Shattered

The rain hit my face like tiny needles, icy and unforgiving. I had no idea where I was running to, only that I had to get away.

I had to get away from the looks of disgust of everyone present, most of all from the triumphant smile on Aurora's lips.

My Christian Louboutin heels striked the wet pavement, echoing too loudly in the empty streets.

Click. Click. Too desperate. One heel broke, sending me stumbling. My fury flaring hotter than the rain dripping on my body, and I rip both shoes off without stopping. Thousands of dollars discarded like it meant nothing.

My dress that I'd spent hours choosing, now torn at the hem and heavy with rain, clung to my body like a second skin.

Images flashed through my head as I ran towards my car. The medical records on the giant screen, my name… my signature, crimes I never committed. All lies. Perfectly fabricated lies.

I yanked the door open and collapsed into the driver's seat. My hands shook so badly, I could barely keep the key in ignition.

The engine purred to life. I drove off without checking the mirrors, without signalling, just needing to move.

Rain hammered desperately on the windshield, the wipers struggling to wipe it off each passing minute. Thwick-thwick. Thwick-thwick.

I clutch my stomach hard, feeling for the tiny life inside of me. The only thing that mattered in the whole world to me. But was it?

The city rushes past In fragments. Familiar places blurred. My lungs burned, mascara ran into my eyes mixing with rain and tears until I couldn't feel which was which. I needed to stop. To think. To figure out the next thing to do.

My baby. I had to calm down. Had to breathe. Had to…

My phone rang from the Passengers seat. I had thrown it there earlier. I could see who was calling from my seat. Seventeen missed calls from Xavier, twenty-two text messages. Crazy! I don't want to read them. What could he possibly say? That he believed me? He'd

made his choice when he wrapped arms around Aurora in his office.

The phone buzzed again. Addie this time. My best friend. She hadn't returned my calls in three days, after we talked about the baby. I needed someone to talk to. Someone to tell me this nightmare would soon be over. I needed her.

I reached across the phone but my seatbelt locked, holding me back. I stretched further, my fingers grazing on the phone case. The screen kept lighting up. Ringing. I almost had it…

The T-junction. My head snapped up immediately. Red light. I was running on a red light. I slammed the breaks, the car skidded on wet asphalt, hydroplaning. My phone slid from the seat and clattered to the floor. The car came to a sudden stop.

I sat there, my heart hammering. Half in the intersection. Rain pounded the roof while the wipers kept their rhythm. Thwick-thwick. Thwick-thwick.

“What the hell is going on”?

“Okay… Okay. Just breathe Selene. You've got this.” “ Put the fucking car in reverse, back up and wait for the….”

“Fuck…No. No. No!”

Light. Blinding light exploded from my left.

The black Sedan was already there. Right here.

Grille filling my window. No time to scream, no time to move. In a split second, the crash happened.

My world exploded. Glass shattering into a million diamond pieces. My body thrown sideways. The seatbelt caught me. Lifeless. I heard my ribcage snap. I felt them snap. The car spun, or I spun. Everything happened so fast, and then stillness.

Something warm dripped down my face. I thought it was rain and wiped it away, my hands screaming red.

A sharp twisting pain radiated from my abdomen. “My stomach, God… Fuck. No!”. It didn't feel like cramps, or something tearing. It felt like something ripping. “No” the words came out scrambled, I tasted too much copper in my mouth. “No. God please”.

Siren sounds from far away, getting closer, my vision blurred. The edges went red then blue, then red again. I blinked hard. Had to stay awake. I just had to…

“Got a victim”. “Driver's seat”. I heard a voice say from far, his footsteps splashing through water.

The door beside me groaned open, cool air rushing in.

“Ma'am? Can you hear me?”

I tried to nod, but it was like my neck had forgotten how to. They took my lifeless hands in search for an pulse, shining a light in my eyes.

“Pupils responsive. Ma'am I'm Marcus, and we're going to get you out of here now, but you have to stay still for me”.

“ More hands.” I felt a collar clicking around my neck.

Something cut my seatbelt, and the pressure released, sending sharp pains in my ribs, I screamed and tasted copper again. “ I'm pregnant”. I managed to say.

“How long ma'am?” “Thirteen weeks”. Marcus’s eyes met mine. Scary kind eyes. “We've got you. Both of you. Just stay with us okay?”

They lifted me. The world tilted around me, rain hit my face like harmless acids. An oxygen mask was plastered in my nose. At least that's what I remember most. The cold plastic pressed against my nose and mouth, the smell of chemical hit me. Each breath, fogging the clear mask.

“Deep breaths ma'am. In. Out. In again. Out now. Perfect.”