IT WAS AN ACCIDENT

I stood at the top of the stairs, completely frozen, unable to move, unable to process what had just happened.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, no. Melissa!"

I hadn't pushed her.

I hadn't meant for this to happen.

It was an accident.

But she was lying at the bottom of the stairs, not moving, and Miss Mia was appearing from the kitchen with her hand over her mouth, and Melissa was screaming in pain, and my entire world was collapsing in a way I couldn't control or fix.

I rushed down the stairs as fast as I could, my legs shaking so badly I nearly fell myself.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice breaking. "Melissa, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just trying to hold you. I didn't push you. You pulled away and you fell and I didn't mean for this to happen."

She was bleeding from a gash on her forehead. Her left leg was bent at an angle that didn't look right and I could see blood trailing down her thighs too. Her screams were getting louder and more desperate.

"So she really is pregnant?" That was the only thought constantly crossing my mind.

"The baby," she was crying. "Oh my god, the baby. Hazel, you hurt the baby. You pushed me and you hurt the baby."

"I didn't push you," I said, reaching for her. "You fell. You pulled your hand away and you mistakenly fell."

Miss Mia appeared from the kitchen, her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. She looked at Melissa bleeding on the floor, then at me, and I could see her trying to process what had happened.

We didn't have time to explain anything before the front door opened

Damon came through it like a storm, his expression shifting from normal to absolutely furious in the span of a second. Why was he back so early today? He took in the scene immediately-Melissa on the floor bleeding, me standing over her, Miss Mia frozen in the kitchen doorway.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he said, and his voice was so cold it made my blood run cold.

He rushed to Melissa, kneeling beside her, his hands hovering over her like he didn't know where to touch her without hurting her more.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Damon, I was just trying to get back to my bedroom after grabbing a bottle of juice then she pushed me," Melissa said through her tears. "Hazel pushed me down the stairs because I told her I was carrying your child. The baby. Oh god, Damon, I think I'm losing the baby."

"No," I said immediately. "That's not what happened. You fell. You pulled your hand away when I was trying to pull you back and you fell and I didn't push you. You know that Melissa, why are you...?"

"Just shut up." Damon cut in, not even sparing me a glance. "Why do you always make messes everywhere you go?"

He lifted Melissa carefully and started moving toward the door.

"Wait," I said, following him. "Damon, listen to me. I didn't push her. She's lying,  ask Miss Mia. Miss Mia was here. She saw what happened."

But Melissa was still screaming in pain, making it impossible for Damon to hear my side of the story. He turned and looked at me then, and the rage in his eyes was so pure, so absolute, that I took a step back.

"You did this," he said, and his voice was so quiet it was almost more terrifying than if he had been yelling. "You did this to her. To my baby."

"No I didn't...." I started to say.

He lifted his hand and slapped me. The impact was so hard that my head snapped to the side. I felt the sting immediately, felt the tears spring to my eyes. My cheek burned like he had hit me with fire.

"Don't lie to me," he said. "Don't you ever lie to me."

"I'm not lying," I said, my voice shaking. "You have to believe me please. I didn't push Melissa. I was just trying to hold her hand and she pulled away and she fell."

But he wasn't listening.

He had already turned back to Melissa, cradling her against his chest, and he was rushing toward the door.

"Call an ambulance," he shouted at Miss Mia. "No wait, I'll drive. It's faster. Move." 

He was already at the car, laying Melissa gently in the back seat, climbing in after her. His men were appearing from somewhere, understanding immediately that something was wrong.

"Don't follow us," he said to me as he was getting into the car. "Stay here."

"No," I said, and I was already moving toward another car in the driveway. "No, I'm coming. I need to be there. She's my sister."

"She's not your sister anymore," he said coldly. "You gave up that right when you pushed her down the stairs."

"I keep telling you I didn't push her," I said again, but he was already closing the door.

The car sped out of the driveway, leaving me standing in the middle of the yard with my cheek burning and my entire world crumbling around me. Miss Mia came to stand beside me, her expression a mixture of shock and sadness.

"I'm calling an ambulance," she said quietly. "They'll need help at the hospital."

But I was already moving.

I found the spare keys to another car and got in, my hands shaking so badly I could barely turn the key in the ignition. The car roared to life and I pulled out onto the street, following the direction Damon's car had gone.

I didn't know where the hospital he was taking her to. But I would find it. Because even though Melissa had betrayed me, even though she was pregnant with my husband's child, even though she had lied to him about what happened, I still needed to be there.

I still needed to know if she was okay.

I still needed to know if the baby would survive.

Some sick part of me, the part that was broken and hurt and angry, was praying that it wouldn't. But the other part of me, the part that was still human, was praying that both of them would be fine.

I didn't know which part of me was right.

I just drove toward the hospital through the dark streets, completely alone, completely lost, with no idea what was going to happen next.