A Shade Darker ✔️

{Chapter Forty Five}

Waking Up, Feeling Naked

August 20th, 2017

Ashley

I tossed and turned all night and now I felt disgusted. Sleep was hard to come by some nights. Cramps were beginning to form everywhere in my body, but last night was strange. Last night I felt like hot coils were folded in my stomach and someone kept turning up the heat. Cramps had me crying and moaning in agony. My skin felt like it was being pulled tight and stretched as far as it could go until everything suddenly stopped.

I had flipped on the light, succeeded in pissing Mike off with my pain and suffering and lights flipping on and off, so I pushed a finger onto his spine and gave him a light shock. Which may or may not have been a good idea considering he grabbed a pillow, threw back the blankets and proceeded to sleep on the floor for the rest of the night.

I stayed up for hours, reading about the pregnancy of both vampires and witches, but not succeeding in finding those of half breeds. I guess you can kinda figure out how frustrated I had become as well. After being in agony for almost four hours and then not getting any straight answers, and watching Mike snore on the floor was making the pressure in my head increase.

Eventually I threw the book on the floor, closed my eyes and essentially passed out.

****

August 21st, 2017

"Incredible..." Mike's voice wakes me and I let out a small groan, shivering slightly and feeling my skin rise with goosebumps.

I can feel his hands, large, strong and smooth as they run under the silk of my camisole and to my stomach where they continue their caress.

I smile in my drowsy state, keeping my eyes closed. I sigh heavily.

"Does this mean you forgive me for last night?" A small chuckle and it's against my skin, against my stomach where my belly button was.

He placed a kiss there and I felt him nod.

"Oh I forgive you, all right. Open your eyes and look at this. I've never seen anything like it in my life" There was excitement and intrigue in his voice.

I narrowed my eyebrows and sighed before opening them, blinking a few times until his face came into focus.

He was laying atop my stomach, his cheek pressed against my skin and my camisole pushed high until it reached to the bottom of my breasts. He was still rubbing his hand over my skin, his eyes looking at me like I was a rare wonder.

I gasped and scrambled backwards as if to try and get away from my own body.

My back hit the headboard and I clutched the blankets at my sides, breathing heavily.

Yesterday my body seemed normal, the same size and shape as it had been for a few years now. Even being pregnant, you couldn't even tell it before today. But now all of a sudden I wake up and there it is!

"Holy shit...this isn't right" I looked as if I had been pregnant for months. I looked like a woman almost ready to pop into labor. And all in just a few hours.

The intrigue is still in his eyes as he pokes a finger at one breast and adds:

"Do you think there's milk yet? They seem to have swelled" I slap his hand away and throw back the blankets, rising and feeling the camisole fall back down over my hips.

I looked down at my own feet which feel foreign on my body, only to see that they too are swollen.

I could feel my heart rate rising and I didn't bother grabbing my robe before walking out and down the stairs.

"Lucile?! Lucile!" She acts startled, but laughs and smiles as I walk into the kitchen with Mike close on my heels.

"Oh my, lass. Quite a prize winner ye've got there" She says, humor in her voice as she motioned towards me with her wooden spoon and I blow out a breath to sit down on the kitchen stool.

"Yeah, exactly. And this prize winner just suddenly appears overnight. Explain that" Lucile shrugs but seems curious.

I push Mike away once more as he probes and pokes at my ever growing body.

"Well, maybe it's just you're hormones. Have ye read up about it? I've seen you with the boks lately" I nod, feeling exhausted again.

"They don't provide many answers. Basically the only info I have is the gestation period, but even that's not real clear. It's either nine months or six, and I've only been pregnant since the middle of July. It's August. That's barely a single month" Lucile taps the spoon against her chin and narrows her eyes.

"Do ye think you've grown so rapidly then because it will come in six months?" Mike looks over at me and I want to say something, but the door knocks and all attention turns to it.

Lucile opens the door, only to see that there was no one, only a small wrapped basket and a little note attached.

She smiles at me before bringing it over.

"Another gift for the child, I'm assuming" She places the wrapped basket in front of the both of us and I take the note while Mike unwraps the basket.

He pulls out a small mobile, stars and a sun and a moon hanging from the small twinkling strings. It looked expensive, glass and shiny.

I open the note and stare down at it.

Sorry.

~B

I look up, swallow with a tight throat and drop the note on the counter.

The smile on Mike's face was so large, and when he looked at me, so proud and full of love and admiration.

I smile back, look down at the child inside of my stomach and hold my head.

Mike reaches for the note but I grab it first and act calm.

"Another one from the ladies in the village" I comment, knowing it was believable because everyone had at one point of another sent us a gift of celebration.

I hold the note tightly in my hand and stare down at it.

I knew now that Billie was human, that he couldn't hurt me. But could he really be forgiven? Could I forgive him and forget about our past? Or was this just another set up?

The note drops from my hand as a rush of air leaves my body and has me gasping. I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach, and once I feel it again, only a duller movement, it's obvious that it's exactly what's happened.

"Strength...gotta admire that" I say breathlessly, rounding up a howl of laughter throughout the kitchen.

I smile at the mobile and take it from Mike's hands.

"I know the perfect place"

OMG THIS CHAPTER SUCKED. SUCH A FILLER.