Little Pink Plus Sign

Just Open It

I stared at Lissa and raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean? Of course, you can drink! Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean you have to endure this prohibition with me.”

She giggled, wiping away more tears from her cheeks. “Rose, you aren’t listening.” She reached into her purse and dug for something, stopping abruptly when our waitress returned. Lost to confusion, I wasn't even sure what I ordered. Then, as soon as Clarice was gone, Lissa slid something my way.

A pregnancy test.

A positive pregnancy test.

“Rose, I’m pregnant too. I’m due in December. Christian doesn’t know.”

Sure that I had the stupidest smile on my face, I grabbed her hands and practically squealed. “You’re having a baby.” She nodded. “You’re going to be a mom.”

“No, Rose,” she said shaking her head. “We’re going to be moms. Our babies will grow up together. They’ll have each other just like we did.” If it were possible, her face brightened a bit more. “Now that you won’t have to work, we can spend so much more time together!”

Gravity tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Liss, that’s the worst part. I can’t be your guardian for a while. I –”

“Rose weren’t you listening?” Squeezing my hand, she said, excitedly, “No more silent guardian bull. We can finally have conversations and be pampered together and it’ll all be perfect!”

There she was. Golden Lissa. Always brightening the mood. I hated to spoil it all, but I had to be realistic. “Lissa, I don’t know how this is going to work. My situation isn’t like yours. People are going to think things, terrible things about me and Dimitri and this baby.” I looked down, playing with my napkin. “Not only that…chances aren’t good for us.” Subconsciously, I placed my hand on my stomach. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes and promptly swallowed the lump rising in my throat.

“Stop.” Her hand landed firmly on mine. “Your baby will be amazing, a mini-Rose or Dimitri.”

“That isn’t what worries me,” I said, my voice catching. “The chance of miscarriage is so high Lissa. No baby born of two dhampirs has ever…”

Pulling my chin up so that my eyes met hers, Lissa smiled. “It’s all going to be perfect. You’ll see.”

Though anxiety coursed through me, I couldn’t help but smile. Lissa’s positivity and happiness was contagious. I knew that deep down she was worried too, but she’d never let me know that. Since the bond had disappeared, she’d gotten slightly better at hiding her feelings from me, but after so many years inside her head, I almost knew her better that I knew myself.

The rest of the day was exactly I needed. We talked and shopped and just relaxed, something I hadn’t done in quite a while. Lissa told me about the names she had picked out for her baby. She decided on Rhea for a girl after her mother and Lucas for a boy after Christian’s father, though she wasn’t sure exactly how he’d take that idea.

Honestly, I hadn’t thought about names. Why name something you’re not sure you can keep? The thought had crossed my mind a few times, but I’d promptly pushed it to the back of my mind and reminded myself of Lissa’s words. It’s all going to be perfect. You’ll see.

After walking her back to her suite and wishing her luck with telling Christian the news, I trudged back to my suite, my swollen feet protesting with each step. The suite was empty, and I couldn’t help but wonder where Dimitri had gone.

Throwing off my shoes, I relaxed onto the couch and allowed myself to drift off slowly. When I woke up, I was covered in about four blankets and had to laugh to myself. Dimitri was notorious for doing that. He always seemed to think I was cold when I slept.

“Your mom called,” he called from the kitchen.

I groaned and sank down into the couch a bit. “Of course she did. What did she say?”

“She wanted to make sure you were okay. She sounded pretty worried. You gotta call her back soon.” He walked in holding his left arm behind his back.

“What’s in your hand?”

He smiled and sat down by my feet. Pulling a small box from behind his back, he handed it to me. It was tied with a small yellow bow.

“What is this?” Involuntarily, I shook the box.

He waved his hand. “Open it.” The smile on his face took over his every feature.

Throwing aside the yellow bow, I cracked the box open and glanced inside. Some sort of fabric? Then, fully removing the lid, I pulled out a small onesie from the box. It was red with yellow edges, the words “Super Hero” written across the front. A small yellow cape trailed behind it. I couldn’t help but smile.

“He or she will take after you and be an amazing hero. I just know it,” he said, caressing my leg.

Smiling, I leaned up to give him a kiss. “Thank you, Dimka.” 

“You’re going to be an amazing mom.”

The tears began to fill my eyes as I whispered, “I love you.” Kissing him softly, I could feel his hunger. His arms wrapped around my waist as he deepened the kiss. He leaned me back against the couch and his hands found their way down to the small of my back. Laughing, I tossed the onesie aside and ran my fingers though his hair.

His hand slid further down, cupping my hip as he leaned further into me. Suddenly, he stopped and sat up, his eyebrows furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, worry coursing through me.

Tearing the blankets off of me frantically, he remained quiet. His eyes filled with panic as they clouded up with tears. I looked down to try to understand and that’s when I saw it. All over my pants and stained into the couch.

Blood.