devil may cry | the weeknd

eight

Kaia

I hear a soft knock on the door, but I ignore it.

"Kaia?" I hear my sister, Nina say softly. I don't answer. I just continue staring up at the ceiling.

A couple of seconds later, the door opens. I feel the bed dip beside me as she climbs under the covers.

"Kaia?" Nina says again. "You can't stay holed up in here all day. It's been a week now. This isn't good for the baby." She rests her hand on my stomach.

Wiping a tear away from the corner of my eye and sigh. "You're right," I say in a hoarse voice. I put my own hand on my stomach and rub it.

"Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Nina wants to know. "You haven't eaten properly all week."

I nod. "Okay," I say, starting to push the covers away from my body and sitting up. "I'm going to take a shower and I'll be downstairs soon, okay?"

Nina nods and chews the inside of her cheek. "Why did you break up?" she questions.

I blink back the tears and bite my knuckles. It hurts me to talk about Abel.

I can feel the hole in my chest and it just needs to be filled with him right now, but there's no way that's going to happen. Especially since he doesn't want this baby.

I look at Nina who's giving me a sympathetic look and just shrug. "He doesn't want this baby, but I do," I tell her honestly. "That's all it is.

Nina's face morphs into anger and then sadness and then into anger again. "Does he . . . does he want you to abort the baby?" she spits. I nod and she grits her teeth, shaking her head. She leans over and takes my hand in hers. "Well, it's your choice. Your body, your choice."

I nod and squeeze her hand. "Yeah, I know," I whisper. "I just thought that maybe he'd want to start a family with me." I chuckle to myself bitterly. "I guess I was getting my hopes up."

Nina smiles weakly. She suddenly starts frowning when she looks at something. "What the hell is that?" she snaps, looking at my arm.

I quickly pull my arm out her grasp, realising she's noticed the scar. "It's nothing!" I protest.

"That doesn't look like nothing, Kaia!" Nina shouts, glaring at me. She grabs my arm and inspects it more closer. "Did . . . Abel do this to you?"

No, but he was the reason why, I think to myself.

I shake my head. "No," I say, not looking her in the eye. "I did it by myself." Before she can speak, I stop her. "I don't know why I did it, so don't ask, okay? It was a mistake and I'll never do it again."

Nina's eyes flash with anger. "I dont believe you," she mutters. "Didn't I tell you that Abel would be trouble? That he'd hurt you?"

"He hasn't hurt me!" I protest.

Nina's eyebrows scrunch together. "No?" she retorts. "Then why are here, Kaia?" I feel my shoulders slouch and Nina comes to closer to me and wraps her arm around me. "I'm sorry. I'm just being an overprotective sister."

I nod and smile. "I know," I say. "You always are." She's only a couple of years older than me - twenty-five. I squeeze my eyes shut. "I just really wish that me and Abel could work things out, but we both want two separate things."

Nina squints and tilts her head. "You would really want to work things out with him?" she asks and I nod.

"Of course," I say. "I love him."

"Does he love you?" Nina questions.

"Yeah," I say quietly. That is what he told me after all. "I know you hate him, but he's honestly the best thing that's happened to me."

Nina rolls her eyes. "He's like - what? - you're second boyfriend," she says. "And the first you've slept with. You can find someone better. Way better."

I sigh. "I don't want someone better," I whisper. "I want him."

Nina smiles sympathetically. "Well, maybe you two can figure things out?" she suggests. "As much as I hate him, maybe you can work things out."

"Maybe," I say. "I'm going to shower now." I get up and Nina nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

When I step into the en suite bathroom, I close the door behind me.

I start stripping out of my clothes until I'm stark naked.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror and rest my hand on my stomach. I can't believe I'm actually having a baby.

The thought brings a smile to my lips. I'm actually bringing a little human into this world! My son or daughter is inside my body! Growing.

It's sad that the father doesn't want anything to do with him or her. I quickly push the thought out of my head and focus on the positive.

Once I'm done showering, I get out and rub lotion all over my body before putting on a fresh pair of clothes.

My phone starts ringing and I answer it without even looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I ask into the phone, brushing my wet hair out of my face and putting it up in a tight bun. "Hello?" I say again when no one replies.

Frowning, I look at the screen to see who's calling, but it just says Unknown.

"Hello?" I say one more time. A sniffing sound answers me and scrunch my eyebrows together, heart thumping. "Abel, is that you?"

Another sniffing sound. "I just wanted to hear your voice," he says quietly in a slurred tone,  while sniffing again. I hear him gulp and realise that he's probably drinking himself to death.

"Why didn't you just call with your number?" I want to know, feeling my throat go dry.

It's good to hear his voice after this past week - neither of us have called the other.

"Thought you wouldn't pick up," he mumbles. I bite my tongue, feeling awkward. "Please come home, baby. Please. I need you. I can't cope without you."

It sounds like it, I think to myself.

"Abel, I can't . . ." I start to say, but trail off when he speaks again.

"I love you," Abel goes on through tears. "I can't live without you. There's no point of me living if you're not here."

The panic starts to rush over me. "What?" I ask, voice shaking. "What do you mean by that?"

Instead of answering, Abel hangs up, which just causes me to become even more panicked.

I start to grab my things and rush out the room.

I need to get to him.