Chapter 2
1084 Words
~CECELIA~
My skin crawls at the thick smell of something rotten. It doesn’t just make me feel the sudden urge to throw up, it makes my skin crawl.
I don’t know how long I’ve been awake, staring blankly at the ceiling as water drips from it to the bed I’m on.
I glance around the tiny room. It smells terrible—like decayed blood and rotten flesh and stale urine. Each breath leaves excessive saliva in my mouth.
This place isn’t a hospital. It’s.. hell. Connected to a series of tubes, I try to move, but my hand instinctively goes to my stomach. It’s round. It’s… warm.
Tears instantly fill my eyes.
Do I still have my baby?
“If she wakes up, Mr. Ashford said, we should proceed immediately.” Voices. I can finally hear voices. I try to sit upright, pushing past the pain shooting through me, but then it hits me.
Mr. Ashford…
That’s Victor.
He brought me here?
Panic tightens in my gut.
No. No. No.
I thought I was safe.
“It’s been four months since he last came here.” The voices continue. Each word sucks the breath out of me. “It’s the sixth month, and she’s still not awake. I don’t blame him for declaring her death to the whole world.”
Six months?
No.
He wouldn’t go that far just to claim my father’s properties. He won’t! It suddenly feels like I’m falling down the stairs again, trying so hard to find my footing even when it seems impossible.
The soft hum of the machine coupled with the gentle tap of water when it hits the floor does something strange to me. It’s messing with my mind. I want it to stop.
I want it all to stop.
My hand finds my round belly again. He doesn’t know. If he hadn’t been here in four months, he wouldn’t be aware my baby survived. Tears well up behind my eyelids as a sense of relief hits me.
“Once she’s awake, and she signs the papers, you know what to do next. It’s what Victor wants.”
My pulse stutters at the sound of that voice. Genevieve. She’s… she’s here. Rage dips into my blood. After all she did, she still has the guts to come here to finish me.
I knew she was dangerous the day my father brought her home. She ended up killing him, but I won’t let her do the same to me.
No.
I won’t sign any documents.
And I’ll make sure I get the hell out of here.
A small groan slips out as I yank out the series of tubes connected to me.
I swing my feet off the bed, and that seems to drain half my strength already. It literally feels like all my joints are cracking at the same time. It hurts so bad, tears sting my eyes.
When my feet touch the floor, I realize I can’t lift them. I can’t lift my own legs. The voices drift into the room again, louder this time, and worry flickers in my chest.
You can do this, Cecelia. You have to do this for the baby. For dad. Genevieve and Victor can’t have their way again.
To take a single step, I swing my hip out dramatically and drag my foot along the floor, hissing because it hurts like hell.
Spotting a different set of clothes and a random baseball cap, I shrugged out of this ridiculous gown and pulled it on.
I open the backdoor slowly.
I don’t wait for a single second.
My stomach rolls with nerves as I helplessly drag myself across the hallway, praying to God I don’t get caught.
I have no idea where the exit is, but I'd rather give my all to escaping than get back to that room.
“She escaped. She’s not in her room.” A shudder rolls through me as three ladies dressed like nurses approach me.
Spotting a pillar nearby, I slid into the darkness and pressed my back against it. “Mr. Ashford is going to kill us all if he hears this. We have to find her.”
They rush past the pillar I’m behind and a sigh of relief slips out of me.
They didn’t see me.
I can still make it out of here before Victor returns.
If he had already announced my death to the world, then he already had everything my father left me. He’ll pay in blood for everything he’s making me go through.
Each step forward is full of agony. I hide behind pillars each time people rush past, holding trays with incision knives and other instruments.
There’s a door a few steps away. My ticket to freedom. But it’s guarded by two men.
Did I come all this way for nothing? These men will easily swing me over their shoulders and take me back.
A sick idea suddenly flashes through my mind. It’s risky, but it might work. By now, everyone must have known I’m trying to escape. If I can distract them with anything, they’ll go in that direction.
I eye the diamond ring resting on my finger and an ache of pain pangs through me. I rip it off like it means nothing and toss it away.
It makes a loud noise that instantly makes my breath still.
“Did you hear that, Luke?” They both look at each other. “If we find her before those slutty nurses, we might get rewarded.”
The second one looks a bit reluctant, but he follows his partner anyway. Finally slipping out of the pillar, I forced myself to walk faster. I trip and nearly fall, but I steady myself just in time.
Cold air hits my skin as I leap through a dark alleyway. I’m so weak, I think I’ll collapse any moment from now. But I need to keep going. I can’t wait, or they’ll catch up to-
Warm liquid suddenly rushes down my legs and soaks through my clothes. I halt, eyes flaring with surprise as the water keeps gushing out. Then a brutal pain hits my back.
I cry out.
No, not now.
I caress my belly, shaking my head as a tear slides down my cheeks. Pain ripples through me again, and this one nearly brings me to my knees.
Am I going to bring my baby to the world like this? In this dark alleyway with no shelter or help?
- Writer
