Without another glance at me, he wrapped his arm around Nina and headed upstairs. Before he left, he didn't forget to grab a snake and throw it at me as if I were the embodiment of all his resentment toward my mother.
"You naughty boy! Come here and kiss me!" Nina cooed, her voice sickeningly sweet as they disappeared.
As they went upstairs, the cold, slick body of the snake slithered across my skin, its presence overwhelming me.
I blacked out completely.
When I woke up, the doctor had already completed a D&C procedure. My hand instinctively moved to my abdomen. There had once been a child there.
It was a future I had imagined, a happiness I had clung to. Yet it was all gone. The emptiness in my stomach mirrored the hollowness I felt inside.
Tears streamed down my face, soaking the pillow beneath me. The doctors and nurses looked at me with pity and sympathy. One of them sighed and spoke softly.
"For the next few days, avoid alcohol, and don't eat anything spicy. We also found several snake bites on your body, but luckily, none were venomous."
The doctor paused, his brow furrowed with concern. "Miss, did you offend someone? Do you need us to call the police?"