Page 30 of Cipher's Baby Girl
My head snaps up, eyes wide. "How did you?—"
"I have four sisters, two nephews, and three nieces. I know the signs—the puking, the way you've all of a sudden been avoiding the kitchen during meal prep, how you nearly gaggedwhen Hawk lit up a cigarette near you yesterday." He sits beside me, the mattress dipping under his weight. "Plus, I know what happened between you and Cipher."
Something crumbles inside me—the last wall of denial, perhaps. Tears fill my eyes before I can stop them.
"I don't know for sure," I whisper, voice catching.
Rash's presence beside me is solid and reassuring, his leather cut creaking slightly as he shifts to face me better. "But you’re pretty sure."
It's not a question. I nod anyway, a tear escaping to trail down my cheek.
Rash wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him in a brotherly half-hug. His familiar scent of leather and mint gum is oddly comforting. "Does he know you suspect?"
I shake my head, another tear falling, then take a shaky breath that hitches in the middle. "I bought a test three days ago. I just... I've been too scared to take it."
“Do it now. While I’m here for support.” His usually joking demeanor is completely serious. He squeezes my shoulder. "Sometimes it's easier not to be alone for this stuff."
Moving as if on autopilot, I retrieve the pregnancy test from its hiding place beneath my socks in the dresser drawer. The pink box seems to mock me with its cheerful color and promise of "Results in three Minutes!" My hands tremble so badly that I nearly drop it.
Rash gives me an encouraging nod as I head to the bathroom.
The test instructions are simple enough, though my shaking hands make the process more difficult than it should be. When it's done, I set the plastic stick on the counter and open the bathroom door, unwilling to wait alone for the result that could change everything.
"How long?" Rash asks, eyeing the test in my hand.
"Three minutes." My voice sounds distant to my own ears, like I'm hearing it through water.
We sit side by side on the bed, the silence stretching between us, broken only by the ticking of the small clock on my nightstand. Rash doesn't try to fill it with empty reassurances, and I'm grateful. There's nothing to say that will make this less terrifying.
"What if it's positive?" I finally whisper, staring at my hands. "What do I do?"
"Whatever you want to do," Rash answers without hesitation. "And whatever that is, you'll have support."
"I wouldn't force him?—"
"It's not about force," Rash interrupts, voice fierce. "It's about doing what's right. And if he can't see that, then fuck him. You'll have me. You'll have all of us. Shadow Reapers take care of their own."
The timer on my phone chimes, startling us both. Three minutes.
I wipe sweaty palms on my leggings, walk to the bathroom, take a deep breath, and pick up the test off the counter, turning it over to see the result window.
Two lines. Clear as day. Positive.
I step back into the bedroom, the test clutched in my hand like a ticking bomb. One look at my face must tell Rash everything.
He stands, pacing the small space between the bed and the wall. "What do you want to do?"
The question pulls me from my shock. What do I want to do? Despite the fear, despite the circumstances, despite Cipher's rejection, I know one thing with absolute certainty—a clarity that surprises me with its immediacy and strength.
"I want to keep it," I say, my hand instinctively moving to my still-flat stomach. "It's my baby."
Rash nods, relief visible in his expression. "Then?—”
Before he can say more, a loud knock on my door makes us both jump.
"Rose,” Luna's voice carries through the wood. "Open up. We have plans to discuss!"
Panic shoots through me. I glance at the pregnancy test still in my hand, then quickly toss it into the small wastebasket beside my bed as Luna, Sophie, and Angel burst into my room.
