Chapter 6

I stared at her, heart pounding so hard I could barely hear myself.

“Know what?” I whispered.

“Serena? She moved out a couple of months ago,” she said.

My fingers locked around my bag like it was the only solid thing left. Thoughts crashed into each other so fast I couldn’t catch any of them.

“Do you have her number?” The words came out shaky. “Please… it’s an emergency.”

I stared at her, she hesitated, then scribbled something on a scrap of paper and pushed it toward me.

I immediately grabbed it like a lifeline as different thoughts raced through my mind.

What if the number was dead?

What if Serena didn’t want anything to do with me after all these years…after Leo called her filth and banned her from speaking to me?

I folded the paper carefully and shoved it into my bag.

I had only taken a few steps when the first drop hit my arm. The sky had been cloudy for a while. I just hadn’t noticed. All I could think about is Serena.

The drops kept coming.. I didn’t care.

I pulled out my phone.

Oh God. Battery almost gone.

My heart kicked harder. I couldn’t let it die before I called her.

I walked faster, almost running, but the rain turned heavier, soaking straight through my clothes, making the pavement slick under my feet. I hugged my bag against my chest and tried to cross the road.

My knees felt watery. I hadn’t eaten properly in days… since I saw Leo with her…my eyes grew watery.

What did I do to deserve this?

Everything in me is just… tired.

All I want now is somewhere quiet to sit and think for few minutes.

I checked the phone again, this time, the screen flickered.

Five percent.

“Please,” I whispered. “Just wait till I call Serena.”

I stepped off the curb, my legs slippery and cold.

I heard the screech of car tire.

Turning….my heart pounded… Pain tore through me as my phone flew out of my hand. I hit the wet ground and pain torn through me..

For a second there was nothing but rain, before I heard whispers of voices… “She is bleeding..” I heard someone say before everything went black.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I tried to move and a low groan slipped out. Pain was everywhere…deep, stubborn, sitting in my bones.

The room was too quiet.

I opened my eyes and the hospital lights stabbed straight into my skull. My whole body feels heavy and wrong.

When I tried to shift, everything protested at once.

“You shouldn’t…” a voice said quietly.

My vision focused little by little.

A doctor stood beside the bed, checking my vitals and movements and writing them down.

“What happened?” I managed.

He looked at me and gave a small smile. “You were in an accident.”

“Accident?”

“Yes, Essie. Your husband just left.”

“My husband?” The word felt wrong in my mouth. Leo… came here?

“Yes. He brought you in. He just left,” the doctor said.

My mind scrambled backward. I left Leo’s house. I went looking for Serena. Then the car…

Did he follow me? Was he the one who hit me and then carried me here?

“Ma’am… congratulations.”

I stared at him. Congratulations for what? For getting kicked out of my home, nearly killed, and dumped in a hospital bed?

Then the next his mouth, and I sat up too fast, pain be damned.

“What did you just say?”

“You are pregnant. You were lucky….you didn’t hit your stomach.”

A laugh burst out of me. “You must be mistaken. I can’t get pregnant.”

My heart was slamming against my ribs. The air in the room felt too thick to breathe..

His voice faded from my head gradually, I couldn’t hear anything properly.

Should I feel happy? Or sick?

I stayed on the bed, eyes locked on the white wall, the word echoing over and over.

Pregnant.

After all the years of crying, injections, praying, watching every test come back empty… I was carrying a child. Leo’s child.

The same thing he used to spit at me as proof I was worthless.

A bitter sound escaped my throat and turned into quiet, ugly sobs. What am i going to do?

A nurse came in later and pressed a small envelope into my hands. Cash.

The man who claimed to be my husband had paid the bill and left this behind.

It couldn’t have been Leo.

But then who was he? All I had was a blur…strong arms lifting me off the wet road, the screech of tires, then nothing.

“Thank you,” I whispered, clutching the envelope. It wasn’t much, but it would keep me going for a few days if I was careful.

I reached into the only bag Leo had let me take and pulled out the crumpled paper. Serena’s number, I let out a deep breath when I saw I didn’t lose the paper.

My hands shook as I dialed.

What if the number had changed? What if she wanted nothing to do with me after all this silence?

It rang once.

Twice.

“Hello?” Her voice…familiar.

“Serena…” My voice cracked right open. “It’s me. Essie.”

Silence.