Chapter 3

My mom, furious, raised her hand to slap me, but the doctor stepped in just in time to stop her. Still, the way he looked at me wasn't exactly friendly either.

I didn't say a word. I just played the video on my phone for the doctor. In less than a minute, his attitude flipped, just like everyone else's had.

The doctor spat out, "Filthy thing! Damn it! It should just die!"

He said exactly what those aunties did earlier.

My mom was getting desperate now. "What the hell is it, Monica? Just tell me what's on your phone already!

"How could your own child be called filthy? How is that even possible?"

No one bothered to answer her. The doctor just jabbed another needle into my arm and shot my mom a warning. "If you keep disturbing the patient, we'll have to call the police."

My mom glared at me, her eyes full of anger. "You bitch, you'll have to come home sooner or later. I'll be waiting for you. If you don't explain yourself, this isn't over."

Two days later, I was finally discharged from the hospital.

During those two days, neither my mom nor Franco showed up. It was just the doctors and nurses looking after me the whole time.

When I got home, just like I thought, my mom was the only one there. Franco was gone.

My mom looked like she'd aged ten years overnight. She kept calling Franco over and over.

"The number you dialed is unavailable. Please try again later."

No matter how many times she called, that same mechanical voice kept coming through.

She couldn't find Franco anywhere.

As soon as she saw me, she tossed her phone aside and lunged at me. "You bitch, you actually came back? What the hell did you show Franco that made him bolt like that?

"It's been two days and I still can't find him. Where the hell could he have gone?"

I gripped her hands tight. "He's a grown man, he's got his own legs. How would I know where he ran off to?"

My mom looked like she was about to explode. "He left right after seeing that video on your phone. What the hell did you show him?"

I wasn't about to tell her anything.

She was losing it, grabbing whatever was close and hurling it at me, anything she could get her hands on.

I hid outside the door, and Amber, our neighbor, heard the commotion and rushed over to break things up.

She said, "Oh my goodness, what are you two doing? Monica's about to have the baby! How could you hit her like that, as her mother?

"Be careful, you could hurt the baby!" Amber scolded.

My mom stood there, hands on her hips, breathing heavily. "Give birth? You think she can still do that? Just look at her stomach."

Amber glanced at my flat belly and gasped. "Wait, did you already have the baby at eight months?"

I shook my head. "No, I got rid of it myself."

Amber slapped a hand over her mouth, totally shocked. "Oh my god, Monica, your baby was almost due! How could you just get rid of it like that?

"If you didn't want a baby, why get pregnant at all? Your mom and Franco were bending over backwards for you this whole time. We all saw it.

"That's just cold."

My mom's tears were streaming down her face. "We pampered her like royalty, hovered over her 24/7. Who would've thought, the moment I stepped out just to buy some groceries, she went and downed a whole bowl of abortion medicine.

"She's a devil, a murderer."

Amber looked at me, her face full of fear. "I never would've guessed. You always seemed like such a kind girl, but you could do something so cruel. Honestly, it's scary!"

She thought I was scary? Fine, let's see how she handled this. I pulled out my phone and waved Amber over. "Amber, check this out."

No surprise there, Amber started trembling in fear the moment she saw the video, just like everyone else had.

"Serves it right! That filthy thing deserved to die!" Amber blurted out.

"Yeah, it deserved it. Damn thing!" Amber muttered, still trembling as she hurried back to her room, started packing up her stuff, and called a moving company.

Her husband was totally confused. "Why are we moving out? Everything's fine here!"

I showed him the video too, and he started packing even faster than Amber, just throwing things into boxes like his life depended on it. By the time the movers arrived, it took them less than half an hour to clear out the whole apartment. Next door was completely deserted, not a soul left.

My mom grabbed Amber just as she was about to step into the elevator. "Why are you moving out? What did she show you?"

Amber jerked her hand away, her eyes wide with fear and disgust.

"Get away from me! Don't come near me, you disgusting thing!" Amber snapped.

My mom totally snapped. "Who the fuck are you calling filthy, huh? Who the hell do you mean?"

Amber jabbed her finger at our place. "Your whole damn family is filthy! Every last one of you!"

Now it was just the two of us left in the hallway. My mom had yelled, she'd hit me, she'd tried everything.

She was exhausted, slumped to the floor, pleading with me.

"Just tell me, Monica, what's on your phone?"

"What did you show them? Why is everyone so scared? Why does everyone keep saying there's something filthy in our family?"