Trembling With the Strings

“Baby, have I ever told you how much I love you?” Dray whispered.

“I think so,” I breathed. “Refresh my memory?”

He smirked, rolling out of the bed. “I’d love to just lie with you for the entire day, but I promised Demetrius I’d take him somewhere. I figured I’d take the boys, too, including Kai. I’d invite you to come, too, but Marcella wants to talk to you.” He pulled on a pair of jeans and tossed on a shirt, throwing my clothes at me. “I’ll see you later.” He leaned over and kissed me quickly before leaving the room, the door closing softly behind him.

I dressed quickly in the silent room and messed with my hair in the mirror. It wasn’t out of necessity, more so out of habit. The door opened suddenly and Marcy threw herself at me, wrapping her arms tightly around me.

“Well, hello to you, too,” I teased, hugging her back. “So I hear you want to talk to me?”

She nodded, not saying a word verbally. My eyebrows narrowed in confusion, and I grabbed her hand, leading her to the edge of the bed where we sat down carefully.

“Is something wrong?”

She nodded, pushing a hand through her bands and looking away from her. Her hair fell down to frame her face as if it hadn’t been disturbed.

“Is it Robbie?”

She shook her head.

“Is it personal?”

“Kind of,” she muttered, glancing over to me.

I thought for a moment. “Marcy, I haven’t a clue.”

She let out a quiet breath. “Well, Robbie and I have been together for quite some time, and it’s great, don’t get me wrong. But we moved a little faster than perhaps is proper.”

“You mean you two…?” She nodded. “Oh. So you regret it?”

“No, no!” she said quickly, standing up and pacing the floor before me. “It’s not that at all.”

“Oh, then what is it?” I asked softly, and she glanced down to her feet. “You don’t mean…you’re pregnant?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know,” she muttered, looking up at me through tormented eyes. “The tests said different things. How am I to know?”

“Darius will kill Robbie if you are!” I told her, jumping to my feet and shaking my head. “Oh, what are we—I know. We’ll go find out. We’ll put Robbie into protective custody once we know for sure, alright? Let’s pray for a miracle.”

“I don’t want Dray to kill him,” she mumbled, smiling painfully. “Will you go with me? I’m scared.”

I smiled, grabbing her hand. “What kind of sister would I be if I let you go alone?”

The car ride was nearly silent, and Marcy focused on the road the entire drive. I watched the scenery pass outside the window, only able to think of my own troubled child—and the possibility of another.

Oh, why was I worrying? Kai went to great lengths to make me so uncertain of myself and afraid, so it was understandable that he would lie to me in such a way. I hoped my husband would come home alive, but there was no guarantee.

Or I suppose there was. I pulled the cellular phone out of my pocket and flipped it open. Dray never failed to keep me feeling safe, so I figured a call wouldn’t be so much to ask.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, laughter in his voice.

“Just thinking about my boys. What are you doing?” I asked, smiling to myself, able to forget the unpleasant moments yesterday and Robbie’s impending death.

“I’m spoiling them rotten, to be honest. Demetrius needed some new shoes, Marcus had to have this shirt, Jonathan simply loves encyclopedias. It’s ridiculous!”

“What about Kai?”

“Baby, let’s not ruin this chat,” he muttered, sighing. “He’s been hassling me about getting a new horse, and he’ll probably win. I swear four kids are enough to make me bankrupt! I think another would break us, and I’d have to become a street performer! Then again, how do you feel about sleeping with other men for money?”

“Darius!” I groaned. “I don’t think we’re that desperate. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay, so I’m going to go. I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye.”

I flipped the phone shut and shoved it into my pocket, turning to look at Marcy. We were parked, and Marcy was staring at her hands, which were clutching the steering wheel.

“Ready?” I asked her quietly, trying to reassure her with my voice.

She turned the key and pulled it out, shoving the key-chain into her pocket, and she said, “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

We sat in the reception area for what seemed like hours before we were finally ushered in to see Doctor Rosenbaum. She greeted us with an untroubled smile and a warm mentality, something I did not expect of a woman that dealt with ill and dead people throughout the week. She appeared somewhat homely, yet at the same time classic. I suppose it was a bit of a confliction between bland and gorgeous, because she was a vampire. It was hard to explain, but she didn’t seem to be quite as cold as most of her kind. She ushered us in, and Marcy and I sat on the bench while Dr. Rosenbaum sat in a chair adjacent to us.

“Marcella Jameson, we’ll have your results in momentarily, but until then I’d like to ask you some questions. Would that be alright?”

Of course Marcy said yes, so the doctor bombarded her with question upon question. How are you feeling? Are you fatigued, hungry, moody? She asked a lot about feminine stuff, but I couldn’t really focus on all of the questions. Marcy gripped my hand, and I tried to stay supportive as I thought to myself. I hadn’t gotten much sleep lately because Darius always wanted to stay up late and play Yahtzee or Monopoly. Not even kidding. And I didn’t usually do the whole blood thing unless I felt like it, which was rare. Hunger didn’t typically make me angry, but it didn’t need to because Kai was already doing a pretty good job of confusing my emotions beyond redemption. But I wasn’t supposed to be focusing on myself, so I just yawned and tried to stay awake despite the fact that a nap sounded heavenly.

“Okay, Marcella, it looks like your results are negative,” Dr. Rosenbaum finally said, smiling warmly. “You’re not pregnant.”

“Oh, thank God,” I muttered, hugging Marcy. “Now you need to be more careful! I don’t need Robbie’s death on my conscience. Let’s just keep this to ourselves, okay? Now help me up, so we can go home, hmm?”

“Wait!” Rosenbaum practically shrieked, catching Marcy’s hand. “I’d like to talk to Mrs. Jameson, if I may.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll be waiting in the car,” Marcy told me, kissing me on the cheek before abandoning me.

“Is something wrong? I thought you said Marcy is fine,” I said quietly, worried.

She shook her head. “No, Marcella is fine. But I’d like to talk to you for a moment. Would that be alright?”

I squirmed in my seat, looking around the cold room. The only thing on my mind was my demented son, and my hands started shaking. “I guess,” I forced out evenly.

To all her questions, I answered no. I denied everything being asked, and I went to great lengths to assure her that the result would be negative. I did not want to hear a yes, I did not want to hear congratulations, and I certainly did not want to hear them now. I had nothing to worry about, I mean my child would have been talking to me by now, right?

“Gracie, is something on your mind?”

“Yes. I need to get home soon. Are we quite finished?”

“Yes, we are,” she told me firmly, tapping the bottom of her papers with her palm. “Don’t you want to see the results?”

“No, no I do not,” I told her, shaking my head hurriedly. “I would like to go home, I would like to forget I was ever here.”

“That won’t be possible, Mrs. Jameson. You have some news to tell your family.” She smiled. “You’re pregnant.”

I would have passed out; I should have passed out. I wish I had passed out.

“No,” I said. She nodded her head as I shook mine. “You’re wrong.”

“I promise I am not.”

I would have argued further, but my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I kept my hard eyes on her as I reached in and pulled the device out my pocket. “Darius” lit up the screen, and I answered it quickly.

“Dray, honey, what’s up?”

“Can’t you come home? I miss you,” he told me sweetly. “I want to have you all to myself.”

I smiled nervously, casting a single glance to the doctor staring at me firmly. “Yeah, I’m done being out here anyway.”

“Okay, baby. I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye.”

And I left without another word, not speaking again until I was home with Dray, leaving Marcy terribly confused.