\n
My breath came out in weak, ragged bursts, and each cramp in my stomach felt deeper and tighter than the last.<\/p>\n
I kept thinking about the baby and praying for her safety.<\/p>\n
I placed both of my frozen hands over my belly and whispered, \u201cPlease, please be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
But my voice trembled so violently I could hardly hear it myself.<\/p>\n
I pounded on the glass again, though my movements were sluggish and weak.<\/p>\n
Inside, the apartment looked so warm and bright, full of movement and life, completely disconnected from what was happening just a few feet away.<\/p>\n
I saw Jacob\u2019s mother carrying clean dishes across the room.<\/p>\n
I heard muffled laughter drifting through the thick glass.<\/p>\n
At one point, I saw Brenda walk past the door without even glancing in my direction.<\/p>\n
That was the moment I realized this was not a joke to her.<\/p>\n
It was not an accident at all.<\/p>\n
She knew I was out there, and she was choosing to leave me to freeze.<\/p>\n
My teeth chattered so hard it actually caused me physical pain.<\/p>\n
My legs felt heavy and unsteady, and another massive cramp twisted through my lower abdomen, this one so sharp I finally cried out in agony.<\/p>\n
I banged again with both fists, letting panic take complete control.<\/p>\n
\u201cJacob!\u201d I screamed as loud as I could.<\/p>\n
\u201cJacob, please help me!\u201d<\/p>\n
I must have finally been loud enough, or perhaps someone noticed the movement, because Jacob\u2019s mother turned her head toward the balcony.<\/p>\n
Her face changed instantly from casual curiosity to sheer terror.<\/p>\n
She dropped the damp dish towel and rushed toward the door, pulling at the handle.<\/p>\n
It did not open because it was locked from the inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrenda!\u201d she shouted toward the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is this door locked?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brenda appeared from the hallway, her face suddenly turning ghostly pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cI, she just stepped out there, I didn\u2019t think she would stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob rushed in right behind his father, saw me slumped against the cold metal railing, and his face went absolutely white.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen the door, now!\u201d<\/p>\n
Brenda fumbled with the lock, her hands shaking violently now.<\/p>\n
By the time the door finally slid open, I could not stand up anymore.<\/p>\n
I tried to step forward, but the room spun violently around me.<\/p>\n
Jacob caught me as my knees gave out and I collapsed toward the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma! Stay with me, look at me!\u201d he shouted, his voice cracking with fear.<\/p>\n
His voice sounded so distant, like it was coming from the other side of a long tunnel.<\/p>\n
I remember his mother touching my freezing hands and gasping at the lack of warmth.<\/p>\n
I remember Brenda standing there and repeating, \u201cI didn\u2019t know it was that bad,\u201d over and over as if that pathetic excuse changed anything.<\/p>\n
Then I looked down and saw a dark, damp stain spreading across the front of my leggings.<\/p>\n
For one horrifying second, no one moved or spoke.<\/p>\n
Jacob followed my gaze and froze completely.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that blood?\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother started crying out loud.<\/p>\n
Brenda backed away until she hit the wall, looking trapped.<\/p>\n
Then the pain hit me again, deep, brutal, and tearing, and I heard myself scream as Jacob grabbed his phone to call for an ambulance.<\/p>\n
At the hospital, everything became a blur of bright lights, beeping monitors, nurses, and rapid questions.<\/p>\n
How long had I been exposed to the freezing cold?<\/p>\n
How far along was I exactly?<\/p>\n
Had I felt these specific contractions before?<\/p>\n
I answered everything between sharp breaths while Jacob stood beside me, shaking so badly he could barely hold onto my purse.<\/p>\n
Then the doctor looked up from the chart and said clearly, \u201cShe is showing definitive signs of preterm labor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words hit the room like a physical explosion.<\/p>\n
Preterm labor, only twenty-eight weeks into the pregnancy.<\/p>\n
My breath came out in weak, ragged bursts, and each cramp in my stomach felt deeper and tighter than the last. I kept thinking about the baby and praying for … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amomama-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1170"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1173,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1170\/revisions\/1173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}