His Possession

Chapter 63

Chapter sixty three: Happy ending.

Rain Moretti

It's past midnight, and I'm lying next to Angelo, wide awake. I'd taken two sleeping pills, hoping they'd knock me out, silence the noise inside my head—but they did nothing. If I'd taken more, they might've harmed the baby.

The baby.

The one growing inside me. The one I don't know the gender of. The one I almost considered taking with me if I decided to end it all. How selfish. How fucked up. Oh, Rain, what the hell is wrong with you?

There are two voices in my head. One tells me to run and never look back. The other... the other urges me to disappear completely. People talk about mental health, about sadness, depression—but not about that voice. The quiet one that speaks in finalities. That makes you feel worthless, invisible, like the world wouldn't even notice you were gone. That voice promises peace—the kind that comes with no return.

But now, lying here, I know I can't go. I have to live. Not for me, maybe never for me. But for this tiny life inside me. Maybe it can be my peace. My reason. My sunlight on some far-off beach in Rio.

Four hours pass.

Now it's 6 a.m., and I'm still awake, sitting on the bed wrapped in blankets, watching Angelo get ready for his trip. My hands are damp with sweat, heart pounding beneath my ribs. I'd even helped him pick out his clothes, wanting to make the most of the time before he left. Maybe I was trying too hard.

It's either everything is happening way too fast or at a snail's pace—because one moment, Angelo is packing and heading to the shower while I pick at the skin around my nails, and the next, his hands are on my face, gracing me with a soft forehead kiss. Whatever he said then... it drifted into one ear and out the other.

I blink, and I'm on the porch, waving goodbye to Angelo's static face. As soon as the cars disappear from view, I speed-walk back to my bedroom—back to the silence, the weight, and everything I haven't yet said out loud.

I need to get out of here.

At 9:30, Laurel serves me breakfast. I stare at it for a while before picking at it, forcing it down like it might convince someone I'm okay. I wait a whole thirty minutes before deciding to take a shower, and while I'm in there, I bring it all back up. Every bite.

Forty-five minutes later, I'm dressed in warm, casual clothing—nothing suspicious, just another girl on her way to a doctor's appointment. At least, that's the story I've planted.

When the cab finally arrives, I try not to run to it. I keep my pace measured, heart racing beneath the calm. But just as I open the car door, I see Laurel out of the corner of my eye, rushing towards the entrance, her expression somewhere between concern and realization. It looks like she's trying to stop me.

But I'm already in the car.

And I don't look back.

I give the cab driver the address to Dr. Stern's office. We pull out of the driveway, and I exhale for the first time in what feels like forever. But ten minutes into the ride, I pull out my phone and change the destination.

He glances at me through the mirror and takes out a brown envelope, without saying anything hands it to me.

Inside the brown envelope is what appears to be a passport and a few essentials, including cash.

The driver nods, doesn't ask questions. I watch the streets blur past the window, but my thoughts don't slow down. They speed up. Faster than the car. Why didn't the guards ask where I was going? They always ask. Laurel always makes sure of that. Did they just assume I'd be back? Did they know something I didn't? Or... did they let me go on purpose?