Page 43 of Pretty Little Disaster

“What's wrong, baby?” He sounds all sleepy and groggy. “You want me to go out there and tell those assholes to keep it down.”

“No, it’s not them, they went quiet over an hour ago. Something just doesn’t feel right.” I can’t explain what it is but I’ve got a real uneasy feeling.

Nic bolts upright, turns on the lamp, and drags the covers off me.

“Are you having contractions? Because if it’s the Braxton Hicks ones, they are perfectly normal.” It sure doesn’t look as if they’re normal from the way he’s panicking.

“It’s not the baby.” I shake my head and put his mind at rest. “I just…I don’t know what it is.” I’m not going to admit that I just dreamed about my father, or that I’m worried sick about him. It’ll open up a conversation that I really don’t want to have.

“So, you’re hungry.” He sighs with relief.

“I don’t know, maybe.” I shrug, feeling awful for waking him up over nothing.

“What are you feeling? Ice cream?… Cookie dough? How about some watermelon?” He points at me and smiles as he drags himself out of bed and slides into some shorts.

“All of that sounds great. But you don’t have to get it for me.” I bite my bottom lip so he knows that I feel guilty. Food seems to be the cure to everything these days and there's no way I could go back to sleep.

“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.” He leans across the mattress to kiss me, then lowers his head to give the baby a kiss too. “I swear if you’re asleep when I get back?—“

“You’ll do what?” I challenge him, leaning back and rubbing a circle around my swollen belly, it’s a guaranteed get-out-of-jail-free card.

“I’ll probably just put the ice cream in the freezer.” He looks up at the ceiling and kisses me again before he leaves.

The time he’s gone ticks by slowly. I know that because I lie on my side staring at the old, antique clock that's on the bedside cabinet, watching its hands move. I figure it must be precious to Cass’s aunt because it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the decor, everything else here is so modern and up-to-date.

I still can’t put my finger on what’s been keeping me awake, maybe insomnia is the latest pregnancy symptom I get to add to the ever-growing list. Maybe it’s my dream, or that my mind isbusy with the excitement of tonight’s events. Me and Nic came straight to bed after our shower, so I still haven’t shared the news of our engagement with my friends. I wonder how they’ll react.

“Do you think mummy’s crazy for agreeing to marry daddy?” I look down and talk softly to my stomach, twisting the ring on my finger as I smile to myself. I’ve never been in love before so I have nothing to compare my feelings for Nic against.

What I do know is that I really want to be his wife. I want to feel more of his babies wriggle inside me the way this one is doing, right now, and I’m figuring that those wriggles mean our little one agrees that I made the right choice.

I lie for longer, thinking about white dresses and table decorations and when I hear a rattling at the door, I jump when I see a man that looks just like my father tapping frantically on the glass.

“Dad?” I leap out of bed, wearing just Nic’s tee, and swing the door open.

“How did you–”

“No time, I have to get you out of here.” He grips my hand and starts forcefully dragging me out the door, seeming to ignore the fact I’m hardly dressed.

“Wait, Dad, you don’t look well.” He’s lost weight since I last saw him, his grey hair has grown so long that it flops over his face and he has a full, bushy beard.

“Lorna, you have to do as I say and come with me. You're in danger.” He’s not taking no for an answer and after he manages to drag me halfway onto the deck, I manage to find enough strength to bring us to a halt.

“Dad!” I yell at him. “Pull yourself together and tell me what this is about.” My voice comes out surprisingly firm.

“I can’t leave you here, not with him, he’s too dangerous. He–” I hear a tiny whizz speed through the air, and before I canfigure out what it is, my father’s head explodes right in front of me. I stay static, screaming at the top of my lungs as his hand slides from my arm. Looking down my body I see blood all over me and my screams turn silent as I fall to my knees. I can feel his blood dripping off my face, it’s all over my hands and seeping through Nic’s tee. I look at the blown-out brains that are scattered all over the decking and I grip at my hair.

“Lorna?” Nic drops the bag he’s carrying as he rushes through the side gate and kneels beside me.

“Fuck, what happened?” He’s frantically checking me over for injury, covering my body with his as he drags me back on my feet and attempts to get me inside.

“My dad, he was here… he was talking to me.. and then…and then, he was shot.” Suddenly it occurs to me that whoever did this is still out there and my eyes search around the beach as Nic forces me all the way inside, shuts the doors, and rips the curtains closed.

“Get over in that corner away from the window,” he orders but I stand still, dripping in blood and trembling uncontrollably.

“You can’t leave him out there.” I shake my head as I go over and over what just happened, in my head. My dad was here, he came looking for me, thinking I was in danger. Who would have shot him?

“Baby, you have to tell me what happened.” Nic drags me to the corner of the room and tries to calm me down by stroking my hair, seeing the blood transfer from me onto his hands makes it even harder for me to get my words out.

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