Then I felt a sharp cramp low in my abdomen, stronger than anything before, and my knees nearly buckled…

PART 2

I don’t know exactly how long I was out there. Ten minutes? Twenty? Maybe more. In the cold, time lost meaning fast. All I knew was that my hands had stopped hurting because I could barely feel them anymore, which terrified me more than the pain had. My breath came out in weak little bursts, and every cramp in my stomach felt tighter than the last.

I kept thinking about the baby.

I put both hands over my belly and whispered, “Please, please be okay.” But my voice was shaking so badly I could barely hear myself.

I pounded the glass again, weaker this time. The apartment inside looked warm and bright, full of movement, completely disconnected from what was happening just a few feet away. I could see Doña Victoria carrying dishes. I could hear laughter through the glass. Once, I saw Paola walk past the door without even looking at me.

That was the moment I understood this wasn’t a joke to her. It wasn’t a careless mistake. She knew I was there. She was choosing to leave me outside.

My teeth started chattering so hard it hurt. My legs felt heavy and unstable, and another cramp twisted through my lower abdomen, this one so sharp I cried out. I banged again, this time with both fists, panic taking over. “Alejandro!” I screamed. “Alejandro, help me!”

I must have finally been loud enough, or maybe someone noticed the movement, because Doña Victoria turned toward the balcony. Her face changed instantly. She dropped the dish towel in her hands and rushed to the door, yanking at the handle.

It didn’t open.

“Paola!” she shouted. “Why is this locked?”

I saw Paola appear from the hallway, suddenly pale. “I—she just stepped out there. I didn’t think—”

Alejandro came running in right behind his father, saw me slumped against the railing, and went white. “Open the door!”

Paola fumbled with the lock, her hands shaking now. By the time the door slid open, I couldn’t stay upright anymore. I tried to step forward, but the room spun violently. Alejandro caught me as my knees gave out.

“Elena! Stay with me!” he yelled.

I remember his voice sounding far away. I remember his mother touching my freezing hands and gasping. I remember Paola saying, “I didn’t know it was that bad,” over and over like that changed anything.

Then I looked down and saw a damp stain spreading across the front of my leggings.

For one terrible second, nobody moved.

Alejandro followed my eyes and froze. “Is that blood?”

His mother started crying. Paola backed away so fast she hit the wall. And then the pain hit again—deep, brutal, and ripping—and I heard myself scream as Alejandro grabbed his phone and shouted for an ambulance.