Hopefully there'll be no nightmares tonight.
***
A loud beeping startles me awake. I gasp as I find myself in a hospital room.
My frantic eyes search for something, anything familiar. They land on soft green eyes full of concern and pain.
Pain?
"What's going on?" I ask him.
"Mina, I-I don't know how to tell you this." He says quietly. He averts his eyes and I look behind him to see a doctor walking towards me.
He smiles sadly. "It's good to see you're awake. I'm afraid I have some bad news."
My heart beats faster and I'm sure the whole room could echo the thundering beats.
"You were found to have-" I zone out as the doctor says stuff about pregnancy, miscarriage, surgery...
My vision blurs.
"Mina!"
The bed I'm in moves and I wake up again to find myself surrounded by people in masks, holding tools I can't name.
I try to ask what's going on but can't speak. I've lost my voice.
I feel something cold and hard enter my body and I scream.
***
I sit up, sweating. I close my eyes and open them again to be sure I'm in my attic. I take deep breaths. "I'm okay. I'm okay."
I look down at my stomach as if over a few hours it could just bloat up with a baby inside. I shake my head. "Not pregnant."
I crawl out of the blankets and mattress and walk to the floor length mirror.
It's one am.
I stare at the girl looking back at me in the mirror. Her eyes are sunken. Not physically tired but empty of the light I once had. I've gotten much thinner over the past year, by body almost just skin on bones.
I look up at the ceiling and wonder once again, what it would be like to just let go. To just stop this cycle of secrets and hidden pain. The struggle of being betrayed by your own father over and over again, being abandoned by your mother over and over again but demanded to act as if everything's alright.
What if-
My phone buzzes.
I look at where it lies on top of my dresser.
I decide to check my messages. I'm already wide awake as it is.
Cole's flooded me with messages. He knows me so well. One text and he can read what I feel. Not the causes or reasons why, just the feeling.
Annika's texted too. I read through her news update and feel a shiver run through me. Jennifer's real desperate this time.
Let's meet up tomorrow. Usual place and time? I reply. I try to calm myself. Jennifer is just another desperate girl who'll get what's coming to her. I shouldn't be afraid of her. Right?
I don't expect Annika to reply fast at this hour so I leave my phone and head back to my bed. I stare out the window and at the forest. Maybe I could try to run away again...
"No, Mina. You do enough running as it is." I scold myself. I decide to do the usual routine.
I change into a tank top and shorts and climb down the rope. I head to my treehouse where I can practice my punches.
YOU ARE READING
Beautifully Broken
Spiritual"I'm tired." I whisper, my voice breaking. "I can't do this anymore. It's too much." He pulls me closer and holds me as he always does. "You're a strong girl. People look up to you, Mina. You'll get through this, okay? You're not alone. You're a bea...
