Chapter 7

Once everyone left the room, I looked at Max's face. He stares at my stomach and starts to cry. I move closer, and he places his hand on my tummy and cries.

Hearing the man cry over finding out he is going to be dad breaks my heart, and I realize I had made a colossal mistake and I will do whatever I need to make it up to him.

After a few minutes, he looks up at me with those beautiful blue eyes and says, "Do you know if it's a girl or boy? " I say, "We are having a girl, and you are the only one who knows that it's a girl."

He asked, "Why haven't you told the sex of the baby to anyone?" and I said, "Because for some reason, I held onto that secret just in case I got the nerve to let you know and you would be the first to know the sex of the baby.

I looked at Max and said, "I have a lot to make up for, but first, I need to help you recover, and then we can talk about the baby and us."

He says, "I agree, but so that you know, you will not lie or leave me again."

I text Jeremy and let him know the coast is clear. When everyone enters the room again, I can tell they must know whatever Jeremy told them. Charlotte walks straight to me and hugs me tight, followed by Frank and Ashley. Once the hellos are done, Max pulls me to sit on his bed.

Max takes a deep breath and says, "We are going to concentrate on my recovery, and then Mia and I will work on being a family. So if anyone has an issue with us together, keep it to yourself."

He looks straight at Jeremy and says, "I love you, but she and our baby are the most important people in my life now, and I won't leave them. " He continues, "I want you in our life. Our daughter needs a loving uncle."

It takes a second before people realize he said his daughter. Jeremy looks at Max and says, "I will be the best uncle ever. I was stupid for not explaining my doubts about your relationship."

Jeremy went on to explain that he was terrified that we would end up heartbroken because he was sure I would never move back from Italy, and he could not handle either of us being heartbroken.

He told everyone that we talked and apologized, and he would spend the rest of his life making up for his behavior and hurting two of the most important people in his life. That explanation helped ease some of the tension in the room.

I decided to explain my actions over the past six months. I explained that I found out a month after returning from LA that I was pregnant. I told everyone I was sorry that I cut all communication off but explained that I felt I was saving two brothers and their relationship by staying away.

I told everyone that I live in Oklahoma now, work at the children's hospital, and live in the guest house at my brother's house. I went on to say that I've started seeing a therapist to work through my issues, that I had reconnected with God, and that I was finally in a good place to have a baby and raise her.

I looked around the room and said, "I didn't know how to tell you guys about the baby without causing problems, but I was so torn up about that choice I made."

I went on to tell them I was watching when Max was hurt, and I felt like my chest was ripped open, not knowing what had happened. I told them that I made a promise right then and there to my baby and myself that I would talk to him about her.

The tears streamed down my face, and I said, "I'm sorry, everyone; I will spend the rest of my time making up for my mistakes, but just know I love Max and hope he will forgive me one day and make us a family." But if he doesn't want that, I will still figure out how to include all of you in her life."

And I add, "Just to let you all know, my family does not know the sex of the baby; I was keeping it to myself."

Frank, who doesn't talk much, says, "We will stand behind you on whatever you decide is best for yourselves and your daughter. Just know we love you, Mia, and I'm so excited to be a girl grandpa."

His smile told everyone how excited he was, making me relax. About that time, a knock at the door came, and a doctor entered the room.

He says hello, looks at me, and introduces himself, and I do the same. I asked him if I could see Max's scans to see where I could see the issues and devise a plan of attack. He hands me a folder with all the scans and Max's medical report.

I looked up and asked if I could sit somewhere to go through everything, and he said I could use his office. I stood up and told everyone I would return soon; I needed quiet to look at everything.

Max squeezes my hand and says, "Be careful, and I'll be here waiting for you."

I follow Dr. Thomas to the office, sit behind his desk, and open the reports. I gasp, seeing that he has a fracture in his left tibia, a dislocated collarbone, three broken ribs, and a torn ACL.

After reading the reports and looking at the scans, I know I can fix his injuries, but I'm not sure he will ever play football again. I get control of my emotions and plan the next steps. I clean up the desk and go looking for Dr. Thomas.

Once I find the doctor, I go over the procedures that need to be done, and we come up with the logistics for the surgery. The doctor told me they could schedule the surgery once I got hospital privileges; he told me I should have the privileges sometime tomorrow, and we could set the surgery for Tuesday.

I head back to Max's room and explain the plan for surgery and recovery to everyone. By this time, it's very late, and everyone is tired.

Max looked at everyone and said, "Go home and rest, and I will see you tomorrow." His mom said, "I'm not leaving you alone; I will stay."

I looked at everyone and said, "I will stay the night. I'm a doctor and want to stay here to watch over him."

That seemed to calm everyone, and they said goodbye. Charlotte hugs me and says, "I'm glad you are here."

Once everyone had left the room, I sat in the recliner and heard, "You are not staying in that chair all night; come and lay beside me."

I replied, "I don't want to hurt you," and he said, "Either you lay down, or I will get up and carry you."

I knew he was stubborn enough to try that, and I couldn't have him worsen his injuries. So I slide into bed with him and do so softly that I don't jar his injuries. I get comfortable and stare at the ceiling.

As I lie there, our daughter decides it's time to kick. Max can tell I'm tense, so I look at him and say, "Your daughter is playing soccer in my tummy right now.

Do you want to touch it?" he says, "YES, YES."

I place his hand on my tummy, and he doesn't move a muscle; he feels our daughter kicking and kicking. I lay there and felt so many emotions, feeling him touch my stomach and feeling her kick for the first time. The kicking stopped after a few minutes, and I turned to his face. He is silently crying, and it breaks my heart.

I press my face against his face and let him cry, and I tell him how sorry I am. We just lay there with our heads against one another and don't say anything. The emotions and travel from the day had been brutal, and I gave away to sleep.

A few hours later, the nurse came in to check on him, and I woke up and moved to the chair where she could check his stats.

I waited for her to leave the room, then I pushed the button on the chair, let it recline, and started to relax and fall asleep again.

The following day, I woke up to a blanket covering me and Max staring at me.

I asked, "Where did the blanket come from?" he said around 3 AM, the nurse came to check on him and asked for a blanket to cover me.

I said, "Thank you," and he said, "He wanted to ensure the baby and I were warm and could get some good sleep."

I excused myself and went into the bathroom to clean up. Luckily, I had my overnight bag, a change of clothes, a toothbrush, and a brush since my suitcase was in Jeremy's truck.

After cleaning myself the best I could with a washcloth, I changed my clothes, brushed my teeth and hair, and felt like a new person.

The top and leggings were much smaller and fit better than the last time I wore them, a few weeks ago. For a moment, I was a little self-doubting because it left nothing to the imagination of my changing body due to pregnancy. I took a deep breath, gathered my bag, and left the bathroom.

The first thing I notice is Max staring at me. I look at him and say, "Our daughter is changing my body in various ways."

He says, "I think you look beautiful, and your body is still very gorgeous," those few words make me feel good about myself.

I took the medical record from the bed and looked at his stats to ensure everything was good for tomorrow's surgery.

I sat in the chair and pulled out a book I had recently started reading. Max asked what I was reading, and I replied, "Pregnancy for First-Time Moms. "

He said, "I would like to read it after you are done."

I just looked at my daughter's father and realized I had no reason to be worried about him knowing, and I could have had his support for the past six months.

I started chatting about the pregnancy, my new job, and why I moved back to the US. He listened and never commented, but you could tell he was paying attention and was invested in what I told him.

I finally turned to him and said, "Ask me anything you want; I don't want lies or questions between us."

Max takes a deep breath and says, "Why did you leave without speaking with me? And why did it take four days to get a text telling me you were okay?"

I sighed and started to tell him everything and how I felt. I told him I was in love with him and knew I would not have left if I stayed until he woke up. My stay would have ruined his relationship with his brother and could have ruined Jeremy and Ashley's wedding.

Then I explained that I had a long flight and a short connecting flight, and by the time I got to Florence, I was so tired that I went to sleep and slept about 14 hours, woke up, needed to eat, and then went back to sleep.

I just needed some time, and when I did text, I knew I was short, but I could not text or talk to you then.

It seemed that Max was thinking about the things I told him. He looked up at me and said, "You hurt me so badly; I walked around like a zombie for a month at least," and he went on to tell me that he was not eating well, was drinking a lot, and had no contact with his family.

He told me he did his best man duties, but once the church service and photos were done, he left and went home. You could hear the emotions in his voice as he spoke and told me about having to find himself again and work hard to get on track for the session to end up lying here in this bed.

He continues, saying, "I still love you, but it will take some time to trust you again, so please bear with me while I learn to trust you again." I tell him I understand and I will be here for him.

The sound of the door opening was a relief from their emotional conversation. Dr. Thomas came in and checked on Max and his vitals.

He told me that my hospital privileges had come through, so he had scheduled the surgery for tomorrow at 8 a.m. and would assist me in the OR.

I thanked him for getting everything done and set up so quickly. Max started receiving visitors from his team, who were all pleased to see him awake. I was delighted to see a few of the players and coaches I had worked with previously as an intern.

Another knock on the door, and a petite blonde walks into the room. She does not acknowledge my presence but walks straight to his bed, sits down, and kisses him.

This hurts much more than I have the right to have. I cough and say, "I'm going to head down to the café for a bite, and I'll be back," she says, "Don't hurry. I will take care of my boyfriend."

I leave the room so fast that I don't even wait to hear if he said anything. Instead of heading to the café, I go outside to find a quiet place to sit and think. I barely make it to the bench before the tears are streaming down my face.

I know I left him and ended it, but seeing that he moved on hurts, and I was just stuck loving him. After a few minutes, I take a deep breath and decide I need to eat, control my emotions, and act like this is just another surgery and not think about how heartbroken I am.