Forlot: Thunder Will Come Down - Book Twenty-Seven

Chapter Eight

"Everything will turn out better in the end, Cindy. I am more than positive that this is for a reason."

Caleb and I were sitting in our red Prius and parked in the hospital parking lot. We had just left the hospital and were getting ready to head back home. Usually, I would drive, however, I was not in the best condition to, so Caleb had to. But he would not drive until I stopped crying. He had his arms wrapped around me and was trying to get me to calm down.

"I know that seems like bad news, but remember that God can take troubles and transform them into things that are good for us and that will glorify Him," Caleb explained. "Maybe...maybe it is a good thing that you are unable to have kids."

Before I realized what I was doing, I shoved him away. He fell back and hit the driver's door. His eyes were filled with fear.

"C-Cindy?"

I slapped his face hard. So hard that he teared up and cried.

"Ugh! Are you seriously crying because I slapped you?" I said in a scary tone. "You can sob over that, but you cannot cry over the fact that I cannot carry your baby? You sure have your priorities straight."

He sat up and rubbed his cheek. "I was trying to be the brave one for you for once. You always helped me when I needed it. I just wanted to return the favor."

I was not angry with my husband. After all, he was not the reason why I could not carry babies of my own. It was not anybody's fault. I was just so angry that I needed to lash out at somebody. Sadly, Caleb was the person closest to me.

"You are only pretending to show pity towards me because the doctor said that you are in the perfect state in the baby department. You are a boy. Boys do not have to worry about having a baby because they are not the ones who suffer with pregnancy!"

Caleb whimpered and shook in fear. "P-please do not do this, Cindy. Please stop talking and calm down."

I pointed at myself. "You are pleading for me to shut up? You do not desire to hear what your wife has to say?!"

That is when Caleb reached his breaking point.

"Stop! Stop it this instant! You are acting like Ava and should be the opposite of her!"

His words finally soaked into my soul. I breathed as if I were having trouble and looked at my palms. They were sweating so much that you could see the drops. My heart was beating rapidly. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Caleb would compare me to Ava.

I was not Ava. I am not Ava. I was and still am Cindy. I am supposed to be the opposite of Ava. I do not frighten good people. I treat them with respect and kindness and help in any way that I can. I am not the kind of person who would put Caleb down.

I looked back at Caleb and stared at him. He was so afraid. He was on the verge of curling into a ball. It was my fault that he was scared. He asked me to do one simple thing, and I refused. I was doing what I promised to never do to him. The scars from his soul were coming to the surface because of me. 'Cause my behavior reminded him of what Ava and Slapi did to him.

I was so ashamed of myself that I could not find the right words to say to him. "Caleb, I...I am so sorry."

Caleb had left the car unlocked, so I pushed open the door, scrambled out, and ran into the woods nearby. I ran and ran and ran until my legs were exhausted. I plopped onto the grass and cried my heart out. First, I could not have my baby. Now, I scared the heck out of Caleb. What if he did not love me anymore after that incident? What if he wanted a divorce?

I wiped my tears and went on my phone. Thank gosh that there was service. I clicked on my contacts and scrolled through the list of people whom I could chat with. Caleb? Definitely not. My parents? No. Caleb's parents? Nope. Joan? No. Collin? No.

The last two people on the list shocked me. One was Ava Campbell, and the other was Destiny. I thought that I deleted Destiny from my contacts a long time ago. As for Ava, how the heck did she get there?! Did she steal my phone at some point in time and put herself in the list? It was disturbing. Absolutely disturbing.

I was going to block her number and delete her when I overheard a faint sound. Was it crying? Yes, it was. Had Caleb followed me into the woods? Was he the person who was upset?

I crept deeper into the woods and soon spotted an object that was out of place. It was a cardboard box. The sobs grew louder as I crept closer to the box. I peered inside and almost lost my balance.

Inside the box was a baby. A real baby. She was the one who was sad.

The baby was a girl and had darker skin. She wore a white dress with a pattern of gray flowers on it and gray socks. It was just her in the small box. No toys. No diapers. Not even a note. I could only imagine how long she had been out here.

"Hello, precious," I said softly.

The baby sniffed and looked up at me. Seeing me caused her to wail.

I got on my knees. "Shh. No reason to cry. I promise to not harm a hair on your little head."

Her wails died down, and she stared at me. "Mama?"