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.

"Avelina." she smiled.

Her mother, with open arms, took Avelina in her hold.

She didn't know if she was dreaming or if it was all real. Her mother felt real. From her cool skin to her beating heart thumping against Avelina's own chest as they hugged. A tear fell from her eye as she got a whiff of a vanilla scent coming from her mother. She couldn't remember ever smelling it before, but familiarity danced in her nose as a small smile came across her face.

Marina would have a grandmother. She would get the life Avelina always wanted. She would have a family and never need to know what it was like to be alone. Every beautiful, possible memory of "could be..." played out in her mind. There could be birthday parties full of laughter as Marina runs into her grandmother's arm. There could be first dates and first kisses as Marina shares every little detail with both her mother and grandmother. There could be prom nights and homecoming games that Marina would just beg her entire family to show up to. There could be a life for Marina that Avelina had always wanted for herself, yet couldn't have.

"Don't cry, Avelina. I'm so sorry I didn't reach out to you sooner," she cooed. Avelina pulled away just to gaze at her mother again. She had to know it was real, and that her mother wasn't going to slip away again. There were so many questions, but one thought just wouldn't leave her mind and it was the beautiful little girl she had successfully delivered.

"Where's Marina?" she asked her in a soft-whisper.

A smile came across her mother's face. "You named her after my middle name. That really means a lot."

"Where is she?" Avelina repeated.

"She's still at the hospital. I'm sure she's with Adrik. Don't worry," her mother responded. Avelina's brows pulled together. The hospital? Why did her mother take her from the hospital? She also knew about Adrik?

"What's going on?" Avelina asked her. She finally snapped back to the reality of the situation. She had been kidnapped. The obvious evidence was the locks on the door and the way her mother stood looking almost empty in front of her. She learned her lesson once about trusting people. She didn't need to be taught twice. Even though the woman was her mother, she made sure to grip the piece of glass and never let it go as she hid it behind her back.

"Baby girl... you're so beautiful," she pronounced, lifting her hand up and cupping her cheek. She flinched away from her.

"What's going on?" Avelina tried again.

Her mother sighed. "Why must we ruin something good already? We were having a moment."

Those words forced a pause to the beating of Avelina's heart. The way she could feel it in her chest that something was wrong overpowered any sentimental emotions she had already felt.

"You ever heard of a ransom, baby?" her mother asked. Avelina couldn't believe her ears.

"Hey, I'm going to need help in here!" her mother shouted. The sound of the bedroom door opening could be heard as two large men appeared at the bathroom entrance.

"No! Why?" Avelina shouted.

"Short on money, and you and your man happen to have plenty." She smiled like the psychotic bitch she was. "Not to mention, I gave Natasha a mission. A mission that she failed. I wanted her to kill your grandmother..."

Avelina's eyes widened.

"...she failed. She failed like the stupid little cunt she was. She embarrassed me. Out of fear she would run and tell police or FBI, my husband ended things with me."

"Dad?" Avelina wondered out loud.

"Don't be fucking ridiculous. No!" Her mother laughed.

"Oh, yeah... we killed that fucker, too. Don't be sad, he treated me like shit. Never put in any effort, never took me out on dates, always complained about how I should've made his life easier. So, I started dating a new guy, a dangerous guy. Just like you, I liked gangsters. I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree..."

"I took your dad out of his misery, faked my death, and gave you to your grandma, who caught me one day. She saw me at a fucking store and threatened to call the cops on me. She had to go."

"No," Avelina whispered.

"My husband always made me clean up my own messes. Thankfully, there was a girl who was desperate to join us... Natasha. But then, that stupid bitch wouldn't do it, so I did it. Then, I was going to kill Natasha and Adrik... but she skipped town. My husband dropped everything with me which is why I made sure I slammed my car into him, killing him immediately. I did love him, but he couldn't appreciate me. Natasha is why I'm alone and have to fight so hard to survive in order to keep this estate from sinking. She's the reason why I'm going to ruin her and Adrik's life. I won't stop until I drain him of every penny... even if that means killing you."

She grabbed Avelina by her chin.

"You only care about yourself," Avelina remarked.

Her mother laughed. "I do. Because at the end of the day, caring will get you killed."

"Fuck you!" Avelina shouted, and with the glass in her hand, she slammed it into her mother's side. Her mother screamed in pain as Avelina was grabbed by the two men.

"You stupid little bitch!" her mother shouted.

"Get Adrik on the phone! Now! We're about to make this little bitch scream until he pays me my money!"

"Yes, ma'am, Camilia."

—

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