Chapter 9 - Into the Abyss
The low murmurs of the waiting room ceased instantly. The triage nurse stopped typing. A security guard by the vending machine froze mid-step. Every single person in the vicinity turned to stare in sheer horror at the well-dressed, older woman who had just violently slapped a heavily pregnant woman across the face.
Far from feeling any shame or remorse, Doña Carmen stood tall, puffing out her chest defensively. She felt absolutely entitled to control my body and my dignity.
"She is a drama queen!" she yelled defensively to the crowd of stunned strangers, trying to justify the unjustifiable. "Nothing is wrong with her! She does everything for attention, she is a manipulative liar!"
I desperately wanted to speak. I wanted to raise my trembling hand and scream for help. I wanted to tell the whole world, all of these horrified strangers, that my mother-in-law was a monster who covered up the fact that her son beat me in the dark. I wanted to beg them to save my baby.
But my lips refused to move. The air was no longer reaching my lungs.
The tearing pain in my stomach had transformed into a massive, dead weight. I felt like I was bleeding out internally, emptying from the inside. Dark spots began to violently swarm my vision, closing in from the edges like a tunnel. My hands lost all their strength and fell limply to my sides.
Instinctively, I tried to stand up, driven by a primal urge to flee from the woman glaring down at me with absolute disgust.
I barely managed half a step.
My knees buckled completely. The massive weight of my belly, the crushing burden of the abuse, the suffocating fear, and the sheer physical agony dragged my body straight forward.
I fell.
I heard the collective screams of the women around me. I felt the brutal impact of my shoulders and the side of my head crashing against the cold, polished linoleum floor of the hospital.
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The very last thing my fading eyes registered, right before the absolute darkness swallowed me whole, was the tip of Doña Carmen’s perfectly shined designer shoes, just inches from my face. She hadn't moved a single millimeter to catch me.
The sharp echo of her slap was still ringing in my ears as I surrendered to the blackness.
