Trembling With the Strings
One Is A Lonely Number
“Why do you get all the lucky breaks, Gracie? What makes you so special?” Katelynn asked me, glaring at me. I looked down.
“What do you mean? I don’t—”
“You have a fiancé that loves you, and you got out of our hellhole! Everyone loves you. Even a complete stranger wanted you for his son when you were a baby! You’re beautiful, you don’t have a learning disorder, and you had life handed to you on a silver platter! You’re marrying a wealthy man that can take care of you and beat up anyone that is in your way. And you’re trying to tell me your life is bad?” she hissed, crossing her arms.
“I don’t have it easy!” I cried out, scowling. “Myloving fiancé beats me! He doesn’t want to keep our baby! Darius is always changing his moods, so I don’t know what to expect. Sometimes I’m afraid to sleep in his arms because he might get angry in the middle of the night and snap my neck! Yes, I have the perfect life.” Wow, I would throwanyone under the bus to justify myself, wouldn’t I?
“You have it better than me! Do you know what I’ve been going through since I ran away? I’ve been raped every day! I sleep on the streets! I’m lucky to get an apple core in two weeks! You get pampered while I’m on the line between death and barely hanging on. Your ‘God’ is playing favorites. He always has.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry if you believe that bullshit.” I grabbed at my tummy and started screaming. What was going on? It felt like someone was stabbing me! “Oh my God!”
“Gracie, what’s wrong?” Darius yelled right in my ear, grabbing my shoulder roughly. “Baby, what?”
I shot up in bed, grabbing my abdomen and crying. What was going on?
“Darius, stay with me!” I begged, grabbing his hand as tears streamed down my cheeks. “Don’t leave me, please!”
“I’m not going anywhere!” he promised, sounding rather frantic. “What’s wrong, baby? Please!”
A doctor came running in and it was then that I realized where I was: a hospital room. What had happened? I vaguely remembered passing out in the lobby. I touched the back of my head and cried out. A shock of pain went through my body and I took my hand off of the bandage. Darius grimaced, grabbing hold of my hand again.
“Well? What’s wrong?” he demanded, standing up. He tried to let go of my hand, but I gripped tighter. He sighed, sitting back down.
“Ah, yes. Gracie Harp—”
“No, Gracie Jameson,” Darius growled through his teeth, scowling. The doctor sighed.
“Alright, Jameson. Well, as you two know she is expecting. She’s having twins—was having twins.”
Darius narrowed his eyes in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”
“Ah, well, her body seems to have absorbed one of the twins. It’s a little odd, but more common than most people realize. It’s called vanishing twin syndrome. The likelihood of this went up since the children are half-vampires, not full human or full vampire. The other child, the boy, should be fine, but the baby girl is gone. That is the reason she was experiencing mild discomfort.”
Darius glanced over to me, skepticism scrawled all over his face. “She’s just...gone?”
The doctor nodded. “The other one may disappear, too, but only time will tell. There’s nothing we can do at this point. That’s why half-vampires are so rare.” He paused. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk.”
“Darius—”
He cut me off. “I lost my daughter.” He looked almost sad, but it was probably just shock.
“It’s not your fault,” I told him, reaching out and touching his arm.
“I know it’s not: it’s yours.”
“What? You can’t blame me for this!” I told him, shaking my head. “Do you think I wanted to lose my baby girl?”
“If you were a vampire this wouldn’t have happened!” He tore himself from me, pacing around the room.
I got up and out of the bed, hoping to talk some sense into him. I grabbed his forearm, begging him to calm down. He turned to me with this crazy look in his eyes.
“I can’t lose another, Gracie. I can’t lose my son.”
“Darius, what are you planning on doing?” I asked, a little scared. I let go of him, biting my lip. “There’s nothing we can do.”
“Yes, there is. I can bite you. Right now.”
“What do you mean? I don’t—”
“You have a fiancé that loves you, and you got out of our hellhole! Everyone loves you. Even a complete stranger wanted you for his son when you were a baby! You’re beautiful, you don’t have a learning disorder, and you had life handed to you on a silver platter! You’re marrying a wealthy man that can take care of you and beat up anyone that is in your way. And you’re trying to tell me your life is bad?” she hissed, crossing her arms.
“I don’t have it easy!” I cried out, scowling. “Myloving fiancé beats me! He doesn’t want to keep our baby! Darius is always changing his moods, so I don’t know what to expect. Sometimes I’m afraid to sleep in his arms because he might get angry in the middle of the night and snap my neck! Yes, I have the perfect life.” Wow, I would throwanyone under the bus to justify myself, wouldn’t I?
“You have it better than me! Do you know what I’ve been going through since I ran away? I’ve been raped every day! I sleep on the streets! I’m lucky to get an apple core in two weeks! You get pampered while I’m on the line between death and barely hanging on. Your ‘God’ is playing favorites. He always has.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry if you believe that bullshit.” I grabbed at my tummy and started screaming. What was going on? It felt like someone was stabbing me! “Oh my God!”
“Gracie, what’s wrong?” Darius yelled right in my ear, grabbing my shoulder roughly. “Baby, what?”
I shot up in bed, grabbing my abdomen and crying. What was going on?
“Darius, stay with me!” I begged, grabbing his hand as tears streamed down my cheeks. “Don’t leave me, please!”
“I’m not going anywhere!” he promised, sounding rather frantic. “What’s wrong, baby? Please!”
A doctor came running in and it was then that I realized where I was: a hospital room. What had happened? I vaguely remembered passing out in the lobby. I touched the back of my head and cried out. A shock of pain went through my body and I took my hand off of the bandage. Darius grimaced, grabbing hold of my hand again.
“Well? What’s wrong?” he demanded, standing up. He tried to let go of my hand, but I gripped tighter. He sighed, sitting back down.
“Ah, yes. Gracie Harp—”
“No, Gracie Jameson,” Darius growled through his teeth, scowling. The doctor sighed.
“Alright, Jameson. Well, as you two know she is expecting. She’s having twins—was having twins.”
Darius narrowed his eyes in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”
“Ah, well, her body seems to have absorbed one of the twins. It’s a little odd, but more common than most people realize. It’s called vanishing twin syndrome. The likelihood of this went up since the children are half-vampires, not full human or full vampire. The other child, the boy, should be fine, but the baby girl is gone. That is the reason she was experiencing mild discomfort.”
Darius glanced over to me, skepticism scrawled all over his face. “She’s just...gone?”
The doctor nodded. “The other one may disappear, too, but only time will tell. There’s nothing we can do at this point. That’s why half-vampires are so rare.” He paused. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk.”
“Darius—”
He cut me off. “I lost my daughter.” He looked almost sad, but it was probably just shock.
“It’s not your fault,” I told him, reaching out and touching his arm.
“I know it’s not: it’s yours.”
“What? You can’t blame me for this!” I told him, shaking my head. “Do you think I wanted to lose my baby girl?”
“If you were a vampire this wouldn’t have happened!” He tore himself from me, pacing around the room.
I got up and out of the bed, hoping to talk some sense into him. I grabbed his forearm, begging him to calm down. He turned to me with this crazy look in his eyes.
“I can’t lose another, Gracie. I can’t lose my son.”
“Darius, what are you planning on doing?” I asked, a little scared. I let go of him, biting my lip. “There’s nothing we can do.”
“Yes, there is. I can bite you. Right now.”