Rugged To The Core

Chapter 68

Song for chapter: Uyo Meyo By Teni

Lucky

I had never been strong, I did nothing to prove that I was. Even if I did, I don't think I would be able to convince the entire world. I was no good at pretending. That was probably why Abel had seen through me.

On the way here, my mother had been unconscious and  she'd been bleeding non-stop, though the doctor hadn't confirmed it, I was sure I had lost my unborn sibling and It hurt. Especially knowing my father was the sole perpetrator. Watching him kick her in the stomach had shattered my heart, it was utterly terrifying.

How could you have forgotten your own wife was pregnant and do that to her?

You have to be trash to do that...

Dad had practically threatened me not to tell anyone the real story, If anyone asked, the fabricated story was that she'd fallen down the stairs. The most cliché line in the book. He had said if I told anyone the truth, he would soak my feet in boiling water and that he would finish off the beating he'd started with Bukky. I couldn't believe the heights he was willing to go to, I wondered if he even cared at all; if he was the least bit remorseful for what he'd done to mum.

When I had seen Abel at the hospital, sitting next to my dad, my heart jumped to my throat. It was the most unlikely thing to me —  my father and Abel together. I was petrified my dad had spoken to him. Abel wouldn't stop looking at me and It only intensified my discomfort. I prayed my dad wouldn't do anything to hector me in his presence but he'd done it. It was so humiliating having Abel witness him threatening me. I hated that he had to see me that way, at my most vulnerable. I wanted to erase it from his memory.

I stepped into the elevator feeling extremely embarrassed, my heart pounded and my eyes burned as mist distorted my vision. I don't know if it was my dad telling me he could never love me a few days back, the discovery of my dad cheating, him almost beating my younger sister; what he had done to my mum, the threat he'd given me or seeing Abel again but I just fell apart. Abel had seen through me – like he always does – and he'd given me his arms; a place that always made me feel safe.

My sweet boy...

I hadn't said anything to him, I had just let him hold me from behind, focusing on our entwined fingers. He'd whispered in my ear and I realised how much I'd missed him. When the elevator came to a halt, I'd simply shrugged him off and walked off.

Don't judge me...

Mum had a faint bruise across her left cheek and a naughty one across her neck from where the belt had touched her. Her eyes were closed, they said she wasn't awake but she still looked like she was in pain. Pain so deep, your unconscious body feels it. Maybe it was her posture, she seemed stiff, her left hand had folds of the blanket in her clutches. Maybe it was her expression; her face was in a grimace.

She miscarried.

I'm sure of it...

And It's all courtesy of my father.

~*~*~*~

"I have to go." Dad said, scratching his chin. "You stay here with your mother... and tell me if anything comes up. Though I doubt it, the doctor already said she'd wake up in a few days time." He sounded relieved and like he couldn't wait to get out of here.

He stared at me as if waiting for a reply. "Is... the... baby -"

He caught on to what I was saying and quickly said: "It's gone. She lost it." He'd spoken with so much nonchalance.