The Day Two Sisters Burned for Husbands Who Never Came

"Sign here, Mrs. Kent," the nurse said, sliding the metal clipboard across the counter.

I took the pen. My fingers felt numb, detached from the rest of my body. Juliet leaned heavily against the tall counter beside me. She wore a borrowed set of gray hospital scrubs. The fabric hung loose and empty over her midsection.

"Did you call the cab?" Juliet asked, staring blankly at the glass exit doors.

"Yes. Five minutes," I replied.

"Good. I never want to see this place again."

"We're leaving," I promised. "We're never looking back."

Before I could hand the clipboard to the nurse, a frantic shout tore through the quiet lobby.

"I need a doctor! Right now!"

Zach Lennon sprinted toward the emergency intake doors. He held Jenna McLeish tight against his chest. Her head lolled backward over his thick forearm, pale and completely limp. Her dark hair brushed against his police badge.

He didn't slow down. He didn't look where he was going. He plowed directly into our space.

His heavy shoulder slammed hard into Juliet’s chest.

She stumbled backward, gasping as her spine hit the sharp edge of the reception desk. I dropped the pen and caught her arm before she hit the floor.

"Get out of my way!" Zach snarled at us.

"Zach?" Juliet choked out, clutching her side.

"She swallowed a whole bottle of sleeping pills! Move!" He kicked the swinging double doors to the ER open, disappearing into the trauma bay.

Footsteps pounded the tile floor behind us. Soren Doyle slid to a halt near the waiting room chairs. His chest heaved, sweat shining on his forehead. He didn't follow Zach inside. He locked his eyes straight on me.

"If she doesn't make it, I will make you pay for this, Eliza," Soren hissed.

I stared at the man I married. "Are you insane?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You pushed her to this."

The double doors banged open again. Zach stormed back out into the hallway. His uniform was wrinkled, a smear of Jenna's foundation staining his collar. He pointed a shaking finger at my sister.

"You couldn't leave it alone, could you?" Zach shouted.

"I didn't do anything," Juliet whispered. She pushed off the counter, taking a fragile step toward him. "Zach, please look at me. Look at my face."

"I don't want to look at you! You're a monster!"

"I am your wife!" Juliet cried. "I was in a fire! I lost—"

"Shut your mouth!"

Zach stepped forward and swung his arm.

His open palm connected with Juliet’s cheek. The sharp crack echoed over the low hum of the hospital monitors.

Juliet spun sideways from the force. Her forehead smashed directly into the metal corner of the bulletin board on the wall. A sickening thud followed. She crumpled to the linoleum floor.

"Juliet!" I screamed.

A thick stream of red blood pooled instantly beneath her blonde hair. Her eyes rolled back. She didn't twitch.

"Get some help!" a nurse yelled, rushing around the counter.

I ignored the nurse. I lunged.

I grabbed the heavy collar of Zach’s uniform, twisting the dark fabric until my knuckles turned stark white.

"You hit your pregnant wife for your first love?!" I shrieked, shaking him with every ounce of strength I had left. "You coward! You piece of trash!"

Zach shoved me hard in the chest. "She deserves worse! You both do!"

Soren grabbed my arms from behind, pinning them to my sides. He yanked me away from his friend.

"Get your hands off me!" I thrashed, kicking my heel backward into his shin.

Soren spun me around. He reached into his jacket pocket and yanked out a crumpled clear plastic bag. He hurled it directly at my face.

The heavy plastic struck my nose. Sharp pain shot through my eyes. The bag burst open on impact. Dozens of small, jagged pieces of paper fluttered to the floor around my feet. Letters cut from magazines and newspapers.

*DIE.*

*LEAVE THEM ALONE.*

*JUMP.*

"You sent her these," Soren growled, pointing at the mess. "You slipped them under her door this morning. You tried to murder her."

I stared at the cutout letters resting on the toes of my hospital slippers.

"I've been in a hospital bed for two days," I said, my voice eerily calm.

"You hired someone to do it, then! You're obsessed with ruining her life!"

A switch flipped in my brain. The desperate need to explain myself vanished. The urge to make him understand my pain evaporated into nothing. I didn't need him to know the truth anymore. I just needed to wipe the self-righteous disgust off his face. I just needed to leave him behind.

Soren raised his hand, stepping into my space to grab my shoulder. "I'm going to have you locked up, Eliza. Both of you."

I didn't flinch. I stepped closer, closing the gap until my chest almost touched his.

"Take one more step, and we die together," I said.

My voice was a dead, flat calm. It wasn't a threat. It was a promise.

Soren froze. His hand hovered in the air.

I raised my right hand and dragged my fingernails hard down the side of his face. Skin tore. Four deep red lines instantly welled with blood across his jaw and neck.

He hissed, stumbling back and clutching his cheek. "Are you crazy?!"

I reached into the pocket of my sweatpants. My fingers closed around the folded hospital discharge report. I whipped it out and slapped it violently against his bleeding cheek.

"Keep your trash," I said.

The paper fluttered down. Soren caught it against his chest.

Behind him, Zach stopped pacing. He stared at me. Then, his eyes dropped to Juliet, bleeding on the floor as the nurses lifted her onto a stretcher. His gaze swept over her flat stomach, then snapped to my equally flat waistline.

Zach's face drained of all color. He reached out and grabbed Soren’s shoulder, yanking him backward.

"Soren," Zach choked out. "Look at her."

"She scratched my face!" Soren yelled.

"Look at her stomach!" Zach screamed.

Soren stopped. He looked at my waist. Then he looked down at the paper crumpled in his fist.

He smoothed out the crease. His eyes scanned the black ink.

The hallway went dead silent. Nurses and patients paused their walking, forming a tight circle around us.

Soren's thumb trembled against the top of the page. The bold, stamped letters faced upward, visible to everyone in the corridor.

*Patient: Eliza Kent.*

*Status: Both twins deceased.*