TESSA
“Tessa, no!” a voice shouted, panicked, blurred in my haze.
“We’re losing her!” someone else cried.
My head was heavy. Everything hurt. My whole body felt torn in half. Every push felt like it split me apart.
“Tessa, keep pushing! We need to see her! She needs to breathe!”
I tried, but the agony only climbed higher and higher. I wanted it to end. I wanted someone to be there with me, to hold me, to tell me it was going to be all right.
I clenched my teeth and pushed again, and the sound I made didn’t sound like it came from me. It was guttural like an animal ripped out from deep inside. My nails tore against the sheets.
“It hurts!” I sobbed, thrashing my head to the side. “It hurts—”
“We’re so close!” someone urged. “Come on, Tessa, one more time! You can do it!”
No, I th
