Page 145 of What Comes Around

“She pushed me!” My voice cracked into raw hysteria. “She pushed me!”

Ashley frowned. “Apple…?”

The bodyguard moved instantly, stepping forward, but I screamed louder, making sure it carried beyond the porch, beyond the house, to anyone watching, anyone listening.

“My baby!” I sobbed. “She tried to kill my baby!”

Doors cracked open. Faces appeared. Phones lifted, already recording.

I curled tighter on the pavement, rocking slightly, dragging sobs from deep in my chest. “Call an ambulance!” I cried. “Please, my baby!”

I forced myself to look up, expecting panic, fear, anything.

Ashley just stood there, a faint frown on her face.

She didn’t move. Didn’t rush to me. Didn’t defend herself.

She just watched.

And somehow, that made it better.

People would see it. How cold she was. How she didn’t even try to help a pregnant woman in distress.

“She pushed me!” I screamed again, letting my voice splinter into raw hysteria.

The bodyguard murmured something into an earpiece.

I curled tighter, letting my body shake, letting the sobs rip through me as the distant wail of sirens grew louder, bouncing off the buildings, closing in.

Good.

Let them come.

Let them see.

Let everyone see exactly what Ashley had done.

Chapter 45: Unaffected

I stood there a moment longer, watching Apple writhe on the pavement, her voice tearing through the street as she screamed and clutched her stomach.

Pathetic. Completely unhinged.

I turned to Lena. She had already shifted position, standing just behind Apple now, her stance steady, attention split between her and the growing crowd gathering along the sidewalk.

“You’ve got this?” I asked quietly.

Her gaze snapped to me. “Yes.”

That was enough.

I stepped back inside and pulled the door closed behind me. The sound dulled immediately, but it didn’t disappear. Apple’s voice still carried through the walls, muffled but relentless, rising and falling in waves of hysteria.

“She pushed me! She tried to kill my baby! Help me!”

I moved into the living room and sank onto the couch, folding my arms as I listened. Lena’s voice cut in occasionally, trying to contain it, but it didn’t matter. Apple was already too far gone, fully committed to the scene she had created.

I leaned back, letting the noise blur into the background.