MESSED UP - completed!

40- Family Bond

40 Family Bond

Wind's howling while caressing the flowers. The cemetery's quiet and peaceful. An empty feeling is urging out of my chest as I look at the tombstone before me.

"Who are you?" A voice interrupts my loneliness.

I turn around, only to find a woman standing close to me. She's middle-aged, with fair black hair. "Mia," I manage to say. "You don't remember me?"

She has a resting face with an unknown expression. "Never seen you here before."

"I'm... I was busy."

She says nothing and stares at me for a few long seconds. "For twelve years?" she asks, and I keep quiet, my mind racing with disturbing thoughts. She wants to talk, but something stops her. Some blood spills out of her mouth, and her words fade.

"Mia?" Smith shouts.

I open my eyes. My whole body is in a cold sweat. Smith is sitting on my bed with his hands on my shoulders to snap me out of the dream.

"You alright?" he asks, and I take a few seconds to nod.

I wipe my forehead with my hand. "What happened?"

"You were whining in your sleep."

"I'm... fine. Sorry. I woke you."

"Were you having a nightmare?"

The face of the woman appears in front of my face. "I don't remember," I lie.

"You need anything?"

"No. Thank you."

He gets up to leave. I lie down again, this time afraid of falling asleep.

The morning comes. I find it difficult to get out of bed. My legs and face have swollen, which I see on my phone's camera. Someone knocks on my door.

"Come in," I say and fix my posture.

"Good morning," Ian says, entering the room with flowers.

"Ah, Ian. Good morning, sweetie."

"How are you feeling?"

"Pregnant. You?"

He sits by my side, handing me the flowers. "I'm fine."

I smell them immediately. "Thank you! They're beautiful."

"You're welcome. I got worried about you."

"Why?"

"You can't stay here any longer. We need to go home."

"I said I would consider it."

"Well, you're not getting any better. So, you need to decide."

"I'm fine," I say again. Ian arches his brow, and I realize Smith has told him about my nightmare. "Jesus, are you two dating each other?" I ask him, looking at Smith with a scowl.

"Don't change the subject," Ian says.

"I said I'll consider it. Give me some time. I'm not coming to a place where my baby is judged only for existing!"

"Mom is not like that."

"Mom? When did Linda become Mom?"

"When you were gone for twelve years, and mom died."

My ears start to ring, and I keep quiet for a few seconds. I don't remember how my actual mom behaved. "Linda's not fond of me and my baby," I say.

"She's mad at you because you ran away," Ian says. I chuckle sarcastically. "What?" he asks.