Mend (Care Duet, #2)

29 | mend losses

SHE WAS SORE. From her head all the way down to her toes. Her body was shivering in not only fear but the cool air picked at her skin. The loud, bombarding, ever-going exhales of the large fan that sat beside her, made sure her temperature never rose a single bit. Slowly, she began to pry her reluctant eyes open. Out of fear of what her surroundings would be, she reluctantly looked around the room as her heartbeat escalated. It got so bad to the point she could see the heaving of her chest.

It was almost instinct the way she reached for her baby bump, trying to find a baby that wasn't there. A tear fell from her eye as she checked the room one last time for Marina.

"Help!" she tried to scream, but it was more of a squawk. Her throat was parched and desperate for water. It cut through any word leaving her mouth, forcing a wail.

She just had a baby for fucks sake. It was supposed to be the best moment of her life.

She had no clue where she was or how she even got there. One moment she was watching her baby with a smile on her face until exhaustion had overcome her, and the next, she awoke in some dim, windowless, cold room with a twin bed beneath her and thin fleece fabric thrown on top of her. Other than the fan, there was nothing else in room except for three doors. One door probably went to a closet, another to a restroom, and the one that was bombarded with locks probably was the only exit.

Wincing in pain, she softly swung her feet down to the floor. Every bit of movement led to a sharp, piercing pain in her uterus. She wasn't aware how much time needed to go by before she could properly walk or move. It wasn't like she had the luxury of asking the nurse or doctor anymore.

There was no telling how long she had been out. The only thing on her mind was finding Marina. It was purely instinctive the way she stood up on her two wobbly feet. All she could do was ignore the ache between her legs as she carefully made her way to the  door. Just like she had anticipated, it was locked. With a loud groan, she scrambled over to another door. She went to open it and found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror. It was a bathroom. A very empty one, at that. It was a plain, white bath with no shower rod or curtain and a toilet right beside it. Not to mention the sink and mirror that stood right in front of her.

Avelina carefully bent down over the sink and screwed the knob to turn on the water. As it came freely sprawling out, she leaned down to drink as much as she could. Once she wasn't thirsty anymore, she stood back up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

What especially caught her eye was the shower rod. She limped her way over to it, grabbing ahold of the sink as she went in order to support herself and tried to pull it off. The task wasn't as easy as she thought it would be, but she didn't give up. Avelina had to really take her time to unscrew the shower head from its place until she was able to hold it in her hand.

Once she had it, she used it to slam against the bathroom mirror. At first, it wouldn't break, so she tried it again and again, until finally, the mirror shattered.

"Hey, what's going on in there?" she heard a voice yell. Avelina quickly shut the bathroom and grabbed a piece of the mirror she broke off. It was perfectly shaped in a triangle, a useful weapon she knew she needed to have.

Grabbing ahold of the corner of her hospital gown, she tore off a piece just to use it to wrap around the piece of glass to keep herself from cutting her palm.

There was no way in hell she was going down without a fight. Just as she prepared to attack anyone who dared enter the restroom, the door was pushed open, revealing the last person she ever expected to see again. Her mother.

"Mom?" she raised her brows.

It was like looking at herself in the mirror. Her mother stood before her with her kind eyes and gentle aura. Tears threatened to spill from Avelina's eyes at she stared at the very woman she loved waking up to. The woman that held her during her every nightmare. The same person who would do anything in the world to put a smile on her face.