Eyes of the Deep

The monitor's beeping suddenly sped up. The nurse burst into the ward as I was gently rubbing my belly, where a three-month-old life was growing. "Ms. Downey, your mother's heart rate has suddenly dropped — she's being resuscitated!" My blood froze instantly. I grabbed my coat and bolted for the door. Uriel Chandler's office was in the building across from the inpatient ward; he was the only one supporting Mom's medical expenses. I ran in my high heels, silently begging that nothing go wrong. At the corner of the stairs, a few smooth walnuts rolled across the floor. I didn't have time to react; my foot slipped, and I fell down the stairs. A sharp, ripping pain burst through my abdomen, and warm liquid soaked my skirt. My vision blurred as I was lifted onto a stretcher, familiar voices drifting into my ears. It was Uriel's phone ringing, carrying a kind of indulgence I had never heard before. "Mia, don't worry—the medicine was switched very subtly. The doctors won't catch it." "I purposely left the walnut in the stairwell. She's pregnant and can't run fast—one fall will do just fine." "That child was never meant to exist; it stands in the way of us being together." Mia's voice was sweet and delicate: "Uriel, you're so good to me. Once her mother never wakes up again, we can be together openly." "Don't worry; she won't last long." Darkness swallowed me whole. Waking up again, the hospital ward was thick with the scent of disinfectant and sorrow. My lower abdomen was flat—the child was gone. Uriel sat beside the bed, his right hand wrapped in thick gauze, eyes full of guilt. "Eileen, I'm sorry. I didn't take care of you properly. I've already punished myself." He raised his injured hand; dark red blood seeped through the bandages. I looked at that hand, recalling the conversation before I lost consciousness, a wave of nausea churning in my stomach. It was all just a play he wrote and performed himself. The door creaked open, and Mia Charles came in carrying a bowl of soup, wearing the same dress Uriel had bought for me. "Ms. Downey, I heard you had a miscarriage, so I made some nourishing soup especially for you." She smiled with a false sweetness. "F*ck off." My voice was hoarse. "Why are you so harsh?" Mia looked up at Uriel with a hurt expression. "I was only trying to help." Uriel frowned. "Eileen, Mia cares about you. Don't be so unreasonable." Watching them play along, my pent-up rage exploded all at once. I raised my hand, and a sharp slap struck Mia's face. With a sharp "smack," the hospital ward plunged into a deadly silence. Mia covered her face, crying, "Uriel, look at her!" Uriel suddenly stood up and shoved me aside. "Eileen! You've gone too far! Mia is innocent!" I staggered backward and collided with the edge of the bed. My heart was completely dead. "Uriel, let's get a divorce." I said each word slowly and clearly.