I still remember the sound of their cries behind me as I moved down the hallway.
Every step toward the exit felt heavier than the last.
By the time I reached the parking lot, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold my car keys.
I told myself not to turn around.
I told myself the hospital would find them a family.
I told myself they would be better off without a mother who was too afraid to raise them.
Then I heard someone screaming behind me.
“WAIT!”
I froze.
A nurse was running across the parking lot toward me, breathless, waving one arm.
For a second, I thought she was going to beg me to reconsider.
But when she reached me, her face was pale.
Her eyes were filled with panic.
And the first words out of her mouth made my blood run cold.
“There’s something they never told you.”
I stared at her.
“What are you talking about?”
She looked back toward the hospital, then grabbed my wrist.
“What they told you about your twins…”
She swallowed hard.
“…wasn’t the whole truth.” 😱
The nurse’s fingers tightened around my wrist.
“What do you mean, it wasn’t the whole truth?” I whispered.
She looked over her shoulder toward the hospital entrance.
“Your husband knew.”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard her.
“Knew what?”
Her expression changed.
“He knew there was a possibility both babies could have Down syndrome before today.”
My stomach dropped.
“No.”
“He was given the preliminary screening results weeks ago.”
I stared at her.
