Terror

Chapter Seven

"Okay, I think we're doing this right," Cindy said.

Scarlett did not plan to give birth three months earlier than she expected. Contractions feel like period cramps, except worse. She felt fear and pain because she had never done this in her life.

Another contraction was released as she hissed in pain. They kept increasing in pain as she felt tears at the edges of her eyes.

"What the hell do we do?" Nevaeh asked, looking at Cindy. "I've watched Sixteen and Pregnant with my two older sisters, but seeing this in real life is a whole different story."

"Do I look like a doctor?" Cindy exclaimed.

"I think I see a head," Nevaeh remarked.

None of this was helping because this didn't feel like a normal pregnancy to begin with, other than the awful contractions. She didn't feel she had to do any of the gross stuff that she didn't even want to think about.

"It's a girl," Nevaeh said as Cindy cut off the umbilical cord with the knife. "It's slimy."

The baby cried as Nevaeh tried to swaddle it in a towel. The baby calmed down to look with bright blue eyes. She latched on to her to eat, while Scarlett leaned her head back against the wall.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll have kids," Nevaeh remarked as she stood.

"You have to name her," Cindy said.

What names did she like for girls again? There had been Victoria, Lydia, and Alyssa. No, she remembered the name she liked.

"Cassandra," she breathed out.

"You need a middle name?" Nevaeh said as she bounced over as Cindy attempted to clean up the area.

"Delilah," Nevaeh waved a finger in acknowledgment.

"That's fitting," Nevaeh said, leaning against the cement wall.

Strangely, Scarlett no longer felt any pain in her body. Does it normally clear away quickly? Half her body was destroyed as a result of starvation from the small amounts of food she had been given.

"All of the blood is gone," Cindy remarked.

"You were wiping it all up," Nevaeh said, but Cindy shook her head.

"Did the baby..." Cindy trailed.

"You guys do realize that Ashley's plans have failed," Nevaeh said.

Ashley's plans failing was a miracle, but she wanted to be a good mother to Cassandra. Yet she knew her daughter was putting a pause on Ashley's endgame.

Cassandra stared up at her, which Scarlett noticed the dark brush of brown hair. It seemed a bit darker than her own dark chocolate hair.

"Should we stay here or head back?" Nevaeh asked.

"I don't want to take the risk of going out there," Cindy explained.

Scarlett held out her finger to Cassandra's opposite hand, which she gripped. As any baby could, she still seemed normal.

"Should we tell Zane, or do you want me to tell Greyson?" Cindy asked.

"I'll tell Greyson unless he finds out somehow," Scarlett said.

When she woke up that morning, her jaw dropped because on her lap slept a toddler. This became the point where she knew that she wasn't some normal child that took years to age. Cassandra could increase her age through food or sleep.

Stick quietly opened the door, looking around to stare blankly at the sight. "I thought you just had her?" he inquired softly.

"Increasing age," Scarlett whispered.