Page 12 of Senescence (Inferno World)

I will protect you from your gross asshole, grandpa Bob, and will make sure you never have to deal with him. I will do whatever it takes to make sure you are safe and protected from his rage and ire.

This is a promise I make to you. We will be a family, forever and ever.

With all the love in my heart (and Daddy’s too!),

Your Mom, Lucy Marie

End of August

Four Months Pregnant

Milk, Bread, Bacon.

It’s always the same shit every day from these people. Don’t they realize that there is more to life than just going to the grocery store?

I smiled at the young woman in front of me as she fumbled through her purse to get the exact amount I had told her. She couldn’t have been more than twenty or twenty-one, but here she was grocery shopping with her two young children in tow. I hoped that would be me soon, but it had been four months since my birthday and I hadn’t seen Luke even once.

I was beginning to think I was losing my mind and that my birthday hadn’t actually happened, but the baby growing inside of me told a different tale. I hadn’t felt the baby move yet, but my stomach had grown quite considerably over the past two weeks. It was still easily concealable with my work shirt, but I knew I was in a time crunch to find my child’s father.

I had an appointment in a few weeks to check on the baby and find out the actual gender, but I was completely positive it was a boy. Everything I had read about my current symptoms verified that as well.

I was carrying low in my belly, craving salty foods, and my areolas had turned darker than they ever had before. All signs pointed towards a boy, and that’s what I was going with. If he ended up being a girl, I would be just as happy, but my gut told me he had a little penis. Hopefully Luke would want a baby boy. If I ever saw him again that was.

As if my thoughts were being read and God had finally decided to answer my prayers, the hairs on the back of my arm stood up. Looking up towards the front sliding door of the store, I saw him.

It was Luke.

“Lu-.”

“Hi,” an overzealous woman entered my lane, stacking her stuff on the belt.

The sneer of my lips left as quickly as it had appeared, and I smiled at the young woman who had interrupted my attempt to call out to Luke. I started scanning her purchase haphazardly, my eyes seeking him out. Luke had disappeared in the split second it took me to address the customer in front of me.

“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” The woman asked me, unsure of what I had just said.

“Oh nothing. I’m sorry. I was just talking to myself.”

She nodded her head, but it was clear she didn’t believe me. I didn’t much care what this bitch thought about me or my language. The only thing I cared about was getting Luke alone. If it weren’t for the fact that I had no desire to deal with Bob’s ire, I would tell this lady to take a hike and go searching for Luke right now.

“Twenty-Eight, Fourteen,” I smiled, my eyes still darting around the store. Never in all of my years working here had I rang someone up so quickly.

The woman paid and grabbed her bags, quickly making her way out of the store. With no one left in line behind her, I turned off my light and motioned for Tanya.

“I’m taking a break,” I yelled back at her.

My feet carried me with urgency as I scanned each aisle I passed for the man I was looking for. In the last aisle, I spotted him and I made my way down to the end.

“Luke,” I whispered upon my approach.

He looked up from the package of eggs in his hand and took me in.

“Ten minutes. My truck.”

“I need to tell you som-” I stammered out, halting when I saw the look of anger and irritation in his eyes.

“Go. Now,” he said under his breath.

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