Chapter 85: 85 ~ Mira
The nightmares were strange.
They started off as a random day with me going to buy stuff in town and then all of a sudden, I start being followed.
I run as fast as my legs can carry me and just when I think I’ve totally escaped. I fall to the ground.
My assailants approach, I crawl to get away from them and just when I think they’re about to hit me, they disappear. I’m supposed to be relieved by that but when I look down I’m in a pool of blood.
I woke up screaming the first few times I had that nightmare.
Thankfully the walls in this house were somewhat soundproof so I did not wake anyone up.
But it was worrisome.
Every night, these strange nightmares would repeat themselves and I would be left alone to deal with its horrors, forcing myself to go back to sleep every time.
~
My phone rang that morning, waking me out of my sleep.
It was a private number and I had become wary of them since I moved.
A fleeting thought crossed my mind. What if Jace was trying to trace me and the moment I picked up he would know where I was?
I couldn’t risk it.
I let the call ring until it stopped. Then I received a text that sent chills down my spine.
’We’re coming for you,’
I shivered in shock at the sight of it.
Panicking, I dialed Donna’s number forgetting it was about 3.a.m in New York.
I heard her groggy voice after three rings and immediately felt guilty.
"Mira?"
"Donna I’m so sorry for disturbing you-" I breathed out.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I just received a very concerning text."
"Okay?"
I went ahead to tell her what had just transpired and the nightmares I recently started having.
"Did you do anything different from your typical routine?" She questioned.
"Um, no."
"I need you to be completely honest with me."
I swallowed nervously.
"Well, I..." I trailed off, not knowing how to form the words.
"I called my brother through a private number some days back and he told me Jace was shot."
"Go on..."
"It confirmed my inability to sleep days before that because I felt something was wrong. And out of concern, I sent him a message." I shut my eye, waiting for her scolding.
"What part of no contact do you not understand?" She indeed scolded him.
"I love him," I whimpered softly.
"Mira, you can’t love him."
"But I do. He’s the father of my child." I insisted.
"You’re just attached. I need Ria to sign you up for therapy."
Maybe she was right. I just didn’t want to agree to it because I had never felt this way before.
"Go shopping today, bake, have fun, clear your head. I’ll come visit you soon." She said. It was an order.
"Okay Donna, thank you."
She ended the call and I just sat there, staring into space, wondering the kind of life I had gotten myself into. This was not how I planned for my life to turn out but here we were.
~
Shopping had become therapy. I picked up baby stuff every now and then in anticipation of my newborn even when my estimated due date seemed so far away. It was great pastime to imagine what my child would be like in my arms.
All of a sudden I felt goosebumps, strange ones that ran all over my body. I felt watched.
I looked around the store and found no odd person around. It was just a bunch of shoppers minding their own business, so I pushed my cart further into the store and went to check out some scented candles. The smell of these things were so comforting, I was slowly building a collection.
"Hello, Mira."
I froze at the sound of the strange voice.
"Don’t turn around."
Gulping, I stood still.
This person was literally breathing down my neck.
I whimpered as a cold metal touched my back through the light fabric I had on. A gun.
Oh shit.
"Shhhh," the strange man hushed me before I could yelp.
"What do you want?" I managed to keep my voice steady.
"Just do as I say. Smile and act like we know each other."
A part of me wanted to scream and call for help but the aisle was empty. Besides, he had a gun and all it would take was one move and I would be dead meat.
I had to think fast.
"Move." He said, cutting through my thoughts.
Stealthily, I took one step after the other.
"Act natural or I shoot," he warned through gritted teeth.
I managed to act composed as I kept pushing my cart until we got to the cashier.
I thought of ways to give the person a signal so they could call security. But then I thought of the possible casualties if things went left. I would not be able to live with the guilt if innocent people died because of me.
I paid for my stuff and kept it moving while my heartbeat thudded in my ears.
"Walk to the black van right ahead,"
He sounded calm and collected like he has done this severally. I’m sure I was right.
One wrong move and everything could go left so I kept moving towards the van. My phone was in my bag and it was practically unreachable. There was no way I could run because the weight of my growing pregnancy would slow me down.
Before I could enter the van, I made an attempt by hitting him in the face with the shopping bag that contained the candles.
With a groan, he held my neck and hissed in my ears as he slammed me against the van. "You just made your first mistake,"
I screamed. The hit was on my lower abdomen.
My yell attracted other onlookers.
A security guard immediately swung into action. "Hey! What are you doing?"
He was distracted and I took that as my cue to run.
"Help!" I yelled as I took off, running as fast as my legs could carry me.
There was no way I could go to the car I came with so I ran back into the mall, weaving through the crowd, causing a scene and putting a safe distance between me and my assailant.
I found myself in an empty storage room, trying to hide and catch my breath.
The pain in my belly had not reduced, I was struggling to breathe, having a panic attack. Then I saw it, the trickls of blood down my thighs.
"No, no, no," I said breathlessly, frantically picking up my phone to call for help.
"Ria,"
"Mira?" She called.
"Help, my baby... mall.."
That was I could say before slipping into unconsciousness.
~~
"Why would you let her out on her own?"
"I’m so sorry she insisted she was fine. Besides, she has been doing this for months."
"That is not an excuse!"
I kept hearing voices. They seemed distant but at the same time, they seemed close.
I stirred, trying to force my eyes to open. When I managed to open them, the brightness of the room stung and I shut them back.
"Get the doctor."
I stilled. I knew that voice anywhere.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
"Donna?" I called out, trying to sit up.
She rushed to my side.
"I came as soon as I heard." She stated.
Even though her face seemed plain, I could tell there was a lot of worry in her tone.
"Thank you," I managed to say. "How long have I been unconscious?"
"Two days,"
"Oh my goodness." I gasped.
The doctor came in just then and checked on me.
My throat so much, I could not speak very well. But then I managed to ask the question that plagued my mind the moment I opened my eyes.
"How’s my baby?"
They exchanged looks.
I knew what that meant but I did not want to believe it.
"Um, Mrs Romano,"
"Miss Valente," I corrected strongly.
"She-" The doctor tried to say but with a shake of Donna Carmela’s head, he stopped talking.
"We tried our best to save your baby. But by the time you were discovered and brought here, you had bled out. A lot."
"So what are you saying?" I asked impatiently.
"I’m really sorry, miss Valente."
There was no way to explain how I felt.
Time stilled. My mouth opened to speak but no words could come out. I looked at Donna and my eyes went back to the doctor. There was this deep sense of betrayal gnawing at my insides even when I knew it was not their fault.
I pressed a hand to my stomach. It felt empty.
And worse still, it felt like something had been taken from me, not just my child but my hope of something beautiful.
I wanted to cry. But I couldn’t. The sobs rose inside my chest but they never came.
I was numb.
Something died in me that day.
The old Mira was gone.