Coffin of Hope

Chapter Twenty Three

Marcy came inside Mal's room after leaving the kitchen. She didn't know where he was (mostly because she didn't care and wasn't looking) but she was sure he was in the apartment.

She went to the bed and sat on what was rapidly becoming her side and set her glass of apple juice on the nightstand. She was unsure of what to do now.

The twins were asleep and everything she could have used to distract herself was being shipped to them. Until then or the next morning when the twins woke up, she was still in her self imposed exile.

Suddenly it seemed harder than the first leaving.

She looked up when Mal exited his bathroom. He went to a dresser and opened a drawer, rifling through.

She went passed him into the bathroom and closed the door. She opened his medicine cabinet and frowned. All that was in there was tooth supplies and skin care supplies. All his medicine was gone.

She opened the door. "Where's your aspirin?"

"Why?"

"I have a headache."

He didn't believe that at all. "No, you don't."

She blinked in shock. "What? Yes, I do. How are you going to tell me I don't have a headache?"

"Stop. I know you've been taking my pills."

She instantly knew how he knew. Marc couldn't have waited a week? She shut the door. What was she going to do now?

On the other side of the door, Mal almost knocked on it. He wanted to talk about the situation but what could he say?

He went to the bed and laid down a bit. It took a while but she came out and went to get in the bed. "I think you should go to rehab."

She immediately turned on her side away from him and wrapped up in the covers. "No."

"You cannot drink and do drugs pregnant."

Damn! She kept forgetting she was pregnant. She didn't exactly want to hurt her baby. Maybe she could do the same thing again? Give birth then disappear? This time leave the baby with Mal so he wouldn't resent her?

Although she didn't know why she cared that he resented her. And she knew he resented her. She knew it before they even gave up the twins.

But she couldn't do this anymore. Maybe she could stick it out for the baby growing inside and shore up some good memories for the twins but after the baby was born? She had to kill herself. There was no other way.

"I want a baby." She whispered.

He barely heard her but that didn't make sense. "You're pregnant."

"I want a baby now." Something to distract herself from her life.

He didn't exactly know how to respond. "Uh..." He scratched his head. What did that even mean?!

"I want to adopt, Mal..." She explained flatly.

His eyes widened. Oh! That was actually not hard to guess but it was ‪two o'clock‬ in the morning after a long flight and an entire weekend with their family. Forgive him for being a step behind. "Oh."

She was less than impressed by his low answer. "Well?"

"You want to adopt?" He didn't get it. "We have the twins and you're pregnant."

"I want a baby now." She repeated.

He thought through it quickly. If it'd make her happy and she'd go back to how she was, why not? "If you go to rehab."