5. THE GENESIS
1733 Words
{LUMIRA}
{Earlier in the day after the brothers assaulted Lumira}
••••••••••••••••
Still drenched in soda –sticky and cold– I quietly followed the housekeeper. Every step reminded me how brittle my bones had become, fragile from years of neglect and abuse.
My encounter with Gamma Vance's brothers kept ringing in my head. The humiliation settled on my soul like a damp shroud.
"You stink." Those words echoed in my head over and over.
What had I done to deserve such maltreatment? Such scorn and disdain from their spiteful eyes? If I wasn't mistaken, this should be our first meeting. And they already despised my guts with so much animosity.
"This is your room, Miss—" Her eyes met mine.
"—Lumira." I completed, trying to muster up a small smile that kept faltering with each attempt.
As if noticing my inner conflict, the housekeeper took one of my hands and squeezed softly. "I know Beta Kyro and Delta Jett must have been rude to you. They can come off a little edgy at first, so please do not take whatever they did to heart."
I pressed my lips together and nodded.
"Miss Lumira..." The housekeeper continued. "...I apologize on their behalf."
Tears almost kissed my pupils as emotions slammed my throat.
Never have I received an apology for being maltreated. Everyone would either s**t on me and expect that my lips would keep a beautiful smile until the end. Like what they did didn't hurt me at all, when in fact, it hurts like hell.
"T-thank you." I croaked out, my throat burning.
Her lips curved into a friendly grin. "My pleasure, Miss Lumira." She then gestured at the door.
I took the hint and pressed on the knob almost immediately.
Still on my attempt to smile at the housekeeper, I offered a tentative smile, hoping it didn't look as shaky as it felt. Thereafter, I stepped into the room while her eyes watched me keenly until the door closed, tearing us apart from each other's gaze.
Alone, I pressed my back against the door frame and let the emotions hit me all at once—the humiliation, the shame, the ridicule, the pain of my miscarriage.
But then again, a knock pounded on the door before I could sink deeper into my agony.
I sniffled. "Yes?"
"Miss Lumira, would you like me to bring your meal to the room or would you come out to the dining room after you've freshened up?" came the housekeeper's voice from the other end.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'd like to take a nap, maybe later, I'll come out for something."
"But—" She wanted to complain, and then she paused with just that one word. "Alright then, just let me know if you need anything. There's a phone by the bedside, dial 1 and you'd get across to me."
My gaze travelled to the blue telephone on the bedside table. "Thank you, ma'am."
There was a long pause before the sound of her receding footsteps against the tiled floor, resonated in my ears until it faded away completely.
Finally alone, I released a short sigh and plodded toward the bed. I needed a nap, but at the same time, I could not sleep on the bed with dirty clothes and a soda-stained body. So I began to peel off my shirt above my head. My pants soon followed after.
That was when I noticed the bloody pad. A reminder that I had lost what was once part of me. A significant part of my life.
I tried not to let the emotions overwhelm me.
My heart shredded from the memories of how I lost my baby, but I then dumped the clothes in the empty, laundry basket.
As I made my way to the bathroom, the sound of my ringtone tore through the silence, snatching my attention.
I picked up my phone and my chest tightened.
It was my best friend, Tara.
We worked at the diner, and bonded quickly over gossip, and then my marital issues.
Knowing she was completely worried about me, I slid the screen to the receiver's end and brought it to my ear.
"Lumira!" Tara's high-pitched tone pierced my ear. "Oh my goodness! I have been worried about you. Were you dead?"
Well, technically…almost.
"No." I managed a whisper.
"Then why haven't you been answering your phone?"
I exhaled sharply, emotions getting the better part of me as I muttered her name. "Tara."
There was an instant pause, followed by a ruffle before her voice came on again. This time, softer. "Lumira...what's going on?"
As soon as I heard that, tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. "A lot has happened, Tara. I don't even know where to begin."
"I just knew something was wrong when you didn't come to work and I couldn't reach you." she tutted at the situation. "Where are you right now?"
I looked around, not knowing how to answer that.
"Talk to me, Lumira." She said, her voice filled with distress and worry. "I came over to your house three times yesterday but you weren't home. When I did this morning, your husband was aggressive toward me and he didn't even acknowledge the reason for my visit."
As tears rolled off eyes, I sniffled.
"Wait, are you crying?" Tara queried. "Did that hideous good-for-nothing bastard put his hands on you again?"
She knew about Conan's assaults. All of it.
Though, she was the one person I needed to discuss with. To tell all of my problems because she'd definitely offer a solution, but at this moment, I didn't want to revisit my ugly experience.
"Can I talk to you later?" I said into the phone.
"No, Lumira." Her voice sounded displeased. "Just let me know what's going on, if you want me to come over to you, I will."
I wiped the tears off my face with the back of my hand. "I appreciate your concern, Tara. But we will have this conversation later. Please understand."
"You cannot—"
I ended the call amid her protest and tossed the phone on the bed. All I needed right now was a warm bath and a good sleep to evade my endless crises.
••••••HOURS LATER•••••
I woke up with a skull-wrecking headache, swollen eyes, a sore throat, and a ravishing appetite.
My heart was heavy and so were my feet. Regardless, I rubbed my tired eyelids and sluggishly rolled out of bed.
I had fallen asleep after taking a quick bath. But unfortunately, the slumber did nothing in eluding my forlorn misery.
And then, a grumble tore through my belly, impossible to ignore.
A depressed breath escaped my lips as my eyes darted around the quiet room. A big confinement with exquisite furniture and the space felt enormous, so much bigger than my old room, and I couldn't help but sink back into the comfort around me, awed by how different everything was in the span of two days.
My stomach rumbled again, reminding me of its emptiness, so I eventually got on my feet and departed the room for the dining room.
"Oh hi, Miss Lumira." The housekeeper greeted upon seeing me, her lips curled in a welcoming smile.
"Hi, ma'am," I said right back.
"Oh please, call me Stella." She said as she continued arranging the dining table. "We are having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner."
Diner? Was it really dinner already?
Did I sleep for that long?
I looked at the window blinds and realized how dark it was outside.
"Come," The housekeeper invited, "Sit and have dinner."
Just as I was about to perch on the chair, a voice rang out from above. "You'd stain the chair, there's blood on your dress."
I looked in the direction of the voice and found a pretty, teenage girl about the age of fifteen descending the flight of stairs.
The housekeeper, Ma'am Stella dumped the plates on her hands and immediately rounded up the table over to me. "My goodness, you are stained," she announced, eyeing the back of my dress.
I actually used a napkin after taking a bath earlier when I couldn't find a pad, but my heavy flow must have soaked through the fabric and stained my dress. Having blood on my dress now, made embarrassment settle over me like a mist.
"Oh, I don't have a pad." Ma'am Stella bemoaned. "I've hit menopause and can't remember the last time I had a monthly flow."
If only she knew it wasn't a monthly flow, but from a terrible miscarriage.
"Don't worry, I still have one pad left." The teenage girl said before ascending up the stairs again and disappearing from my line of sight, only to return a few minutes later with a single pad. "Here, you can clean up and wear this first." She offered.
I looked at her, observing the striking resemblance she had to Gamma Vance. It was obvious she was the younger sister he mentioned on our way here.
"There is nothing to be embarrassed about." The girl said to me. "We are all ladies here. Go and change up, I will get you a new one so you can have what to wear tomorrow too."
Taking the pad from her, I managed a small "thank you."
You're welcome." She answered and with a smile, she added. "You are Lumira, right? Vance's girlfriend?"
Vance's girlfriend?
“N—”
She stretched out a hand before I could get that one word out. “Mirabel. Vance’s sister. It's a pleasure to have you around.”
I wanted to correct her presumptions and make it clear that the Gamma wasn't my boyfriend, but then she smiled at me and said. "You should change up first, we will catch up later, Lumira."
As I turned to my room, I overheard Ma'am Stella invite Mirabel to dinner first, but she refused.
"I don't want spaghetti, I think I'd get croissants while getting pads too."
"It's late, Mirabel. Your brothers wouldn't want you going out this late." Ma'am Stella said after her.
"I'm not a kid. Moreover, Phillipe would be coming with me. I'll be back soon."
- Writer
