The doorbell chimes again as I rub my tired, sleepy eyes. The annoying sound echoes in my head and it throbs in protest.
“Just a second.” I groan, massaging my temples before reaching for the front door.
My heavy limbs and frustration cause me to swing the door open with a vengeance, slamming it into the wall as I lose my grip. A full night’s sleep seems like a distant memory at this point. My mind and body are no longer completely functional. Dealing with a newborn has that effect on you.
The chill of the night air nips at my skin, dragging me out of my foggy state. My stomach flips at the sight of a uniform clad man standing at my doorstep, and I squeeze my eyes shut. But when they flutter open again, the image before me remains unchanged.
“Can I help you, officer?” My voice cracks from the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention.
“Yes, ma’am,” the officer says before clearing his throat. “Are you Mrs. Alexander Blake?”
Xander?
I look over my shoulder, expecting to see him there, but my jumbled brain isn’t even sure what time it is or if he’s made it home yet. He returned to work two weeks after I had our son, and we’ve been like two ships passing in the night since then.
A tightness builds in my chest as I turn back to the officer.
There’s regret in his stare.
A shiver runs through my body, urging me to take a deep breath in and a long exhale out. “Yes, that’s my husband.” My head swims, my vision blurring as if I’m drunk. I grab ahold of the doorframe for extra support, my nails digging into the wood. “What’s this about?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, there’s been an accident.”
Those words would mark the end of the life I had.
Everything changed in the minutes, hours, and days that followed.
My husband was gone, taking all our hopes and plans for the future with him.