Little Things (Second Chances 1)

I reach up to grab his arm, “Duke, stop. You’ll kill him.”

He looks at me and staggers off of Craig. Reaching out to me, he jerks me into his arms. His breathing is rough and unsteady so I wrap my arm around him to give him comfort. He takes a good look at me, “Shit, he hit you good. You’re bleeding pretty badly.”

He notices that I’m holding up my torn dress with one arm, so he takes off his dress shirt and covers me with it. A few seconds later, we hear the sirens approaching the house.

Duke wraps his arm around my shoulder, “Come, let’s get you upstairs.”

He helps me up to my feet as I take a last look at Craig. He’s out cold.

My eyes widen as I realize I haven’t seen or heard from my mother.

With a burst of my last ounce of energy, I let go of Duke and sprint up the stairs, “Mom!!”

I hear Duke yell behind me, “Raya, wait!”

Ignoring his plea, I make my way to the living room and hurry upstairs to her bedroom.

“Mom…Mom!!”

My voice cracks as I scream her name and my body trembles as I jet toward her room. I don’t even remember breathing for air. All I care about is finding her. My heart pounds against my chest as I approach her door. Reaching for the knob with a trembling hand, I twist it and fling the door open. Running into the room, I look around for her.

“Mom! Where are you?”

I make my way into her bathroom, only to come up empty. Duke enters the room behind me and glances into the closet. He shakes his head, “No.”

Duke follows me back into the hall and I sprint to my bedroom. The door is slightly ajar, which is unusual as it’s always supposed to be shut. At this point, my body is shivering profusely and tears are still cascading down my face. I push the door open and glance in, only to find an empty room.

As I’m about to enter, Duke grabs hold of me and steadies me. “Stay here, Raya.”

I pull away from him, “No, I have to find her.” I push past him and look into my closet, but still nothing.

Duke walks out of my bathroom and shuts the door. Tears threaten to spill from his mournful eyes and he shakes his head.

I run toward him and push him away from the door.

“Raya, don—”

I open the door and see my mother sprawled across the bloody bathroom floor. Her face is completely beaten and swollen. Blood runs down her mouth and her nose. Her shirt is ripped and torn and her legs are twisted into unnatural angles.

“Mom!!” I run to her, kneel beside her, and cradle her head into my arms. Screams and sobs escape my mouth as my body howls with a heavy cry.

“Mom, please. Please don’t leave me. I need you.”

I try to wrap my arm around her and hold onto her as tightly as I can. Tears spill down my face and I close my eyes and pray for her to come back to me.

“Mom, please. Don’t do this.”

A shallow breath escapes her mouth and I look up to see her open her eyes. “Mom, you’re safe now. The police are here. Just stay with me, please.”

Her small smile creeps along her lips as she reaches up to touch my face. I grab her hand, kiss it, and squeeze.

She looks up at me and a small tear escapes from the corner of her eye. Her hand slowly begins to slide out of my own, but I grab hold of it.

“No, don’t let go, Mom. Don’t let go.”

And with her last breath, I feel her leave me. I crouch down and cry against her still body. Cries of agony and sorrow echo throughout the house as I cling to my mother’s body.

Duke kneels beside me and begins to pull me off of her but I yank away from him, “No! I will not leave her!”