As the first punch is thrown at her belly, Melina doesn’t even pretend it doesn’t hurt. Screaming at the top of her lungs as his iron-ringed knuckles punch her stomach, Melina hunches forward, forcing her stomach in as her ribs burn; her face snaps backward as James punches her chin.
“James, please, I am beg….” Melina’s words get choked in her throat as James punches her square in the face. A splitting pain shoots through Melina’s nose as it breaks in two. Melina tastes the metal in her mouth as blood pours out of her nose.
“I wonder if he will still love you once I make you ugly,” James says, punching her in the stomach again.
“Please” she rasps.
“This is just the beginning, love. By the time I’m done with you, Thomas will know never to mess with the Mexican cartel again.”
The punches continue until Melina’s black eyes can no longer stay open. Every part of her body hurts beyond words. Melina feels as if she’s being ripped apart piece by piece. Her ribs are broken, and her hands burn from being suspended in the air for so long; her toes are bleeding from repeatedly scraping the floor, and her face is deformed. Her entire body is in unimaginable pain.
“Hey, hey, no sleeping,” James slaps Melina on the cheek to wake her up. Her eyes hurt as she tries to keep them open, and she’s too weak to even try. Melina feels something dripping down her body from between her legs. Her eyes well up with fresh tears. Her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach, which also aches. Melina did not want to believe she had lost it. She couldn’t, despite everything she’d done.
“No,” Melina screams, throwing her head back. She can’t even dare to look down to confirm its blood flowing between her legs. “My baby is gone,” she whispers, her heart squeezing in her chest. She’s lost her baby and is about to die because of a man who couldn’t care less about her. Melina really wishes James will finish the job this time. She doesn’t want to see tomorrow, when her baby will no longer be inside her. She wishes to die and be free of this horrible world.
Melina snaps out of her reverie once ice-cold water is poured on her. She screams as water touches her wounds, which feel like they’re on fire.
“No sleeping,” James orders.
“Please end it; I’m tired,” Melina rasps. Her throat is sore from all the screaming.
“No, love, not going to happen.”
“Please, I beg of you.”
“It’s too soon, love,” James says as he starts to walk away from her. Where is he going? He should come back and end it. “Stop the video and bring her down,” James orders one of the men in the room.
“No,” Melina tries to kick the man as he approaches her, but he doesn’t stop. He continues to unhook her hands from above. Melina drops to the floor like a piece of paper thrown in the wind. A wince escapes her bruised lips as her injured body touches the cold floor.
“Why did you stop? Please continue.” Melina didn’t want James to stop. She needs him to continue so she can die.
“Take off her clothes.” James ignores her and only speaks to the man standing close to her
Melina did not have any energy to fight the man as he ripped her clothes off. Melina covers as much of her body as she can by pulling her knees up to her chest, her muscles aching as she does so.
“Let’s see how you fall asleep now,” James says as he aims a hose at Melina on the ground.
Melina gets hit with a large amount of water at an uncontrollable rate. Her hands immediately leave her knees and try to prevent the water from touching her battered body. She struggles to breathe as her bruised nose fills up with a lot of water.
Melina tries to avoid getting water in her nose as much as she can, but it doesn’t help. The force of the water is so strong that it hurts her wherever it touches her body. Melina’s hands are insufficient to cover her face, so she buries it in her knees. She notices her blood flowing down the drain. Her aching heart continues to shatter as she watches the blood wash away from her thighs.
James shifts his position and begins to aim the water from above. Melina struggles to breathe, so she drops her knees to the ground. Her legs come in contact with blood mixed with water.
Why is James hurting me so much? I haven’t done anything to him to deserve this. He’s the one who has abused and hurt me. I should be the one wishing to inflict pain on him, but I’m the one in pain. Life wasn’t fair to me.
They believe this will get under Thomas’ skin, but it won’t. They’re just hurting me for nothing. Thomas still despises me and won’t care if they hurt me. I wish they knew.
James turns off the hose once Melina has been cleansed of her blood. She coughs out her lungs the second she’s freed from the water torture. Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she breathes well again.
“Don’t worry, that’s all for today.” James drops the hose on the ground and walks toward Melina.
James places his hands under Melina’s knees and lifts her off the ground. She lies limp in James’ arms, staring at the ceiling as they walk down the hall. Melina is unconcerned about his eyes scanning every inch of her body. All she could think about was the sensation of blood flowing down her legs. Melina still couldn’t believe she had lost her child in such a traumatic way.
Melina’s eyes are heavy, and she doesn’t fight it as they close. She begs God to take her to heaven with her baby the next time she opens her eyes.