Seventy

I wake once more with a scream, sitting up with the feel of the chains still around my wrists and the subsiding waves of pain after giving birth, Valentino's rough touch, him forcing himself inside me again and again until I am once again pregnant. Then running through a forest, carrying the small bundle while being chased by a few beasts, I stop at the edge of the cliff, but what Valentino says still haunts me,

"He is not coming for you! He doesn't care about you! Or that bundle you hold! He has replaced you..."

I then step back and off of the cliff and into the raging water below. I'd rather die than carry his pup and be forever in his hands. This is what makes me wake up screaming. Nothing has changed, so even after my decision to terminate this pregnancy, I still end up having it in the possession of Valentino.

I crawl out of bed, head into the bathroom, turn on the shower and get in, even though it is still cold. It is only just warming when I turn it off, get out, dry off, and