a love full of diamonds.

He hated to see Dallas this way. Usually, in times of trouble, he would be able to soothe the negative emotions out of her and fill those spaces with something much happier. But this - there was no way that he would be able to do such a thing. He understood the situation because he too was living in it but it was all out of is control nonetheless. “That’s - that’s - um....” he paused, exhaling a shaky sigh. “That’s okay, baby. Y-You don’t --- there’s no need, uh --- you don’t have to.” Shaking his head in confirmation, he walked towards the couch and sat down beside her. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. 

Breslin hadn’t been to work much in the last few days. Or, he’d go, but he wouldn’t exactly do work. He’d fall into the same routine of intensely reading or intensely tidying up the shelves until it came to his lunch break, then he’d do the same thing all over again until he was able to go home. And tonight was no different. The entirety of Tree Hill was silent as he drove home - just like the library was, just like his house was, just like everything was. Closing the dor behind him as he walked in, he pulled his shoes off at the mat and hung up his coat before he was walking into the living room to see Dallas and two sleeping puppies. “Um - hi.... hi, Dal,” he swallowed, a frown coming to his lips as he observed the situation. There was honestly nothing that he could do.

Breslin barely heard Paislee’s words --- hell, he barely even noticed that the tea was ready to begin with. His mind was too busy and the taps of his shoes against her kitchen tile was all that he heard, all that he allowed himself to hear. He was so incredibly anxious and for once in a long time he didn’t know what to do with himself, which was why the pacing had started to begin with. “--- Hm?” he looked up, over to Paislee, and his eyes scanned the situation before he was nodding. “O-Oh, um - r-right. Right. I, uh --- sorry.” He tried his best to give an apologetic smile, but that didn’t work out too well before he shook it off.

“Just - Just some --- just some stuff going on, is all....” he exhaled a deep breath, “Just some stuff with my wife and I.”

Breslin was unsure if he was supposed to feel a weight being lifted off his chest due to his words. He hadn't actually spoken about this with anybody else besides Dallas - mainly because nobody else really knew that she was pregnant in the first place - and it certainly didn't feel good to talk about. But he supposed that it wasn't a completely horrible thing to speak out loud rather than letting these thoughts cloud his brain. A hand coming up to comb through the curls that had fallen in his face, he averaged his gaze from Malone to the stacks of books, but then from the stacks of books to the shoes on his feet. “I - uh... I - I --- I don't ---,” he paused, releasing a sigh to collect his thoughts. “Okay.”

Breslin didn’t want to push his problems onto Malone, especially when they were so damn heavy that the weight of them were nearly collapsing in on his chest as they spoke. But she did have a point --- he was always such a great listener when it came to her, there was no reason why she wouldn’t pay him the same respect. “I just - um - I --- I don’t know,” he shrugged, setting one of the books between two others and occupying his mind with making sure they stood as straight as could be. “My wife --- she was - like --- you know, she was - she was pregnant. But, uh....” he shrugged once more, a frown settling on his lips. “I don’t know.”

Breslin faced the unfamiliar boy, and he nodded with a forced grin. “Y-Yeah --- yeah, I’m --- uh - I’m --- fine. Sorry.”

Breslin should have expected to run into Malone - that being a more than common occurrence for his work hours - but today, he didn’t think of it. So once he caught sight of her, he attempted a smile but it certainly couldn’t have looked natural. “H-Hi, Malone --- um - hi. I - I’m ---,” he nodded, his foot tapping against the floor. How do you tell someone that your wife lost the baby? “--- I’m o-okay.”

Breslin couldn’t really phrase what was bothering him, so he only shook his head. “I - I’m not --- I’m not nervous, I ---,” he turned away from Jamie’s looks, his eyes focusing on the bookshelves. “I’m okay.”

Breslin hadn’t expected to be approach, so when he heard Jamie’s voice, he nearly flinched. “--- Oh, um,” he shook his head, but he kept his knee bouncing. He felt as though he had to be moving. “That’s - that’s --- okay, I - it’s the first floor! Uh --- anyway. It’s the f-first floor anyway.” A hand rubbed the back of his neck, and his fingers curled around the strands of his hair. “S-Sorry, um --- I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay?”

Breslin was startled by the voice, and he swiftly turned behind him. “I - um --- yeah, I --- I’m fine.” The smile he gave in return was weak, and he fiddled with the bindings of the books. “.... Yeah.”

Breslin knew that this was absolutely no fault of Dallas’ own --- she had no control over this, but he could still feel his heart practically breaking in two at the sight of his wife’s pain. She was hurting, and his baby.... he couldn’t think about that right now. “I - I --- I’m right here, Dal,” he whispered, and he knew that he had to get up and take action but his muscles just wouldn’t move. “D-Do you, um --- do you.... should --- do you want me to call? Or - or can you bare the car ride?” He was clueless. Completely and utterly clueless. He’d help her in any way that she needed but right now he just didn’t know.

After a couple of seconds without a response, Breslin took it upon himself to twist the doorknob and come inside. His eyes immediately focused on Dallas, the way she curled on the ground, and the liquid that made a trail down her thigh. His mind went to the worst, and he swore his heart stopped in that moment of panic in a way that it’s never done before. He didn’t really know what to do, or what to say; he couldn’t control his own tears prickling up in his eyes as he knelt beside her. “Dallas, a-are you --- we need to, um - we need to do something, I ---,” he shook his head, his eyes scanning the situation once more. “The - the hospital, we --- we need to go there.”