As soon as the door closed behind him, I started helping Maria undress Cali. The bruises I’d seen on her arms earlier were also on her ribs, back, and abdomen. I drew in a sharp breath when I saw how badly she’d been beaten, and I wanted to kill Manuel all over again. Then we got to her panties, and they were saturated with blood.
“Do you think he hurt the baby?” Cali asked softly, touching her hand to her flat stomach. Her chin trembled as she looked at the blood on her underwear, and she curled in on herself once again.
Maria’s eyes widened. “You are pregnant? I thought this was from your cycle.”
“No, I’m pregnant.” A tear spilled down her cheek. “Or at least, I was.”
“Let’s let the doctor check you over before we start worrying,” I suggested, even though I was already scared for the safety of my niece or nephew. “We shouldn’t borrow trouble until we know something for sure.”
“Yes,” Maria agreed. “Babies are very strong and stubborn. I’m sure everything is fine.”
We had Cali cleaned up by the time Guzman returned with a doctor. The town nearest to the Ramirez estate was small, with only one doctor who handled every aspect of life, including delivering babies—or so he explained when he first arrived. He and his two nurses were the only medical help within a hundred miles, so we didn’t have any other choice. The older man had two medical bags with him, and he gave Cali a full exam, even drawing blood. But she didn’t relax until we were able to listen to the baby’s heartbeat.
“Very strong,” the doctor said with a kind smile. “I will have my staff make you an appointment, and we will get some pictures of your baby. The bleeding is worrisome, but it’s not heavy. With all that you have told me has happened over the past few days, I think it may be a burst blood vessel. Let’s give it a few days and see. Until then, complete bed rest. The rest of your body needs it to heal anyway.”
“No,” she stubbornly refused. “You can either come here to do the ultrasound, or I will find someone else who will.”
His lips pursed together, but he nodded. “Next week, then.” As he finished with her, he turned to me. “Let’s get you bandaged up, yes?”
I glanced down at myself. I’d been cradling my bad arm against my stomach so as not to jar my shoulder more than necessary, and the bandage I’d wrapped around the bite wound on the inside of my thigh was soaked with blood.
“Do you think I need a rabies shot?” I joked with Cali as I sat on the edge of her bed so the doctor could examine me.
She snickered. “Probably wouldn’t hurt to cover all the bases.”
The bite had to be stitched, and the doctor seemed full of regret when he told me it would scar. If a scar was all I had to deal with after everything I’d just been through, I wasn’t going to shed any tears. He put my arm in a sling and told me to keep it immobile for a few weeks, then packed up his bags.
With the promise of returning the following week for Cali’s ultrasound, but advising us to call him should either of us start running a fever or Cali’s bleeding grew worse, he went back to his clinic with Guzman. It was only then that I finally felt as if I could leave my friend long enough to call Ryan.
In the library downstairs, I picked up the landline and dialed his cell number. I didn’t know many of my contacts off the top of my head, but Ryan’s and my mom’s numbers were the two I would never forget.
The phone rang and rang until it went to voice mail, but I knew it would. He never answered a number he didn’t recognize. As soon as I heard the beep, I started talking. “Ryan, hey. I know you are probably losing your mind right now, but you can relax. I’m fine. I swear. Just a little banged up. I don’t want to talk about all this over the phone, so just call me back at this number and I’ll tell you where I am.” I closed my eyes. “I love you.”
I hung up and then quickly dialed my mom’s phone. It rang three times before someone picked up. “H-hello?”
The sob in her voice cut me to the quick. “Mom?”
“N-Nova?” she whispered with something close to horror in her voice. “Oh God, I’m losing my mind. Nova? Nova? Is it really you?”
“Of course it is, Mom.” I rushed to assure her. “Who else would it be?”
“Th-they told me you were dead,” she whispered. “Honey, am I dreaming?”
“Who told you I was dead?” I demanded, angry that they would do that to my mom. What a terrible thing to say to any mother, but especially my sweet mom, who had been through so much, including losing one baby.
“Everyone! Garret, Anya, Ciro. Even Ciana. She said she saw you like…that!”
“Ciana is okay?” I relaxed somewhat at the mention of my cousin.
“In a manner of speaking,” Mom muttered. “Nova, they said…”
“I don’t care what they said,” I bit out, trying to snap her out of it. “Mom, I’m not dead. I promise you that I’m not talking to you in some dream or from the other side. I’m in—”
“Who the fuck i
s this?”
I flinched at the sound of Dad’s angry voice snarling in my ear. “Daddy…” I whispered. “It’s Nova.”