Chapter 4

Scarlett

  The road stretched endlessly ahead of me, a long ribbon of dust and heat that blurred into the horizon. I pressed my head against the window of the taxi, watching unfamiliar towns pass by like fragments of a life I no longer belonged to.

  I didn’t look back.

  I couldn’t.

  One hand rested protectively over my stomach, my fingers trembling slightly as if they already knew what my heart was still trying to process.

  "My baby –" I whispered under my breath, more to reassure myself than anything else.

  The driver sang loudly to a song playing on the stereo , he was completely unaware that my world had already fallen few weeks ago, or maybe he just didn’t care. To him, I was just another passenger heading to another state.

  But to me this journey meant everything.

  I was leaving behind a life that had quietly rejected me. Leaving behind a man I used to love. Body, heart and soul. Leaving behind a home that never truly became mine.

  A sharp breath caught in my throat as the memory threatened to resurface. Dorothy’s voice, I remembered how cold and precise it sounded.

  You should divorce her.

  My fingers tightened over my stomach.

  "No–" I whispered, shaking my head slightly as if I could physically push the memory away. "I’m okay– I’m okay–"

  The baby was all I had now.

  The only thing that was truly mine.

  The taxi sped forward, the engine roaring louder as we approached a bend in the road. I barely noticed at first, the way the driver leaned forward slightly, the way his grip tightened on the steering wheel.

  Then—

  There was a blinding flash of headlights. A horn. It was loud, sudden and too close.

  "Watch out!" someone screamed.

  Everything happened all at once.

  A deafening crash split the air.

  Metal slammed against metal with a violent force that threw my body forward. My head snapped to the side, pain exploding behind my eyes as the world spun out of control.

  I heard the sound of shattering glass. The screech of tires.

  And then– my own scream.

  "Ahhh—!"

  The impact knocked the breath out of me, my body slamming hard against the seat as something warm trickled down my forehead. My ears rang, drowning out everything except the frantic pounding of my own heart. For a moment, there was nothing.

  It was just silence and then pain.

  I gasped, struggling to breathe as my vision blurred in and out. My hand immediately moved to my stomach, panic surging through me like wildfire.

  "My baby..." I choked, my voice barely audible. "My baby..."

  The driver.

  Where was the driver?

  Through my hazy vision, I saw the door on his side swing open.

  Then he ran.

  He didn’t even bother to look back.

  "Wait....!" I tried to call out, but my voice broke, weak and useless. "Don’t leave me– please– save me– for my baby's sake–"

  But he was already gone.

  Tears slipped down the sides of my face, mixing with the blood as fear tightened its grip around my chest.

  I was alone. Completely alone.

  "My baby..." I whimpered again, curling slightly despite the pain. "Please...please be okay..."

  I heard voices even in my numbness. They were distant. at first but soon blurred and sounded more close.

  "Hey! Someone’s in here!"

  "Careful– she's injured!"

  The door was forced open, the harsh daylight flooding in and making me wince. A figure appeared above me, tall, unfamiliar, his face blurred by my fading consciousness.

  "Can you hear me ma'am?" his voice came, urgent but steady.

  I tried to respond.

  "I... my baby..." I whispered, my fingers clutching weakly at his sleeve. "Please... save my baby..."

  "I’ve got you," he said quickly. "Stay with me. I'd bring you to safety."

  Strong arms carefully lifted me from the wreckage, pain shooting through my body as a broken cry escaped my lips. Everything began to fade.

  The last thing I felt was movement. The last thing I heard was his voice.

  And the last thing I thought of...

  was my baby.

  ****

  Darkness.

  It was heavy, suffocating and painfully endless.

  Somewhere in that darkness, I could hear beeping sounds, people's voices, their footsteps. The faint smell of antiseptic filled the air.

  Then pain dragged me back.

  My eyes fluttered open slowly, the bright hospital lights blinding me for a moment.

  I gasped.

  "My baby!" I screamed suddenly, my voice raw and desperate as I struggled to sit up. "My baby– where is my baby?!"

  A sharp pain shot through my body, forcing me back onto the bed.

  "Ma’am, please calm down–"

  "No!" I cried, tears spilling instantly. "My baby– please tell me my baby is okay! Please!"

  The room blurred as panic took over, my hands gripping the sheets tightly.

  Then–

  Silence.

  A look passed between the doctor and the nurse.

  And in that single moment my heart dropped.

  The doctor stepped closer, his expression unreadable as he opened his mouth to speak.

  "Your baby..." he began.

  I held my breath.

  And everything inside me shattered before he could even finish.