The Survivor (Book 2)

Chapter 16

I stepped down the long hallway, walking past a good deal of doors before stopping at one. I pushed it open hesitantly and stepped in, fearing it would be a nightmare rather than a dream.

I stepped into Zack’s room–I assumed it was Zack’s since he was lying on the bed. The room was one I’d never been in before, but I stepped toward him. He was lying on his wings and his head was hanging over the foot as he scrolled through something on his phone.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, putting the phone down, and hopping off the bed. He set me down carefully as if I was elderly and fragile. “Morning sickness gone, I presume?”

“Morning sickness?” I asked with a small smile.

“That’s what it’s called, right? When you’re throwing up because of…” he placed a hand on my stomach gently. There was a barely noticeable bump under his hand and I giggled with a nod. “You’re so cute,” he kissed my forehead. “C’mere,” he lied down and I lied down next to him. He rubbed the bump.

“I don’t suppose we know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?”

“Not yet,” he smiled. “I want a daughter. She’ll look like you.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” I rolled my eyes with a laugh. “If it’s a girl, I want her to look like you. If it’s a boy, I want him to look like me.”

“I want to name her.”

“You’re hell-bent on a daughter, aren’t you?” I ran my thumb over his lower lip and he kissed it gently. “You need a daughter. Need something to calm you down.”

“Am I too rambunctious for you?” he smirked.

“Only a little,” I teased. “I love you,” I kissed his lips. “Okay, what do you want to name her?”

“Pandora,” he said softly. “I just really like that name.”

I nodded in agreement, “Definitely. But what if he’s a boy?”

“If he’s a boy,” Zack frowned and pondered. “Cody.”

I nodded, laughing quietly. Zack frowned at me, pulling my shirt up before kissing my stomach tenderly. “I didn’t realize how much you’d settle down after we started a family.”

“We’ve still got quite a few months,” he chuckled. “And, trust me, kids are not going to make me settle down quite as much as they should.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, you’re not going to stop turning me on once we have kids,” he said into my cheek. “You’ll never stop doing that.”

I turned to look at him, running my fingers over the stubble on his cheeks. “I like this.”

“My laziness?”

“Yeah,” I kissed the tip of his nose. “Zack, where’s everyone else?”

Zack blinked at me. Shit. I said something wrong. He took a deep breath, “They…they died, sweetheart…remember?”

My breath caught in my throat, “Eros? Tay? Av?” I shook my head, unable to believe that they were all dead. Zack nodded. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” he latched onto me, hugging me tightly and kissing my cheek. “It’s just us. Us and Pandora.”

“Or Cody,” I pointed out. “I think it’s a boy,” I rubbed the bump. “I think you’re a boy.”

“I think you’re a girl,” Zack kissed all over my stomach, resting his cheek on the bump and looking at me with a wide smile. “I love you both more than I even knew was possible.”