BILLIE'S NIGHTMARE

Chapter 13

I already did.

The words echoed vividly in my mind, the way his voice had said it carelessly as if it were nothing. But above all else, they were coming from him. With his sweet voice, his spanish accent, my Tìo Carlos. I tried to process what he meant. Is he giving up? Letting it take me? Me. His B. His Bumble B, did he know that he was talking about me?

Or did he not care? Did he want to let this win so easily that he didn't care that he lost me? Was my strong, kind Tìo Carlos giving up?

I was suddenly brought back to a cruel reality when I felt someone clutch my wrist and squeeze it tight. I turned and Whitney was up, her eyes flaring a firey anger, her veins bulging out, her breath a tireless panting.

I grimaced and tried to wriggle out of her hold. Her wrists were still caught between the ropes and she was holding me down so I had no choice but to bend to her level. I looked her dead in the eye and the second I did, I knew it wasn't her.

"Give it to me, give it to me, give me!"

My eyes widened at her words, and I screamed as loud as I could, trying to shake out of her hold. When she finally let go and fell back unconscious, I fell to the ground, panting breathlessly.

I looked to Tìo Carlos who still had his head bowed down in shame. I felt my hair, my face, my arms and my hands moved to my stomach and my breasts and to my thighs and legs. After my thorough inspection, I let out a sigh of relief.

I'm okay.

I'm still me. I'm not dead. I'm fine.

John came running down the stairs with paramedics behind him. He analyzed my state, shocked to either see me there or in the state that I was in. His wide eyes then went to Tìo Carlos, then to Whitney and back to me.

As the paramedics removed the shelf, I willed myself not to look at her fragile body beneath the shelf. I focused on John, who helped me from the ground with questioning eyes.

"What are you doing here? Why are you crying?" he asked when I was off the ground. I shook my head and wiped the tears away from my eyes. He turned to Tìo Carlos and back to me.

"Go upstairs, I have to speak to your uncle."

"He's not my uncle." I said almost too immediately. Ignoring his confused stare, I ran up the stairs and made my way to Abuela's room where I assumed Bella was.

I ignored the weight that built up inside of me. It didn't feel physical, though it was heavy and it almost made it hard to move. When I reached the top of the stairs, I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief and quickly continued to finding Bella.

When I got in Abuela's bedroom, she was sobbing. Abuela held her in her arms and tried to lull her to sleep, both their bodies layed on the bed and facing the ceiling. When I entered, Abuela seemed surprised to see me, but gestured for me to come in.

"I want mammi." Bella cried, nuzzling herself into Abuela's bosom.

"Yo se, mi princesa, yo se." Abuela cooed, gently rubbing her back to pacify her.

I slowly walked in, the door screeching as I pushed it wider, making Bella turn to my direction.

"B? B, where's Tìo? I want Tìo." she said, making my heart drip with pain.

I granted her a gentle smile, hoping it would make her feel better. I didn't want her to want him. He was not worthy of Bella or my love. He ran away from his problems instead of fixing them the proper way.

"I'm here. Aren't you happy to see me?" I asked, hoping the topic change would distract her.

"Where's mamà?" she asked instead of answering my questions.