BLEEDING ROSE

I burst out of the house like something was chasing me. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

My feet hit the wrong steps, and I nearly fell. My breath came ragged. My hand trembled as I yanked open the car door and collapsed into the seat.

The keys clinked in my grip as I jammed them into the ignition.

I didn’t know where I was going. I didn’t care.

The engine roared to life, and I peeled out of the driveway like my life depended on it.

Tears blurred my eyes almost instantly. I wiped them away with the back of my hand, but they just kept coming, hot, fast, useless.

“Why?!” I screamed, slamming my hand against the steering wheel.

The car swerved, tires screeching against the road. My knuckles turned white on the wheel, chest heaving, throat raw.

My life was over.

Carmel was gone. Ethan had destroyed what little was left.

"Everything is gone" 

I was halfway through the intersection when it hit.

My body lurched forward. Glass exploded. Metal screamed. I became nothing, just air and weightless pain.

Darkness swallowed me.

Then... light flooded in.

I blinked. Everything was too green, too soft. Grass tickled my bare feet. Somewhere close, a swing creaked.

I turned my head.

Carmel.

He was laughing. Running in circles. His little arms flailed as he beamed. “Mama! Look at me!”

My heart flipped. I laughed and cried at the same time.

“I see you, baby. I see you.”

He ran straight into my arms, warm and real. I buried my face in his curls, held him so tight I thought I’d never let go. He smelled like bubblegum and sunshine.

“I missed you,” I whispered.

He didn’t answer.

I looked again.

He was gone.

My arms were empty.

I jerked awake with a cry. Cold air scraped my skin. My heart thundered. I looked around panicking.

White walls. An IV. A monitor ticking beside me.

It slammed into me like a second crash.

Hospital.

Carmel wasn’t here.

That had just been a dream.

Tears slipped free. I pressed both hands to my face, shaking my head, trying to scrub the dream out of my brain. Trying to wipe the pain off my skin.

And then I heard it.

“...the collision occurred at approximately 10:47 p.m., involving a red sedan and a silver SUV,” a voice said. The news on the TV.

I turned my head, eyes burning.

Flashing lights. Blue and red. Crushed metal. Stretchers.

“The female driver, identified as Alicia Bolston, was found unconscious at the scene. Sources confirm she is pregnant. The male driver remains in critical condition.”

They showed the accident site, it was a grainy, shaky footage. I flinched.

The door flew open.

“Doctor! She’s awake! Room twelve!”

Two nurses rushed in. A woman in scrubs followed, clipboard in hand, eyes unreadable.

She came closer, calm and professional. “Alicia, can you hear me?”

I nodded. Barely.

She checked my vitals. Shone a light into my eyes. Whispered things I couldn’t follow.

“I am pregnant… I am pregnant,” I croaked. My throat felt like sand. “My baby… how’s my baby?”

Her face shifted. A flicker. Just enough.

She didn’t answer right away.

She laid a gentle hand on my wrist.

“We did everything we could.”

My heart stalled. “What… what does that mean?”

Her nod was small. Final. “You’re stable now. That’s what matters.”

No.

My gaze dropped to my belly. It felt… empty. My hand landed on it.

No flutter. No warmth. Nothing. 

The monitor beeped steadily beside me.

I turned my face to the side and sobbed into the pillow, quietly, endlessly.

Behind me, the TV kept playing. Blue and red lights flickered like they were never going to stop.

I let out a shaky breath, turning my head toward the small metal table beside my bed.

Something was there.

A brown envelope, thin but heavy with silence.

I pressed the nurse call button.

Seconds later, a woman in scrubs appeared at the door.

"Yes, ma’am?"

 “That wasn’t here earlier. Who left that?”

The nurse looked over and stepped closer. "Oh, that? A man dropped it off about an hour ago. Didn’t stay long. Said it was for you."

My chest tightened. “What did he look like?”

The nurse scratched her cheek. “Um… short brown hair. Looked kind of rough, like he hadn’t slept.”

Ethan

He came but didn’t stay.

Of course he didn’t.

The nurse gave me a small smile. “Do you want me to open it for you?”

I shook my head. “No. I’ve got it.”

The nurse left quietly.

My hands trembled as I reached for the envelope.

It wasn’t sealed.

I pulled out the papers slowly, one at a time. Legal margins. Bold print.

My eyes scanned the top line.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT

Filed. Prepared. Signed.

By Ethan.

My lips trembled, I stared at his signature, it was waiting for mine.