Chapter 9
It had been over two weeks since I’d gotten sick.
I used to think that every day was the same ol’ same ol’, but I learned that was truly the same thing every single fucking day.
Some days Quinnlyn seemed at ease, and other days, he grumbled under his breath more.
Today seemed to be one of those grumbling days.
He paced the room more, seeming like he was too anxious to sit.
He was short-tempered anytime I asked questions.
I finished lunch and took an afternoon nap. I came out of my little room and walked into the main room. He paced in front of the window, hands slightly clenched at his sides, and veins bulging at his neck.
“Is something wrong with you?” I asked.
He shook his head side to side.
“You look madder than a wet hen,” I said, before shrugging my shoulders.
He stopped and looked at me, then shook his head and carried on.
I walked over to the window closest to the closet door and stared out.
No matter when I looked out the window, there were always people moving about the property.
Sometimes I’d see Benji or some of the others that I had seen when I was held in the dungeon.
Sometimes ATVs were driving around, sometimes they were playing yard football.
In the evenings, I’d been paying attention to the moon cycle.
Remembering what Ravik and Quinnlyn talked about.
The full moon was clear to see when it was bright in the sky, lighting the road and the field.
The waxing crescent was harder to spot—a sliver after the darkness of the new moon.
I knew that the new moon was usually thirteen to fifteen days after the full moon, which meant he’d probably leave tonight.
“What happens on the day the moon starts to appear?” I asked, while staring at the guys below us packing the truck with gear.
“None of your business,” he said flatly.
“I mean, it’s one of the two times you leave me, so it kind of is,” I pressed.
“It really isn't—”
“You leave on the full moon, as well?” I cut him off.
“Shut the fuck up and drop it,” he said, anger lacing his tone.
“Hmm… what are you gonna do? Smack me around?”
“I might… go back to your room and watch your mindless movies.”
“I’ve watched the same ones over and over again,” I said.
He plopped down on the couch and threw his feet up on the coffee table. A low sound came from his throat.
“You know… I’ve been reading this book—”
“I. Don’t. Fucking. Care,” he said, cutting me off.
“You should… because in that book there are people who turn into something else on the full moon,” I said, turning my head, focusing on him.
He remained the same, unfazed.
“And? Your point?”
“You leave on the full moon—”
Two knocks hit the wooden door, interrupting me. He got up, unlocked the door, and opened it a crack.
“I got it from here,” the female voice said.
“Thank God,” Quinnlyn said.
He opened the door wider. Annabelle walked in, and he walked out. I was right about the timing of the moon cycle. Not that I had much else to do while I was in here. She came in and smiled at me.
“Good afternoon, Zalayuh!” she said cheerfully.
I glared at her, raising my right eyebrow.
I turned back toward the window and peered out.
Quinnlyn’s truck pulled into the driveway, and Benji got out of the driver’s seat.
A few minutes later, Quinnlyn got in the driver’s seat, and the female who had come to the cell to bandage me up got in the passenger seat.
I turned my head to the side. Interesting.
I remembered him kissing her forehead before she left, but Annabelle had also been asking questions about him.
“How have you been?” she asked.
“Mmkay,” I said.
Quinnlyn turned the truck around and headed down the driveway along with a couple of other vehicles. Everyone who had been outside was now gone. I started walking back to my room when Annabelle started walking toward me quickly. I stopped, jerking my head back slightly.
“Can I help you?” I asked her.
“I wanted to chat,” she said.
“Funny. Just as Quinnlyn doesn’t want to chat with me, I don't have the least bit of interest in chatting with you,” I told her.
She pushed her lower lip out and crossed her arms.
“Yeah… I have a baby sister… that shit doesn’t work on me,” I said, before sidestepping around her and walking to my room.
I shut the door behind me before she followed me in.
Not that I could lock it from the inside, but she could certainly lock me in from the outside.
Probably not the worst thing that had happened to me since I’d been here.
I had turned seventeen weeks the day before.
My stomach was still mostly flat, but I was pretty sure I'd felt little flutters in my lower stomach the last few days.
I laid on my side and picked up the pregnancy book and read through the fourth month chapter again.
At seventeen weeks, the baby was about palm-sized, and body fat was starting to form.
The five-thirty knock came. This time, I wasn't accepting supper from her. I could hear the door open and close, then footsteps got closer to my door, before it opened.
“I’m not hungry,” I said, before she ever got a word out.
“You have to eat,” she said.
“No, I don’t. I’ll be fine,” I said, eyes on the TV.
“It’s not about you. It’s about the baby,” she said.
“The baby will be fine,” I said.
“Eating is important, and it's my duty to make sure you eat,” she pleaded.
“So you can drug me again, because that’s what you did last time, right?” I said, finally turning my head toward her, giving her direct eye contact.
“It’s um… not… um… yeah, it’s not like that.”
“Then what’s it like, do tell me?”
“We all have orders here, and mine is to make sure you eat.”
“Are you planning to hold me down and shove the food into my mouth?”
“What? No.”
“Then listen to the words that are coming out of my mouth: I. Am. Not. Eating. That.”
“Why are you being so fucking difficult?”
“What’s this really about? Me? The baby? Quinnlyn? Don’t think I didn’t notice you asking about him last time,” I said.
“What?” she shouted.
“I don’t think I stuttered, now did I?”
“I’m with Daxyn, you dumb girl! I care about the baby because it should be mine!” she shouted out, before slapping her hand across her mouth.
“What does that mean?” I asked. My heart started beating faster. She was with Daxyn. None of this made any sense.
“Oh… I… nothing…” she said, before turning around and leaving my room.
I immediately stood up and followed her into the main room. She wasn’t going to force me into a conversation and then run away when it didn't go her way. She plopped onto the couch, arms crossed, cheeks flushed red.
“What did you mean by that? The baby should be yours?” I said, hands on my hips.
“Nothing,” she said.
“That sure wasn’t nothing. You slipped and then ran like a little bitch!” I said.
“Please, I’ve already spoken too much. Just eat the food so you can sleep good and not hear anything you’re not supposed to hear,” she muttered.
“So, you did drug me?” I asked.
“I only do what I’m told.”
“What shouldn’t I hear?”
“Nothing… if you’re not gonna eat, go to bed and leave me to dwell by myself before I get the switch tomorrow,” she said.
I stared at her, my brows furrowed. Nothing made sense, and she left me more turned around than before. Clearly, she shared something that she immediately regretted and shut down. She had been bubbly when she arrived, and now she sat there defeated.
After the longest minute, I broke my stare and turned around and went back to my room.
The Lion King was still playing when I walked back in there.
Simba was learning all about Hakuna Matata.
I sat on the bed, with my back pressed against the wall.
The sound of the movie faded as my thoughts ran circles around the conversation with Annabelle.
Around everything that had been said over the last ten weeks.
The movie ended, and I didn’t even remember watching it.
I got up, turned the lights off, and put in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. My eyes instantly felt heavy and—
Awooooooooo
Awooooooooo
A-a-awoooooooo
My eyes burst open, and I looked around the room. Snow White was almost over.
The howling came from all over. Some seemed far off into the distance, but every few howls, it seemed like it was in the next room.
Goosebumps formed all over my arms. I put one of the pillows over my head, holding it tightly over my ears.
My heart was beating faster and harder. I took deep breaths in through my nose and slowly out of my mouth. My heart slowed down.
The howling had stopped. I laid in the dark with Snow White still playing.
I pressed my hand flat against my stomach the way I’d started doing when sleep wouldn't come.
Then it happened. Not the maybe-flutter of the last few days.
Something real. A small rolling push from the inside, gone before I could decide if I'd imagined it. I held my breath and waited. There it was again. I stretched my legs out flat and held as still as I could, as if moving might make it stop. I didn’t know how long I stayed like that.
Eventually, the movie stopped, and the room went silent. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I didn’t want to hand my baby over. I wanted to keep him or her. Every passing day, I loved this little baby more.
I stayed like that until my eyes felt so heavy, and then I pulled the blanket up and went to sleep. I tossed and turned all night. My dreams were vivid and mostly terrifying. Wolves and zombies poured from the woods, chasing me. Annabelle was screaming that this was her baby.
My eyes shot open wide, and I looked around the room. The clock read five forty-five. It was still early, and dark outside. I wasn’t sure if Quinnlyn had already returned or if Annabelle was still out there.
Breakfast usually came around seven. It wasn't as consistent as supper—sometimes closer to eight. I hadn’t wanted to turn the TV on and announce I was awake. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to have another conversation with Annabelle.
The doorknob rattled around, then the door pushed open.
I leaned forward on the bed to look out of my door toward the main door.
Quinnlyn entered the room with a Styrofoam bowl and a juice box in his hand.
His brows were furrowed, and his lips pressed into a tight line.
I sat back against the wall. He clearly was not in a good mood, not that he was ever really in a good mood, but some days were better than others.
He walked into the room, and my head turned toward him. He cocked his head and held up the bowl.
“What’s breakfast this morning?” I asked.
“Hashbrown casserole,” he said.
He walked forward into the room and handed me the bowl.
“How did last night go?” he asked.
“I didn’t eat the drugged food. Annabelle revealed that she and Daxyn are an item, and I’m pretty sure she’s planning on taking my baby from me to keep… so yeah, it was a great night,” I said, shoveling a spoonful into my mouth.
His eyes widened, but nothing came out of his mouth. He turned around and left my room.
“But hey, sorry for assuming she was your girlfriend… guess that would be awkward for the girl that you left with last night,” I said.
His footsteps got further away.
“Wake the fuck up and get the fuck out of here!” he shouted.
My eyes bulged, and I nearly choked on the food in my mouth.
I hadn’t heard him raise his voice quite like that before.
I heard footsteps scramble and run toward the door.
Annabelle pulled at the door and ran out.
I was afraid to lean forward. His heavy footsteps moved toward the door before it shut, and the keys clicked in the lock.