HIS CLAIM

44

“What does it feel like to give birth?” I decided to ask. I kept thinking about it since the stuff Tessa  had said to me.

“Tessa  said one’s butthole explodes in the process.” My mother was sipping her tea but choked before letting out a laugh.

“That child talks too much. Don’t listen to her, your butthole won’t explode.” She shook her head in amusement.

“It feels like bad period cramps. Just a hundred times worse and then it just progresses into something far more painful…” She grimaced a little as if remembering the pain.

“That is not helpful at all, mom!” I looked at her in shock. Something worse than period cramps? My period cramps were already bad enough, forcing me to stay in bed because of the pain.

“But don’t worry! You will get the epidural and you won’t feel a thing. As soon as I got it, I slept through most of it, feeling no pain at all.” She quickly reassured me, making me feel more relaxed about it.

“Thank God!” I put my hand up to my chest as I breathed out in relief. I did not know what to do if I had to go through that much pain and it was not like I had any choice but to endure it. Though, I was still not too excited about giving birth mainly because I had no idea how the pain would be.

I could only hope it wouldn’t be too painful.

We ended up chatting for a while about everything as we sipped our tea. It was late and I couldn’t keep my eyes open for much longer.

“I will go to bed now. Goodnight, I love you.” I placed a kiss on her cheek and she gave me a soft smile.

“I love you, too. Goodnight, honey.”

Once reaching my room, I grabbed my phone only to get disappointed when I didn’t see any text messages or calls from Nicholas .Tessa  had texted earlier once they had arrived safely. They have been back for hours now, making me wonder if he got busy with work the minute he got back.

I got comfortable under the blanket and placed my phone next to me in case he decided to call, but tiredness quickly washed over me as soon as my head hit the pillow and I fell into a deep sleep.

A loud sound made me jolt up in bed. I looked around my  dark room in confusion, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Quick footsteps were making their way towards my room, making my heart beat like crazy in fear, having me staying frozen, not daring to move. The door opened and I saw it was my mother, her breathing coming out fast as she quickly got up to me.

“We need to leave, now!” She grabbed my hand, dragging me out of bed in a hurry. That was when I could see her.

With blood on her face and a gun in her hand.

“Mom, what’s happening?” I said in a panic, words barely coming out with how much my voice started to shake. She put her hand to my mouth to quiet me and moved us away from the door when we heard another set of footsteps approaching.

I held onto my mother tightly and she was focused on the door, aiming and ready to fire.

She quietly pulled me behind her when someone stopped in front of my door. The door got slightly pushed, opening it a bit further than it already was. My heart pounded like crazy when a pair of black gloves holding a gun entered our view.

My knees almost gave up on me when he stepped inside.

He was dressed up in all black and his head was covered, not allowing me to see what he looked like. He scanned the room, looking in the opposite direction from us. My mother wasted  no time and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the back of his head. I let out a strangled scream as I watched him drop dead in front of us.