Upon A Star

Chapter 24

Getting discharged from the hospital proved to be a challenge, to both Celeste and Luke.

She was facing severe cramps each and every single night. Her stomach squeezed and it felt as if everything inside of her was giving up, her ribcage felt as if it transformed into sharp knives that stabbed straight through her stomach and her heart burned and raced as if there was no tomorrow.

Luke on the other hand, may not have faced the pain, the bleeding, the nausea and the vomiting, but he was forced to deal with the anxiety of it all. His stress levels were skyrocketing. His heart was chasing away the logic he once had, and he was purely an utter mess. The only thing he could do was hold Celeste's hand while she fell asleep, while she vomited, while she cried out in pain and most importantly, he held her hand when finally the doctor came to a realisation.

"We thought this was normal for your pregnancy," the doctor in the blinding white lab coat noted through reference from his records that were scribbled on the paper attached on the clipboard. "The vomiting, the pain, it is quite normal for pregnancies. But your case is extreme. You are vomiting too often, the pain shouldn't be this severe and the occasional bleeding is worrying."

Celeste's heart suffocated her throat, blocking her airways, depriving her lungs from much needed oxygen.

"As you are both aware," he scanned the room, making eye contact with not only Celeste, but also with Luke who had stuck right by Celeste's side. "We ran some tests," and his eyes transferred, moving away from Celeste and Luke, now focusing on the clipboard.

"Tell us." Celeste whispered almost a cry.

"We've identified an unknown substance through your bloodstream, and we've further searched what this substance is, and we are now aware of its name and purpose. And it is worrying." He knitted his dark brows together and the friendly wrinkles on his face were nowhere near reassuring. "We have identified this substance as poison, and it has been taking its course successfully."

Luke's heart jumped right out of his chest and he could imagine his heart bleeding onto the hospital floor. The drumming deafened his ears and shivers travelled down his spine.

"This pain she's been facing, is it-," Luke whimpered but cut off himself with a cry. Celeste pulled up her legs to her chest and pressed her chin on her knees, and her sobbing was heart breaking. Everyone in the room knew what this meant, but nobody had the courage to say it.

"I'm sorry, truly sorry. We have informed the police and they are investigating our cameras in case of an intruder who purposefully intended harm, to you and your baby."

Luke nodded and the doctor shook his head, opened his mouth and closed it shut again. "What is it?" Luke looked up at the hesitant doctor.

"This pain she is facing is the process of the baby slowly leaving life as we know it. And she will require surgery in order to help the baby at peace rather than this slow, procedure that is not only hurting the baby, but hurting the mother as well."

Celeste sniffed back her tears, and looked at the doctor with her flooded red-rimmed eyes.

"Let's go." She stated robotically, and as soon as her consent was out in the open, the doctor disappeared into the hallways to gather a team of surgeons who would carry out the procedure.

Everything was a blur that day. Surgeons rushed into her room, assisted her into a wheelchair, and wheeled her all the way to the elevator, which took them to the lower ground. Luke was a distant memory. In that moment all that mattered to her was the wellbeing of her baby. If her baby had to go to heaven, it would go peacefully and pain free.

So they stuck needles in her arms, but she did not flinch. They covered her mouth and nose with a mask and she inhaled deeply, oblivious to what the surgeons that loomed over her were saying. People were trying to calm her, she could tell. Nurses stroked her arm and brushed her hair with their fingers, surgeons were smiling and speaking softly, but she did not care. She barely paid any attention to what anyone was saying. She simply inhaled the anaesthesia and drifted off to a deep sleep.

-

Luke was a raging mess. He grabbed his phone and punched in Nick's number. And after a beep or two, Nick's voice sounded on the other line.

"Your baby is gone, don't worry." Luke spat bitterly.

"What do you mean?" And even though Luke remembered Nick said he didn't care, he most certainly sounded as if he cared. His voice broke and he could imagine Nick choking up in shock.

"Someone poisoned her and well, she's in surgery so that the baby can go to heaven in peace."

The other line beeped, and Luke realised Nick had hung up on him.

-

"You bitch." A voice roared and the door crashed open. Storming footsteps approached her and she looked up from her glass of champagne to find Nick, his nerves pulsing at his temples and on the side of his neck.

"I do not understand." Cora smirked and settled her glass on the coffee table.

"You did it, you poisoned her." His voice bellowed loud enough that the walls could come crashing down.

"So what?" She cocked an eyebrow proudly when suddenly; Nick revealed a sharp, broken piece of glass and without hesitation, plunged it straight through her beating heart.

Her eyes rolled and flushed, her breath croaked and she fell on her back. He heard her dying, yet he stood there with the glass he used to stab her. Droplets of blood slipped off the glass and stained his trembling fingers.

Dropping the glass on the floor, he rushed to the kitchen to find a piece of paper and a pen. And he began to write for what seemed ages. He had to explain; he had to come clean about everything.

Once he was done, he returned to Cora's lifeless body with the murder weapon sitting next to her. He took the glass once again, the edges slipping through his fingers cutting him. Tears stained his cheeks as he looked at it, he was sure of what he was going to do. It was the only thing he could do.

The seven men were at work, so Snow was alone at the cottage baking a pie. When a knock sounded on the door, only to find a sympathetic old lady standing there with a weaved basket in hand.

"An apple for the lady?" She smiled and uncovered her basket for Snow to find three, bright red apples.

She took the apple on the top and it seemed juicy and delicious. It was big, red and as bright as the moon. She could almost see a clearly defined reflection of herself in the fruit. So she bit into it, leaving her teeth marks as evidence.

Feeling ran out of her, and her surroundings became a blur. She looked at the old woman whose figure began to fade. Snow blinked, once, twice and once she opened her heavy eyes, she found the evil Queen cackling at Snow who was becoming as light as a feather.

The apple fell with a thud, dropping from her numb hand. Her eyelashes gave up and fell, shutting her eyes with force. And her body collapsed into darkness, darkness that engulfed her.