The Kings IV I

14

Fred

I looked down at Alexis's head in my lap, sighing as I raked my fingers through her hair.

Alexis had been beating herself up for a week now, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to deter her from doing so. I'd tried reassuring her of the fact that it wasn't her fault, that we couldn't control it, but she was going through it, and it didn't register with her.

She couldn't sleep. She'd gotten a total of maybe four hours of decent sleep since we'd found out. 

And I felt helpless.

I was terrified of moving, even a muscle. I didn't want to wake her, considering this was the only rest she'd actually gotten.

I grabbed my phone, turning it on. I scrolled down to Dad's contact, biting down on my bottom lip.

Do I tell him?

Alexis was dead asleep, considering the lack of sleep for the past week. I figured I could call him and keep it down.

I dialed his number, holding my phone up to my ear. It was a random hour of the night, but sometimes, Santiago King's guidance was the only thing I'd settle for.

"Are you okay?" He answered, and I could hear him shifting in the bed.

"Y-yeah," I answered, rubbing Alexis's hair, "sorry. I didn't want to wake you."

"I'm walking downstairs, give me a second."

I gave him the second he asked for, letting out a sigh when I heard his voice again.

"What's the dilemma?"

I leaned my head back against the headboard, closing my eyes. "We lost the baby."

There was a silence on the other end of the phone. I rubbed my eyes with my free hand, looking down at Alexis.

"I'm so sorry, Fred," he whispered.

"You've known Lex since she was, what, fifteen?" I asked, keeping my eyes glued to her.

"Long time," he answered.

"And you know how she's always been so happy? So lively, so bubbly?"

He chuckled a silent chuckle. "Yeah. I do."

"She's not that, Dad," I whispered, my voice breaking.

He stayed silent.

"I've never seen her like this, and she thinks it's her fault," I said, wiping the tear from my cheek, "and I've done everything I can to reassure her, but it's just not working. And I don't know what else I can do."

"Your abuela," he began, "she had a miscarriage between me and Mateo."

I knitted my brows together. I'd never heard of a miscarriage between them.

"And of course, I was too young to remember, but Dad said that broke her like nothing else ever has. Okay, it's going to to take a while, but she'll heal."

I nodded. "Yeah, I really hope."

"How are you?"

I bit down on my lip to stop my lip from quivering, pulling myself together. "Well, I'm hurting, Dad."

"That was your boy, you have every reason to hurt," he said.

I squeezed my eyes shut, nodding. "Yeah."

"I don't know what I'd do without my boys," he said, "you're a stronger man than me."