•With Love By Christina Grimmie•

"Mommy? Are we going in?"

Charlotte's small voice wafted up to me from the front of the car. It has been seven minutes and forty-three seconds since we arrived at Evelyn's house, and I have spent a good majority of that seven minutes gnawing the hell out of my lip and maintaining a death-grip on the steering wheel.

I could see the lights on in the house, and every now and then a shadowed figure would walk by the curtains and my hands would clench upon the steering wheel. A wave of nervousness washed over me and I wiped a shaky hand across my brow. After another long moment of the same repetitive actions, I breathed a low sigh and glanced down at my ripped bloody shirt and stained jeans.

Shaking my head, I glanced back at Char, who watched me with her light eyes. Her expression was so full of childish hope that I couldn't possibly refuse her of anything.

My lips twitched into a watery smile. "Yes baby, we're going in."

I closed my eyes for a moment and let out another long breath before shutting off the car and getting out. The muscles of my legs twitched with every movement. My heartbeat fluttered in my chest, my blood roared through my veins, following the pounding of my footsteps as we neared Evelyn's house.

When I came to a stop in front of the door, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. My head pounded and my vision swam. My eyes roamed over my torn and bloody clothes. I knew she'd probably freak when she saw what I looked like. The cut at my stomach burned and throbbed. I pushed the pain away and raised my hand, the knocking of my skin on the wood sending a dull thud through my body.

Charlotte wedged herself into my side, making me wince as she brushed by the wound. We waited for a moment before the silhouette appeared once more in the window. The pounding in my head escalated, I counted the seconds.

When the door finally did open, it was in slow motion. The swoosh as it swung inward was painfully loud. A pair of bare feet appeared first, followed by muscled calves and perfectly shaped legs. My eyes devoured her form like it was the first time I was seeing her. She was dressed in those loose pants and that soft cotton tee that matched the swirling silver of her eyes.

Eyes that were focused right on me.

Our gazes clashed and suddenly I couldn't fight it anymore. Everything I'd buried away the past few weeks suddenly slammed into me as I read the shock and concern in her eyes. Everything was overtaking my body. My ears popped and rang, my vision darkened. I didn't know that I'd fallen forward until she was there, always catching me.

"Scout?"

The raspy tones of her voice were silk to my ears. I tried to reply back but my mouth wouldn't work. A sob tore through me and I buried my face in her neck. Her arms came hesitantly around me but then it didn't matter because she was crushing me to her chest and murmuring soothing words in her own language.

Pain.

That is all I felt in that moment.

Complete and utter pain. Pain for what I've put her through. Pain for what Charlotte has gone through. Pain for what I've gone through. Pain, pain, pain. It was impossible to feel anything else. Sure my body hurt physically as well, but that was nothing compared to the mental pain. Physical pain you could control, but mental pain threatened to control you.

My control was breaking.

Slipping through my fingers like thread.

I was convinced I was going mad as I listened to her raspy voice tell me that it was okay, that she was here, that she never left me. That she never would. That she never blamed me. Her arms tightened around me and my hearing suddenly returned with a pop. My stomach cramped and heaved as I shoved away from her and leaned over to expel my dinner into the bushes.

Her hands were on my back, her raspy voice dipping and rising with concern. I could hear my daughter calling my name but everything was dark. My mind was fighting to hold on. The last thing I remember is her cheek brushing mine, her breath on my ear, ruffling my hair.

"Listen to me. You are mine. Do not give in. You are mine, Scout. And I am yours. Completely and utterly yours. Stay with me."

"Fight for me."

<><><>

I was floating.

My body had no specific shape but I felt free. I felt like I was twirling my arms around and around in a big beautiful meadow. My face stretched in a grin, tears of love and laughter streaming down my face.

But then the pain hit.

My abdomen cramped and I was snapped back to the present. White walls, white room.

Pain.

I screamed as the contractions hit once more. My back arched off of the bed, my voice raw, my eyes squeezed shut as my fingers tangled in the sheets.

I couldn't do it.

I couldn't do it.

The pain was too much.

I fell back with a sharp gasp, my chest heaving. My swollen belly moved, the small life within anxious to get out.

"You must continue." A voice spoke from the side of me. I couldn't turn my head to see the maker but I knew it was a woman.

"Push, love." She urged, I felt her hand grasp mine, squeezing.

Her strong grip pushed me to once again arch my back, but this time I bit back the scream, determined to bring this child into the world. It was a long moment before I finally heard the screams of my baby.

"It is a girl." The voice spoke, and ignoring my weak attempts to push her away, she laid my newborn daughter on my chest.

The baby wailed, and for a moment I ceased to breathe as I stared at my little creation. Her hair was a deep honey color though there wasn't much of it. Her features, though red and puckered with distress, we're beautiful.

Stunning.

Mine.

She was mine.

I sobbed as I gently cradled her in my arms, pressing my nose to her skin and inhaling her sweet scent. My daughter, my love, my life.

Never before had I held anything so precious. Never would I ever let her go.

"I'm here sweet girl. You're never going to be alone. Ever." I vowed to her. Eventually her cries ceased and she slept. My body sagged with exhaustion, elation, love, feelings I thought I'd never feel again.

"I am yours, my little Charlotte." I whispered before the darkness took me.

<><><>

I flew up with a gasp, my eyes open but unseeing, my fingers grasping at the sheets. My heart was pounding in my chest, sending a dull ache through the rest of my body. It stung, my heartbeat, something I never felt before. I forced myself to take deep breaths until it didn't pound quite as hard. My head cleared some, as did my eyes.

I was half afraid to see white walls when my eyes finally focused, but I thankfully didn't. I was placed in a room that had light green walls. Seafoam my mind picked out the color. It was a comforting color. The room also had a giant window that overlooked the city.

I wanted to go to it. Heaving a sigh, I slowly sat up, biting back the cry of pain as my abdomen stretched and burned. I glanced down at the blood-soaked bandage and grimaced, hoping I didn't tear a stitch out or something.

My feet met the cool linoleum floor when I slowly swung my legs over the side, soothing as I felt like I was a hundred degrees. I carefully made my way to the window and leaned my forehead against it, taking in the height and admiring the tall buildings. The Space Needle stood tall in the distance.

My mind balked.

I blinked a few times as I tried to understand what I was seeing.

The Space Needle?

But that couldn't be right...

I was jerked out of my thoughts when the door to the room suddenly opened. A woman entered, and I blinked as I looked at her. She was stunning, all languid limbs and long brown hair. Her eyes were a sharp grey that clashed with the angling factors of her face. She wasn't wearing a doctor's coat, but she was dressed like she was headed to a photoshoot for a modeling company.

She seemed eerily familiar.

She gasped when she saw me and hurried over. "What the hell are you doing?!"

I frowned but let her steer me back towards the bed. "Um, looking out the window?"

She arched a perfectly sculpted brow at me as I lay down. "And why didn't you call for help?" My mouth opened and closed as I tried to form an answer. Her face took on a smug expression.

"Foolish girl." She tsked and sat down beside me.

I looked her over again, trying to remember where I saw her. Suddenly it clicked. The answer wasn't where I saw her, it was who I saw her in.

Evelyn.

They shared the same features, though this woman's were aged slightly. This woman's body was also slightly more plump than Evelyn's, though she was still in very good shape. I put her at her early to late thirties. It was then that I realized what put me off was that she didn't have an accent.

"Who are you?"

The corners of her mouth lifted lightly. "Ah, so you put the pieces together. Smart girl."

I waited, still expecting an answer. Finally she sighed and shook her head. "Eve you never were the best at explaining, were you?"

My confusion grew until another shape materialized in the doorway, long limbs and sharp features. Her hair cascaded in curls down her back. Her eyes bore through me. My body lurched, recognizing her. My heart thumped faster.

I forced myself to turn away from her and refocused on the other woman. "Who are you?" I asked again. The answer came from the doorway.

"She's my sister."

❤️