Chapter 6
The next three days were a blur of sleepless nights and tear–stained days, I stayed in the hotel room, the walls closing in on me, Abby’s face a constant presence, a painful reminder of everything I’d lost.
The insistent ringing of my phone alarm dragged me back to consciousness. I was in the thtub, the water cold and still, my clothes clinging to my body like a second skin. I had fallen asleep again, my subconscious seeking an escape I couldn’t find in the waking world.
For a moment, as I gasped for air, the terror of drowning, the fear that had haunted me since the day I saved Ethan, was overwhelming, I felt Abby’s pain, the suffocating panic, as
if it were my own.
I got out of the tub, my body trembling, and forced myself to get dressed and go out for
breakfast.
And then I saw her. Abby, Running towards me, her face shining with joy. “Mommy, it’s so
warm hère! It’s better than New York!”
I reached out to hug her, a wave of pure, desperate love washing over me.
“Do you like it here, Abby? Should we stay? Just you and me?”
But before she could answer, a hand pushed me aside, a voice filled with anger, “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Get away from my kid!”
I fell to the ground, my mind spinning, the world tilting on its axis. The coldness of the tile floor brought me back to reality.
A woman, herface tight with anger, held a little girl protectively in her arms. “Are you nuts? Trying to snatch my kid?”
I stared at them, my heart pounding
That was my daughter! That was Abby!
I reached for her again, but my hand passed through her, as insubstantial as a shadow.
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“Get away from me, you crazy bitch!” the woman yelled, backing away.
A waiter rushed over, his expression a mix of concern and suspicion. “Ma’am, are you sure you know this child? Are you feeling okay?”
I grabbed his arm, my voice a frantic whisper. “That’s my daughter! She’s mine! Please, you have to believe me…”
“I think you’ve made a mistake, ma’am. That’s not your daughter.”
I watched them leave, my heart shattering. The little girl had short hair, unlike Abby’s long, golden curls.
It wasn’t Abby.
I was losing my grip on reality.
“I’m so sorry. I… I don’t know what I was thinking.”
I stumbled back to my room, but I couldn’t find it. I wandered the hallways, my mind a fog of grief and confusion, the numbers on the doors blurring together. It was as if the hotel itself was conspiring against me.
Defeated, I left the hotel, walking towards the beach, seeking solace in the familiar sound of
the waves.
The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the sand. The beach was almost deserted.
My phone buzzed, a brief vibration in my hand, then went silent. A few minutes later, it buzzed again.
I stared at the screen, my heart skipping a beat: Ethan Carter.
I hesitated, then answered.
“Grace? Are you and Abby on vacation? When are you coming back?”
“Ethan..” My voice, carried away by the wind, was barely a whisper. “There’s no coming back… not anymore…”
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Tears streamed down my face as I looked at the endless horizon, the phone slipping from my grasp, landing on the sand with a soft thud.
There was no coming back. Not from this.
The waves, cold and relentless, rolled in, lapping at my feet, rising higher, pulling me under.
I didn’t fight. I welcomed the familiar terror, the suffocating darkness.
his was my punishment. This was my escape.
