tch," I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

He smiled, satisfied. "Good. I love you."

"I love you, too."

The door busted open, and there stood our friends. They still had no idea what happened and so they were really worried. "What happened? Na-chan, are you okay?" Hara immediately ran to me and examined me thoroughly, the three others followed.

"We're okay, Hara-chan." I assured him, giving him a small smile.

"What happened to you? We were worried when Hanamiya suddenly left yesterday in the middle of the class." Hiroshi asked, glancing at their Captain beside me.

"Wait," Kojiro interrupted before I could even answer Hiroshi. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"I'm.." I trailed off, kind of nervous about their reaction. Especially my bestfriend's.

Hanamiya sighed then faced his team with a straight face. "She's pregnant with my child and she almost had a miscarriage yesterday."

And there, my friends, they looked like they had seen a ghost. Or even big foot itself. They literally turned into rocks. It was Kojiro who recovered first. "I don't know what to say.."

"Are you joking??" Hiroshi exclaimed in disbelief. "Did you even had sex??"

"How will she get pregnant if we didn't?" Hanamiya retorted, sarcasm marked his voice.

Kentaro bursted out laughing madly while placing a hand on his forehead as if it was aching or something. "This is hilarious! I can't believe this!"

"You asshole!" We all turned to Hara who was shaking in anger, he pulled Hanamiya by the collar then gave him a strong punch on the face. The latter fell to the floor.

"Hara-chan! Makoto!" I tried to get out of the bed but Kojiro stopped me.

"Please don't, Harashi-chan. You'll get hurt." He said softly, guiding me back to my previous position.

Hiroshi and Kentaro held Hara's arms to prevent him from lunging at Hanamiya again.

"How can you do this?! I trusted you! How dare you screw her up!" Hara was furious as shit. Just like how my father was, he looked like he could kill Hanamiya at that very instant.

"I did not screw her up." Hanamiya stood up and wiped the blood on the side of his mouth. "I love her, and I will marry her. I'm sorry this happened, but I promise, I will never leave her alone. I'll take care of her."

Hara scoffed, "Yeah, right. I can see how you took care of her." He added in a very sarcastic tone before turning to me. He stared at me for how many seconds before running a hand through his hair, giving us a quick view of his beautiful eyes. "I can't believe this! What were you thinking, Na-chan?!"

I fought the urge to cry again as I swung my feet down to the ground despite Kojiro's protests and slowly stood up. I walked towards my bestfriend then hugged him tight. "I'm sorry, Hara-chan. I'm sorry."

"You're still so young, Na-chan." He spoke in a worried sympathetic tone, hugging me tight as well.

"I'll admit that I'm scared. But I know Makoto will never leave me, my family will stay by my side too, and you'll always be here for me. Right?"

Kentaro walked closer to us and ruffled my hair, "I'll be here for you too. I guess I'll be an 'uncle' earlier than I expected."

Harashi shrugged his shoulders and sighed, "I just hope your child won't get Hanamiya's brows."

With that said, the three laughed. While Hanamiya just clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Temme.."

"I'll be here for you too, Na-chan." Hara pressed his lips on my forehead. "You're my only bestfriend and I love you."

I smiled, tears of happiness were blurring my sight. "I love you too, Hara-chan. Thank you."

At the corner of my eyes, I saw Hanamiya with a small smile on his lips..