Chapter 27 #3
The next day, I felt better, although I still couldn’t breathe deeply without feeling a stab of hellish pain.
The discomfort existed, but it was bearable.
If not for my son, for knowing he had been born and was fine, I would have been consumed by hatred for that bitch for leaving me all broken and unable to see my baby.
However, I tried not to let her affect me more than she already had.
My son was well, and that was what mattered to me.
Besides, sooner or later, I would get out of there and have all the time in the world to meet him and hold him in my arms the way I wanted so much.
And it was to that certainty I clung so I wouldn’t succumb to sadness.
Thor was there when I woke. That comforted me.
He told me a little more about our son, whom he had gone to see before I woke up.
My anxiety to meet him shot to a thousand.
For an instant, I worried about him being alone, but Thor informed me that Martha and Pietra were taking turns staying with him.
After some tests and a brief conversation with the doctor in charge of me, Thor returned to the room after the doctor left and gave me water to drink.
Thor moved through the room, tossing the paper cup into the trash, then came back, sat in the armchair, and looked at me with a serious, unreadable expression.
“Tell me what happened that day.”
“When we talked on the phone, I was finishing getting ready to go to the appointment. I was at the top of the stairs when Norah startled me…”
“Boo!”
I swayed, gripping the railing to steady myself when the sound burst right by my ear, scaring the hell out of me.
I looked back and was stunned to find Norah.
She had an unnaturally friendly expression and a matching smile.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I looked at her, dazed by her playful reaction and posture. I shook my head and took a deep breath, ignoring the strange feeling. That woman was pure negativity.
“Thor isn’t here, so get lost.”
“I will. First you… Shall we race to see who gets downstairs first?” She laughed, mocking me.
I started going down, doing my best to ignore her.
One, two, three steps…
“I think it’s you.”
That was the last thing I heard before I hit a barrier in my path: a deliberate foot that threw me off balance.
I tried to grab the railing, but it was useless.
The weight of my belly contributed to my instability, and I rolled down the stairs.
A stream of adrenaline and panic ate me alive.
It was a free fall I thought would never end.
I had only the vague instinct to extend my arm so I wouldn’t fall entirely on top of my belly, and I heard a crack.
I felt no pain, only adrenaline.
My eyes closed for what I thought was a moment, and when I opened them again, through the haze I could see a distinct pair of black shoes.
“Help me… plea…” The words lost meaning and darkness took me.
Thor didn’t move a single muscle by the time I finished the account.
Somehow, that made him seem more lethal and darker, so much so that my senses went on alert and I fought the impulse to move away.
His clenched jaw emphasized the strong lines of his face. His black eyes were flooded with savage violence, but I knew none of it was aimed at me. He radiated barely contained fury, pulsing behind the sinisterly calm facade.
“Were the shoes feminine? Norah’s? Or a man’s?”
“I don’t know. How would I know that? I don’t remember… I want to remember, but I don’t…”
He stood and put his hands on me. His gaze softened.
“It’s all right, love…”
“No, Thor, it isn’t all right. She crossed every line.
I don’t know what Ben saw, if he arrived after she left, but I guarantee I didn’t fall because of a domestic accident.
She tried to kill me and our baby… Norah is much worse than I thought.
She’s crazy, completely insane. I told you she was no good, didn’t I? ”
“I’m so sorry, baby. Truly. Forgive me, please.”
He was controlling his aggression while I swallowed my sobs.
Thor still seemed stunned, lost, and no wonder. He, like the other guys, had believed that snake was practically a saint. It was one hell of a reality check. “If I had known… If… I should have been there with you…”
“There was no way to know, Thor. Not even I could imagine she was capable of an atrocity like that. None of this is our fault. You’re not to blame.
The blame is hers and her perversity. Norah needs treatment.
She’s obsessed with you. What she feels is sick.
The challenge she talked about became a sick obsession. ”
He nodded, love shining in his eyes for me. “Everything is okay now, and what isn’t will be. I promise. I want you to stay calm and worry only about your recovery. You can do that, can’t you? Good. I’ll take care of the rest.”
His promise ended the subject.
Two days later, Thor told me he would have to be away. He didn’t explain why, only that he would leave security at my door and at Lucca’s.
With the promise he would be back before the day ended, he left.