Marker of Hope by Nely Cab Page B

person living in my
stomach. I can’t fathom it.” I shook my head. “How did it get in
there?”
    “Well, I remember you were the one who
undressed me. I didn’t put up much of a fight, and then—”
    I slapped his arm playfully. “That’s not what
I meant. I mean, how is it possible there’s a heartbeat in a
miniscule 5.6-millimeter soul growing inside me? It’s
like…like…”
    “A miracle?” David asked.
    “Or magic.”
    I picked up the picture of the sonogram and
stared at it. David leaned down and put his head next to mine.
    “Isis,” David turned to look at me, “did you
really try to kill someone?”
    I pulled the hem of my shirt over my stomach
and sat up. Don’t you dare lie to him , I warned myself.
    “Yes,” I said. “Eros followed Galilea to my
house. He kissed me—” I measured his reaction for a quick second
before I continued, “and…I bit him. I tasted his blood. I didn’t
even realize what I was doing.” I looked down, ashamed to be
admitting this to him. “If he hadn’t stopped me, I wouldn’t have
stopped on my own.”
    David’s lips pressed together. Dr. Gunn
appeared at my side.
    “Are we ready?” The doctor asked.
    “Could you give us one more minute, please?”
David rubbed his face with one hand. The doctor nodded and left us.
“How long ago was this?”
    “Last night.”
    David’s nose flared. I cringed.
    Wait for it… Wait for it…
    “His lips were on you last night ?” He
growled.
    And there it was.
    “Aren’t you the least bit concerned I
could’ve killed him?”
    “I wouldn’t give a damn if he were rotting in
hell.” David’s chest rose and fell faster than normal. He took a
moment to compose himself. “What did he want?”
    “You’re not going to like this,” I warned
him. “I made an arrangement with him in Athens. He came to collect
on our deal. He wanted me to marry him. But Galilea told him I was
pregnant, and he said the deal was off. Then he told me I should
tell you I was pregnant.”
    “Oh, he was giving you advice—like good
friends, was he?”
    “I can’t believe you’re throwing a jealousy
fit right now.” I jumped off the examination table. “May I remind
you that you’re the one who’s engaged? I should be the one having a
fit. I’m the other woman, David.” I pointed to myself. “Me! I’m
carrying your love child, for goodness sake!”
    David stared at me for a moment. He
suppressed a laugh.
    “What’s so funny?” I asked.
    “My lovechild ? What types of books
have you been reading?”
    “None.”
    “She’s been watching plenty of telenovelas lately.” Galilea was standing off to the side,
listening to us. “They make her melodramatic.” She turned to David.
“You’re engaged? Never mind, that’s none of my business. Are you
done in here? I want to show you this über cute crib I found
online.”
    “Isn’t it a little early to start picking out
cribs?” I asked. “We don’t even know the baby’s gender.”
    “I told you, I like to plan ahead.”
    ***
    After Dr. Gunn got the blood culture he
needed, we all returned to the house. I opened the Christmas
presents Galilea had stocked for me, and slipped into the designer
jeans and shirt I found in the boxes.
    It was nearing five o’clock when David and I
left Galilea’s house. We pulled into the pathway leading to the
estate. He stopped near the remains of Claire’s car, and we headed
to it on foot. He pushed the car up to the path, and then surveyed
the area. By the looks of it, he still possessed his superhuman
strength.
    “You should wait over there by my car,” he
told me. “Things might get a little messy.”
    David set his eyes on a tree by the side of
the pathway. He pushed his weight into the base of the tree. A vein
swelled on his forehead from the force he was using. A minute
later, I heard a loud snap, and roots sprang up from under the
earth. I watched as the tree crashed down, almost in slow motion,
over Claire’s car, bouncing a