Her long, sharp acrylic nails dug straight into my open wounds.
I flinched and tried to pull back, but a heavy crash echoed through the room.
A stinging slap blazed across my cheek. Dominic had struck me so hard I crumpled to the floor.
My stomach hit the sharp corner of a table. The pain was blinding.
Stephanie's weeping grew louder, even more fragile and piteous than before.
"Don't blame Joanna. It's all my fault... I'm just not good enough. That's why she hates me."
I sat crumpled on the cold floor. Something warm trickled between my legs.
I stared at my mangled, gauze-wrapped hands. My mind went blank.
"Dominic... I think I'm bleeding..."
A cold scoff was all I got in return.
"You think a lie like that is going to make me feel sorry for you?"
I shook my head frantically. "I'm not lying. I'm pregnant..."
"Please, just take me to a doctor."
Stephanie tugged at her tears, putting on the look of a stubborn, delicate flower.
"Go take Joanna to the doctor. She needs you more than I do right now."
A nurse happened to walk in on her rounds and began going over instructions with Stephanie.
"You're showing signs of a threatened miscarriage. You absolutely cannot let yourself get upset."