Trent decided to surprise his family with a weekend visit from college. His junior year had been going well and he thought his parents wouldn’t be too upset that he had skipped his Friday lecture.
As he drove back to his hometown, Trent’s mind wandered to thoughts of his younger brother Will. The two had been close growing up but for some time Will had barely responded to his texts. When he had stayed for Christmas three months ago, they had barely spoke. Will hadn’t even wanted him there a month ago to celebrate his 18th birthday. Maybe boy troubles, thought Trent. Or senior year stressing him out.
Trent pulled up to the house in the mid-afternoon. He knew his parents wouldn’t be home yet and Will was probably out with his friends. Grabbing his bag, Trent opened the front door and heard something unusual: a low moaning that was coming from upstairs. Gingerly, Trent made his way upstairs. The moaning was coming from Will’s room. Christ, I hope he isn’t here with a guy. But the moaning didn’t sound like pleasure to Trent. Trent walked up to the ajar door and pushed it open. Trent’s mouth dropped in shock.
Will was facing away from the door and was in a deep squat on the floor with his hands on gripping the nearby bed for support. His jacket and jeans had been thrown off and he was now down to his shirt and briefs. Several towels were underneath Will and Trent could see they were spotted with fluid. Even from this angle, Trent could make out Will’s round and sweaty belly. He was evidently unaware that he wasn’t alone.
“Holy shit,” Trent blurted out. At this, Will swung his head around to look at Trent. His face was sweaty and pained.
“Oh fuck, bro. You weren’t supposed to see this,” Will gasped. Any further regret was cut off by another deep moan. Will gritted his teeth as a new wave of contraction hit him.
Dropping his duffel bag into the hall, Trent went to Will and knelt beside him. His surprise at this revelation quickly shifted into a need to help his brother.
“How long has this been happening?” Trent asked once Will stopped moaning. Will looked at Trent, knowing the jig was up.
“It started this morning,” Will confessed. “I left class to use the bathroom and my water broke when I got there. It looked like I’d pissed myself.” Will gave a bitter laugh. “I cut school and got here as soon as possible.”
“Who knows about this?” Trent asked. “Obviously not mom or dad.”
“No one.” Will looked away from his brother. Trent raised an eyebrow.
“No. He’s just some meathead jock. After it happened,” Will seemed uncomfortable with that memory, “he said he was straight and that it was a mistake.” Will shut his eyes and grimaced in discomfort.
After promising to himself to find and kick that guy’s ass, Trent focused on Will. He pulled his phone out of pocket to call for an ambulance but Will grabbed his wrist. The grip was like a vice. “No! I don’t want any one knowing. I was planning on giving them up.” His desperate eyes began to well with tears. “I’m a fucking mess and I’m not fucking up this kid too.”
Shit. I’m not arguing with the pregnant guy in labor.
“Okay. Okay”, Trent said with his free hand raised in surrender. Will let go of his wrist. Putting his phone away, Trent was trying to remember what he had learned in his sex ed class in high school. He recalled that the inner cervix had to reach ten centimeters so that the pregnant person could begin pushing.
Trent stood up from Will and was motioning to him to stand.
“Let’s get you up so we get that underwear off and I can check how you’re doing.”
“I can’t get up, bro. It hurts too fucking bad,” Will wailed. “This kid is feeling really low in me.”
“I’m really sorry Will but I need to see how far along you are.” Trent knelt behind his brother and pulled down the back of Will’s briefs. The sight that greeted him made his stomach drop.
Right before his eyes he could see Will’s bottom beginning to bulge out with the child. His anus was still closed but Trent knew Will was about to deliver. Will cried out in pain.
“Fuck! Fuck! There’s so much pressure. I think something’s happening!” Will shouted. Trent could see the child was now right at the entrance.
“I think you need to push, Will,” Trent said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.
Will gripped the bed and put his chin to his chest. With a groan, Trent saw Will’s muscles tensing hard and his legs shaking with the effort. His anus was beginning to stretch open.
“Fuck!” Will yelled as he relented his push. The baby’s head was now starting to peak out. Trent had placed his hand on the small of Will’s back in an attempt at comfort.
“You got this Will. Push again.”
Breathing in deeply, Will pushed again. His anus was now stretching over the dome of the baby’s head. Trent could see wet hair and mucus.
With another push, the widest part of the head was stretching Will to his limit.
“It burns so fucking bad!” Tears were falling from Will’s eyes. Pushing again, the head burst out of Will. Fluid was dripping from the exposed head. Trent was now cradling the head with his hands. The head was beginning to turn and Will yelled at the sensation.
“You’re almost there Will! Just keep going!” shouted Trent. Will gathered himself and was gritting his teeth in a final grand effort.
With a gasp and a gush of fluids, the baby fell out of Will into Trent’s awaiting hands. The newborn was slippery and Trent struggled to get a grip on the child. Trent could see it was a boy. The baby was sputtering and then began to cry.
Will was gasping for breath and barely felt the afterbirth slip out of him onto the towel on the floor.
Trent laid the crying boy on a towel. He pulled a pair of scissors from the desk in the room and grabbed a shoelace from an abandoned sneaker. He used these to tie off and cut the cord. With this done, Trent wrapped the mewling child in a towel. Pulling up his briefs, Will shakily stood up from the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. Trent passed the bundled infant to Will. The baby’s gurgling cries were beginning to tamper off.
For a long moment, the room seemed to return to a quiet normalcy after the chaotic birth. Will sat there, his hair damp and his face still red from the strain. His eyes seem fixed on the newborn. Trent stood next to him. If Will was set on giving up the kid, Trent knew that they needed to hurry and get going. He gently placed his arm on Will’s shoulder.
“We need to hurry and drop him off some where.” Trent said evenly.
Will did not reply. He was still looking intently at the wriggling infant. His eyes began to well.
“I’m sorry baby for how fucked up and stupid I am,” he sobbed. Tears began to stream down Will’s face.
Trent tighten his arm around Will’s sweaty shoulders. “Hey. You’re not being stupid. You’re going to be given him a chance for a better future.” Trent paused and then added, “Better for both of you.” After a long moment looking at the quiet infant, Will looked up into his brother’s eyes and gave a small nod.
“Okay, you go to clean yourself and the baby. I’ll clean up here.”
Will took the baby into the bathroom across the hall and Trent could hear the bath faucet running. Trent got a large trash bag and gathered the afterbirth wrapped in a stained towel, the scissors, and Will’s drenched jeans and tossed them into the bag. Trent looked around the room. There didn’t appear to be any obvious stains or debris that would tip off his parents. He next went to Will’s closet grabbing a shirt, a hoodie, socks, boxers, and sweat pants. He held the clothes under his arm walked to the open bathroom door. Will was using the bathtub to clean the mucus and amniotic fluid from the baby. Will turned to look at Trent.
“I need you to strip,” said Trent, holding out the fresh clothes. “Anything that might leave a sign has to go.”
With a weary look, Will took the clothes from him and placed them on top of the toilet tank. He then peeled off his soaked shirt, shimmed off his briefs, and pulled off his socks. Trent fetched the trash bag and shoved the clothing and the baby towel in. He tied the bag tight and told Will they needed to leave before their parents showed up. Trent went to clean himself off as well.
Five minutes later, the cleaned baby was wrapped in a clean towel and the brothers were ready. After a search on his phone, Trent drove them to the local fire house. After dumping the trash bag in a park bin, they slowly walked up together with Will holding the baby and wincing with each step. Trent noticed the yellow “Safe Place” diamond by the closed front door.
At the door, Trent gave three loud knocks. After a short wait, a large blond firefighter swung the door open. He looked vaguely annoyed. Probably expecting a prank or other nonsense, Trent thought.
The firefighter looked at Will’s flushed face and the tiny baby bundled in his arms and understood. He opened his arms and Will gently placed the newborn into the outstretched hands. Will turned away and Trent did the same. With fresh tears falling, Will forced himself not to look back. Trent placed his arm around Will’s shoulders and they made their way back to the car.
They drove back home in silence.
When they arrived, they could see their parents were still not home. After getting out of the car, Trent told Will to go to his room and rest while he would play interference with their parents when they returned. Will gave a tired nod and went upstairs to his room. Trent sighed and went to sit in the living room and wait.
After about an hour, their parents arrived. They were delighted to see Trent and his mother embraced him enthusiastically. His father shook his hand and asked him if his brother knew he was home. Trent explained to his parents that Will had left school early with a stomach bug and was now upstairs sleeping it off. His parents accepted this explanation without question.
His mother heated up some food and his father began to ask questions of Trent’s campus life. Sitting at the dinner room table, he told his parents funny anecdotes and described his classes and teachers. And if his smile and laugh had seemed at all forced, the pair made no comment.
As the light faded and night fell, Trent excused himself from the table and told his parents that he would check on Will before he went to bed early. He told them had had a long day.
As he mounted the stairs and walked to Will’s room, Trent wondered what kind of condition he would be in. He stopped before the closed door. With a deep breath to steady himself, he slowly opened the door.
The room was lit only by a desk lamp. Will was on the bed facing away from the door. He was still wearing the hoodie and sweat pants he wore after the birth. Curled in a fetal position, he had the hood drawn up so Trent couldn’t see his face. He went and knelt on the bed to look at Will. He was still awake but his face was still.
Trent’s mind flashed back to their childhood. The always energetic Will was often getting scraps and cuts. Young Trent would hug or hold his hand in an effort to stop Will’s tears.
In the present, Trent laid on the bed behind Will and wrapped his arms around him. Trent felt Will stiffen at the contact but then relaxed. Will gripped the arms tightly around him and began to softly cry.
Trent held his brother as the quiet sobs continued until, finally, Will fell asleep.
Even with his love and support, Trent knew Will would not be okay for a long time.
But I swear you will be. I promise.
romaincrisis
