Page 19 of Cryptic Curse

“Relax,” Dad repeats.

“Yes, honey.Please.”

But then he shakes his head.“Relax,” he says.“Coming.”

“Daddy, please,” Raven says.

But Dad continues shaking his head.“They’re coming,” he says.“They’re coming.”

6

DANIELA

Ihate hospitals.

I don’t think they’re anyone’s favorite place, but I truly hate them.

A hospital took from me the one thing I truly wanted when I was fifteen years old.It was the first time…but not the last.

* * *

Three Years Earlier…

“You’re a fucking slut like the rest of them,” my father berates me.

“Please…” I beg.

He scowls.“Didn’t he use a condom?”

I sit on the edge of my bed, the sonogram picture tucked beneath my pillow like a secret I’m not allowed to keep.It’s grainy and hard to read if you don’t know what you’re looking at—but I do.I knowexactlywhat it is.That tiny curve of light, that flicker they said was a heartbeat.

My baby.

I press my hand against my stomach.It’s flat, of course, but I feel like I’ve already started to change.My boobs hurt and I have to pee a lot.I didn’t plan this.I didn’t plan any of this.But now that it’s real, I can’t imagine letting it go.

But my dad…

He didn’t even look at the picture.Just said, “You’re getting it taken care of,” like I was a puppy that made a mess on the carpet.No discussion.Like my body doesn’t even belong to me anymore.

But of course it doesn’t.It’s my father’s.He uses it as he sees fit.

“You’ll thank me one day,” he said.

No.I won’t.

I’m not stupid.I know how hard this will be.But when I think about ending this life inside me, it feels like something in me will die, too.

He says I’m too young to know what I want.But what if I’m just young enough tostill believein something?What if I’m the only one who sees this not as a problem but as a person?

I close my eyes and picture her.Or him.I know I already love this baby in a way that makes my chest ache.

If my father makes me do this, if I go through with it just to keep the peace, just to obey—he’ll get his clean, quiet life back.

But I’ll never be whole again.

I grab his hands.“Please, don’t make me.I want the baby.I want something to love.Something that will love me.”

He whips away from my grasp, leering at me coldly.“We’re going to the hospital.”