Antonia
Antonia could barely focus on the road in front of her as she drove home. In the backseat, Daniel and Bobby chatted about their day. Her mind was totally consumed with images from that afternoon—Cal’s sweating, heaving body moving on top of hers. She couldn’t suppress the shivers that ran up her spine just at the thought of Cal’s naked body, his throbbing cock pressing into her again and again and again. Jesus Christ, she thought to herself. She cleared her throat to snap herself out of the fantasy.
She made the final turn on her way back to Cal’s house. If Bobby and Daniel managed to calm down and eat their dinner quickly enough, she would have time to talk to Cal, to clarify whatever the hell was going on between them. He doesn’t want anything to do with me except for the fucking, she warned herself as she headed down Cal’s street. He’s just going to let me down easy. And I’ll be okay. It’ll be fine. I don’t need a boyfriend. Even if I want one. It doesn’t matter. I’ll be fine.
Still, Antonia slowed down a little bit as she headed for Cal’s house, willing this last moment of hope to last as long as possible. Please don’t reject me, she silently prayed as she rounded the last bend towards the house, hoping that somehow Cal’s heart could hear her silent words. Please just give me a chance. I could be good for you. We could be good together.
Oh, fuck. Antonia almost slammed the brakes when she reached Cal’s house and saw that a cop car sat in the front drive, blue and white lights still flashing. “Shit,” she muttered out loud. She rolled to a stop in front of the house. She collected herself for a moment and sighed anxiously before getting out of the car. She went around to take the boys from the backseat. “Come on, guys, we’ve got to go inside quickly, okay?” Antonia didn’t know why she was so nervous. She’d never broken the law in her life, as far as she could remember, but her heart was still firmly planted in the center of her throat, pounding like it was trying to burst out of her body.
She scooped Daniel up into her arms and gestured for Bobby to follow her. Bobby wrapped his little hand around her pants pocket, stumbling a little as he followed her up the front yard. Antonia was trying to avoid the cop car to get inside the house as quickly as possible, but before she could get there, a man got out of the car and crossed the lawn, cutting them off before they could make it to the front door.
“Hey, there, Antonia,” Paul said, standing there with his hands stuffed inside his pockets. “Having a bad day?”
Antonia narrowed her eyes, but she froze in her tracks all the same, unsure of what to do. “What are you doing here, Paul?”
“Being a dad. Isn’t that what you want me to do?” Paul asked. He stepped a bit closer so that barely a foot of distance separated them. Antonia felt her face heat up in fear, but she tried as hard as she could to keep her face blank and neutral. Do not let him know that he’s freaked you out. Do not let him win, she coached herself. She shifted Daniel up higher onto her shoulder and tightened her grip on him as much as she could without making it obvious to her ex-husband.
“Cut the shit, Paul,” Antonia said in a stern, firm tone of voice. “What’s going on? Why is there a cop car here?”
“Stop cussing in front of my son,” Paul said. He reached forward and grabbed hold of Daniel, tearing him out of Antonia’s arms. Antonia was tempted to reach out and grab her son back, but she could tell from Daniel’s face that he was already scared. She didn’t want to make things even worse than they already were. “I’ve come here today to take care of Daniel. That’s what it’s all about, right?”
“What are you talking about?” Antonia asked. She reached down to grab Bobby’s hand, letting the other little boy squeeze her as hard as he could. She felt like she could taste her own blood, her heart pounding so hard that she felt like she was about to pass out.
“The bruises, Antonia,” Paul said, shaking his head at her. He clutched Daniel close to his chest like he was trying to shield his son. “I know what you’ve been doing.”
“What the fuck are you saying?” Antonia asked. She reached forward for Daniel, but Paul stepped back so that Antonia couldn’t reach her son. “You were the one that was watching Daniel when the bruises happened, Paul. What exactly are you trying to pull?”
Paul shook his head at her, clicking his tongue from behind his teeth and backing away a little more, heading towards the police vehicle. “I thought you were better than this, you know.”
“Paul, stop—what—just hold on a second!” Antonia yelled out as she chased after her ex-husband, reaching out to grab his shoulder to keep him from moving any further across the lawn. “What are you doing? Just stop. Talk to me.”
Paul paused. He turned to look at Antonia, his eyes full of venom. “You got a lot of fucking nerve trying to tell me what to do right now, Antonia.”
“What’s going on?” Antonia asked. She clutched harder onto Bobby’s hand just to give herself strength as Paul scoffed at her.
“The fucking bruises, Antonia! You’ve been hurting our son. It stops now,” Paul said. He then set off into motion again, carrying Daniel along towards the cop car.
“Wait. Wait, stop. What are you saying? What the fuck is going on? Paul, please…please just stop!” Antonia called out, breaking into a run to chase after Paul, pushing her muscles as hard as they could go.
But it still wasn’t enough. Paul got to the cop car first and dropped Daniel carelessly on the ground as he pulled at the passenger side door. “Daniel! Daniel, baby!” Antonia cried out as she pushed her body farther, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she ran after Paul.
“Mommy! Mommy, what’s happening? Mommy! I don’t want to go! I don’t want to!” Daniel cried out, sobbing. Paul picked him up again and grunted wordlessly as he forced him into the car.
“Daniel! Daniel! Paul, wait! Paul!” Antonia cried out as she finally reached the cop car, banging on the closed door, yelling Paul’s name to try to get him to stop. But it was no use. The cop car backed away, almost running over her feet as it skidded back down the driveway, then turned around and pulled out onto the road. “Wait! Please! Daniel! Paul! No!”
The cop car turned on its sirens, howling as it shot down the road. After a few seconds, they disappeared beyond the horizon. “No!” Antonia screamed out. She collapsed to her knees, stuttering out sobs as she listened to the fading sound of the police car’s sirens screaming out into the otherwise silent night.
Her baby was gone.