Page 99 of Dark Truths

“And what do you think?”

“I just want them healthy.”

“They are.” She smiles reassuringly at me. “They’re both measuring and weighing in the high percentile, which is fantastic for twins. You’re doing everything right, Momma.”

Her praise reassures me a little, but the doubt lingers. There’s no getting around that.

“Are you ready?”

No. Dimitri’s not here. I raise my hand and press the necklace, but it stays silent. Rose grips my hand and my eyes shift to her vibrant green ones. She smiles and I slowly return it as I remember she did all of this alone with Liam. Drawing on her strength, I squeeze her hand and turn to the doctor. “I’m ready.”

“Let’s see,” the doctor shifts the wand a few different ways, causing the screen to change views. “Baby number one is…a girl.”

Rose high five’s the air and exclaims, “Yes!”

I smile wide at the baby’s silhouette on the ultrasound screen. A little girl. I can see her now in my mind’s eye. Rich, dark hair like her father’s and his beautiful blue eyes. Not as bright, but just as special and unique.

“And baby number two,” the doctor continues, “is being a little stubborn. Come on, little one.”

I watch Michael push off the wall and approach. He sets his hand on my shoulder, and I cover it with my own. We may have our differences about Dimitri, but he’s still my big brother and these babies are his family, too.

“Ah, there we go…and wow,” the doctor exclaims. “There’s no doubt about it. Baby number two is a boy.”

She points to the screen. The paused image is odd—two pencils sticking out of a blob with some sort of lump in the middle with another protrusian. I tilt my head, trying to see it from a different angle, and then it clicks in my brain. I’m looking at my baby’s bottom and legs. And that mass in the middle is proof that he’s a boy.

“Damn, girl,” Rose whistles low. “Is Dimitri—”

“Don’t even think about finishing that question,Rosa,” Michael warns.

I catch Rose’s curious expression and answer her unspoken question with a wink and a smile.

A little boy. I wonder if he’ll have my eyes or his father’s.

Michael’s phone rings, and he steps out of the room to take the call.

The doctor finishes her measurements and prints out a strip of photos, including two that prove the genders of both. “The receptionist will burn a CD of the recording for you, and I’ll see you in about a month. Let me know if you have any questions or if anything happens between now and then.”

She leaves just as Michael returns, quiet and obviously deep in thought with his eyes cast down to the floor.

“What is it, honey?” Rose asks, seeing the same thing I am. “Something wrong?”

“Yeah.”

The sinking feeling comes back with a vengeance, causing my heart to pump loudly in my ears. My hand drifts to my necklace and I grip it tight. “Say it, Michael.”

Slowly, he lifts his eyes and I see it. I see my heart breaking. I see my world flipping on a dime. “It’s Dimitri. He’s dead.”

37

Gabriella

Dimitri is not dead.He can’t be.

He hasn't run off either. He wouldn't do that. Not now. He promised me. After everything he's done, confessed to my family, getting married…no he hasn't run off and he's not dead.

So everyone saying he is can fuck right off and go to hell for all I care. I’m tired of hearing it. If he were dead, I would know it. I would feel it in my very soul. And until I see a body, he’s alive. There is no other truth but that. And wherever he is, I need to get to him. I need to find him.

Pressing on the pendant, I brace myself for silence, as I haven’t received a response in over a day…

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