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𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

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"Sunshine!"

Her sister's voice barely registered as Sunshine bolted through the house, the world spinning and narrowing into tunnel vision. She couldn't breathe, couldn't stay in this godforsaken place for another second. The air felt like it was suffocating her.

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, but she was too numb to notice. Her stomach twisted violently, a deep sickness that seemed to rise from her soul. Flashes of the Rubber Man interchanged with images of Tate, a horrifying montage playing in her mind. How had she been so blind? So desperate for his love that she hadn't seen the nightmare right in front of her?

"Sunshine, why would he say that?"

Her sister's voice was muffled by the storm of despair crashing through her mind. The thin thread of sanity she'd been clinging to had finally snapped. Everything was a lie. The one person she thought she could trust...

Sunshine stumbled into the kitchen and vomited into the sink. Her whole body convulsed as the bile forced its way out, but it was nothing compared to the agony in her chest. This pain—this crushing, suffocating ache—was worse than anything she'd ever felt. It radiated from her heart to her bones, wrapping around her neck and squeezing the air from her lungs.

"Sunshine, you're scaring me," Violet's voice trembled from behind her.

Sunshine shook uncontrollably, wiping the leftover bile from her lips with the back of her hand. She couldn't even look at her sister.

"Sun-"

"Shut up!" Sunshine snapped, her eyes flashing as they met Violet's. "I can't—I can't deal with this right now. I need to get out of this house."

She had to leave, before the house—before he—destroyed her completely.

Sunshine stumbled past her sister, shoving the front door open as she fled outside. Her legs carried her down the porch steps and into the lawn, but she barely made it a few steps before a sharp cramp tore through her abdomen, stopping her cold. Her hand flew to her stomach, panic rising in her chest.

Another, even more intense wave of pain hit her, forcing her to double over, a cry ripping from her throat. "Ah!"

"Sunshine!" Violet's voice was frantic as she rushed to her sister's side, catching her before she could collapse.

Sunshine's anguished cries filled the air, her entire body seized by a white-hot pain. She barely registered Constance running over to help hold her up, her vision blurring through tears.

"Oh, Sunshine, is-is the baby coming?" Constance asked but Sunshine couldn't formulate a response so she looked to Violet for help. "Help me get her inside!"

"No!" Sunshine screamed, her voice raw. "Please, no!"

"When a child's ready, there's no stopping it," Constance said her tone firm despite the situation. "Come on, we've got to get you inside."

Together, they half-carried, and half-dragged her back toward the house. Sunshine's breathing came in ragged gasps, and through the haze of pain, her eyes locked on Constance.

"You knew," Sunshine managed to spit out between agonizing breaths, her voice filled with betrayal. "Didn't you?"

Constance's eyes darted to her, but she said nothing, focusing instead on getting her inside. They eased her onto the loveseat in the music room, Constance quickly placing a pillow behind her head.

Another wave of pain hit, and Sunshine screamed, her body arching from the intensity. It radiated from her abdomen, spreading through her like fire.

"Take it easy, now," Constance instructed, her voice soothing but strained. "Don't forget to breathe. Breathe."

"I can't get any service!" Violet shouted in frustration, snapping her phone shut with a loud clack.

Ben rushed into the music room, his face a look of alarm. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice tight with concern.

"Dad, the baby's coming," Violet said quickly. Sunshine let out a strangled cry from the sofa, pulling his attention to her.

"Daddy, you gotta get me out of here," Sunshine sobbed, her voice shaking. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched her stomach. "Please, don't let me die in this house."

Ben was at her side in an instant, gently brushing the damp hair from her forehead. "Everything's going to be okay, sweetheart,"

"I tried calling an ambulance," Violet chimed in, still clutching her phone, "but there's no service."

"I'll try outside," Ben said, already moving, but Sunshine's trembling hand reached out, grabbing his wrist.

"No," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "Don't leave me here. Please, Dad. Don't leave me."

Ben's heart clenched, but he nodded, squeezing her hand. "I'm going to get you help, baby. I'll be right back." He forced himself to pull away, heading toward the door.

Sunshine's breath hitched, the pain intensifying as another wave hit. "I need to go to the hospital now!"

"It's too late for that," Constance cut in, casting a glance under Sunshine's dress. "You're already crowning."

Sunshine's sobs grew, her body wracked with uncontrollable shakes as the pain overtook her. It was too much, the pressure, the agony—everything was overwhelming.

"Breathe, Sunshine. Breathe," Constance coaxed, leaning over her, trying to keep her calm.

"Fuck!" Sunshine grit her teeth, seething through the excruciating pain. "It hurts so much."

"Well, of course, it does, honey," Constance said, her tone laced with a callousness that only deepened Sunshine's despair. "That's a woman's curse."

As if things couldn't get any worse, the house was suddenly swallowed in darkness as the power went out.

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Sunshine's vision blurred in and out, barely registering the soft flicker of candlelight around her. Her eyes drifted down to see the ghost of Charles Montgomery preparing for her delivery. She blinked, trying to clear her sight, but whatever they'd given her for the pain made everything feel distant, muted. A sheet had been draped over her legs, granting her privacy.

"Nurse, bring me my doctor's bag," Dr. Montgomery instructed. "Find me the 12-gauge scalpel."

He continued barking orders, the sound of towels being spread beneath her barely registering.

"Sunshine."

Her mother's voice cut through the haze, pulling her from the darkness. Sunshine blinked, her eyes slowly focusing on Vivien, who hovered over her.

"Mommy?" Sunshine's voice was slurred, heavy with sedation. "I can't— I can't be here." Each word was a struggle, dripping with the weight of exhaustion and fear.

Vivien knelt beside her, gently stroking her hair. "The baby is coming, my love."

Sunshine's lip quivered, but that was all she could manage under the fog of the medication. Deep down, she knew. She wasn't going to survive this—not in this house. She felt like a pawn, trapped in a cruel game she never agreed to play.

Her eyes drifted to the nurses from the basement that surrounded her, attending to her as if this were any normal birth.

"What's happening?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"The house is trying to help," Constance said from a few feet away, arms crossed. "And right now, you're in no position to refuse."

One of the nurses leaned over the back of the loveseat, gently dabbing a washcloth across Sunshine's sweat-soaked forehead.

"Honey, you need to push, okay?" Vivien's voice sounded distant and blurry to Sunshine, her face hazy.

With trembling reluctance, Sunshine nodded, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She took a deep breath, bracing herself as she pushed, her anguished cries echoing through the room. The pain intensified with each push, making it nearly unbearable.

"You're doing great, baby," Vivien soothed, wiping away her daughter's tears.

"You need to breathe, Sunny," Ben encouraged, kneeling beside Vivien.

Sunshine tried, but the agony was overwhelming, suffocating her attempts to take a breath.

"I need forceps, now," Dr. Montgomery demanded.

Ben's gaze darted to the doctor. "What's happening?"

"It's dystocia," Dr. Montgomery responded, gripping the forceps handed to him by a nurse. "I have to manipulate the baby through the pubic symphysis."

Ben and Vivien exchanged a panicked look before focusing back on Sunshine.

"I can't do this," Sunshine sobbed, shaking her head as tears spilled down her face. "I can't."

"You can," Ben said firmly, guiding her to look into his eyes. "I promise you, Sunshine, you can do this."

"Dr. Harmon, tell her to stop pushing until I say so," Dr. Montgomery ordered.

"You hear that, Sunshine?" Vivien's voice quivered but remained strong for her daughter. "You need to stop pushing until he tells you to."

Sunshine nodded weakly, holding her breath, trying desperately to resist the overwhelming urge to push. The pain surged through her, her body fighting against her will.

"It hurts," Sunshine whimpered.

"Just squeeze my hand as hard as you can," Ben said softly, gripping her hand tight and trying to anchor her.

She squeezed with everything she had, fighting against the primal urge to push.

"Get the gauze ready to stop the bleeding," Dr. Montgomery commanded, his voice cutting through the tension. He turned back toward them. "Now, Dr. Harmon."

"Push, Sunshine!" Ben urged, his voice filled with emotion.

Sunshine let out a strangled breath and pushed with all the strength she had left, a scream tearing from her throat.

"Push! Push!" The room buzzed around her, voices encouraging her, but the pain was all she could feel.

"Don't stop now, angel!" Constance's voice called from the side. "The end is near. I can see him!"

Sunshine's entire body trembled, her senses overwhelmed, screams ripping through her throat. She grabbed onto a nurse's uniform with her free hand, clutching with desperation.

And then, suddenly, relief.

A wave of calm swept over her, and a small, piercing cry filled the room. Sunshine gasped, her eyes snapping open to the sight of her baby.

"You did it, sweetheart," Vivien whispered, kissing her daughter's head gently. "You did so good."

But as the baby continued to wail, Sunshine's vision softened once more. Her body gave in to the deep exhaustion, the pain fading into a strange numbness. She felt herself drifting.

"Is everything all right?"

"She's bleeding," Dr. Montgomery muttered grimly. "I have to stop the bleeding."

The sound of blood trickling filled the room as Sunshine's vision wavered, the world around her darkening. She heard voices—faint, muffled—fading in and out like a dream she couldn't grasp.

"Nurse, apply pressure!"

"What's happening?" Vivien's panic broke through the haze.

"She's going into shock," Dr. Montgomery said, his voice tinged with urgency. "I can't stop the hemorrhaging."

"Sunshine, stay with me, baby." Vivien's voice cracked, her tears flowing freely as she watched her daughter slipping away.

"Sunny." The soft voice called from the edge of her awareness.

Sunshine's eyes flickered to the sound, her gaze drifting beyond her parents to see Violet standing there.

"Violet," she whispered.

Ben and Vivien glanced at each other, unable to see Violet.

"Listen to me," Ben urged, his voice pulling at Sunshine's fleeting focus. "Concentrate on my words."

But Violet's voice cut through the panic. "It's okay," she said softly, tears in her eyes. "If you're in pain, let go."

Sunshine's lips quivered, her mind numb, her body too weak to fight. "I don't think I have a choice,"

"Hold on, Sunshine," Ben pleaded, his tears falling. "Stay with me. Please, stay with me."

"Come to this side. Let go," Violet said through her tears. "You can be with me."

"Okay," Sunshine whispered, surrendering as the darkness consumed her. Her eyes fluttered closed, her body too tired to continue the fight. All Sunshine could hear through the enveloping darkness were the faint, distant murmurs of voices, echoes lost in the void.

"I'm sorry. She's gone."

"No..." Vivien's anguished cry pierced through the fog. "My baby... My baby!"

Ben's sobs broke through next, choked and raw, as he moved closer to his daughter's still body. Trembling, he placed a hand on her cold cheek, his voice cracking as he began to sing through his tears.

"You are my sunshine..."

"My only S-sunshine..." He hiccupped, but pressed on, his heart breaking with each word.

"You make me happy when skies are gray..."

Sunshine blinked, her eyes fluttering open, though she wasn't lying on the couch anymore. She was standing—standing beside Violet. Her heart clenched as she looked down at her lifeless body, seeing her parents shattered in grief. Tears fogged her vision as Violet's hand interlaced with hers, grounding her in this strange new reality.

She felt her sister lean her head against her shoulder, the weight of loss shared between them, both crying silently.

His voice faltered, shaking with emotion. "You'll never know, dear... how much I love you..."

He leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Please don't take... my Sunshine... away."

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