Page 25

I sat stunned. Pregnant? I was pregnant? I mean, of course, that could have happened if we weren't using protection when we were having sex, but I didn’t think it would have been this easy.

It was logical, but I hadn’t anticipated it. I was around women who were constantly struggling to conceive, so I hadn’t thought that it would be easy for Henrik and me. We were paired up because of that.

This changed so much. Being pregnant meant I needed to be more careful with my body. I couldn’t spend endless hours at the lab, and I needed to eat fuller meals. I would get tired more easily, so I would need to take breaks at work. And this tiredness would likely stay.

I glanced at Henrik, who looked numb. I thought he would have been bouncing with joy, but he wasn’t. I didn’t understand. Wasn’t this what he wanted? Wasn’t this the entire point of us being together? I thought he would at least look a little excited about this.

We were in a good place, and sure, a baby on top of everything we were juggling was pretty big, but it was good news. Wasn’t this good news?

“We’re going to finish your IV and let you head home. Get lots of rest and try and eat when you can. But if you're feeling like this again, come in and we will get you another IV. You’re still early in the pregnancy, so you need to be careful and get your nutrients.”

“Thank you,” Henrik said, giving the doctor a smile. But I could see it was forced and it didn’t sit well in my stomach.

The doctor slipped out of the room, and I stared at the IV, wondering how much longer we would be stuck in here.

“Well, that changes things,” Henrik said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

I swallowed, “Such as?”

Before he could answer, his phone rang. He glanced down and I noticed that it was Kyle, which meant it was likely something important.

“You should take that,” I said, pointing at his phone.

He glanced at it and then back at me, seeming to be torn between the two. But he grabbed his phone. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

“I’ll be here,” I said, waving at the IV that I was attached to. “Don’t have far to go.”

Henrik kissed my forehead before he slipped into the hall and I felt a tug in my stomach. I placed my hands on my stomach and closed my eyes. I felt tears build up.

I wanted to know why he looked so disappointed. A million questions formed in my head, and I was so afraid to ask them. Was I the only one who felt this pain? Was I the only one who thought this relationship had grown and that we were stronger than before? Was I crazy?

It was about half an hour before Henrik came in, but the doctor was unhooking me. “She’s good to go home,” he said as Henrik slipped back into the room.

“She’s okay?” he asked as the nurse bandaged my arm up.

“Yeah. She’s a strong woman.”

Henrik gave a gentle smile that didn’t reach his eyes. It twisted my heart up and I bit hard onto my cheek. We left the hospital, and the drive home was quiet. I stared out the window, afraid to ask him what he was feeling. So I went with an easier question.

“What did Kyle need?”

Henrik glanced at me before he frowned. “There was another attack and Kyle said it was a mother. She died. No one even knew it happened.”

My heart twisted up in another way. Maybe that was why Henrik looked so sad.

Because this darkness and this person controlling it were a bigger issue.

Throwing a baby into the mix was just asking for disaster.

How were we supposed to juggle everything?

A baby required a lot of attention. We would be up late with the baby.

We would lose sleep. I wouldn’t be able to focus at work.

“Do you still want to have dinner tonight at the new restaurant?” I asked, glancing at him for a moment. Henrik’s lips pressed together, and I felt my heart sink even further.

“I think it’s best we stay home tonight. The doctor said you should rest. I need to head out for a little bit and then I’ll be back.” He offered me a tight smile. “We can always go to the restaurant another night. Maybe when you’re feeling a little better.”

I couldn’t look at him because I felt that he was pulling away from me. I fought back tears as he pulled up in the house. I headed inside and to my bedroom as he left. But as I crawled into bed, I knew laying around wasn’t going to help. My mind would be a mess, and I needed to do something.

I changed into something warmer and headed to the lab. I decided maybe a little work would help calm my mind, or at least enough, so I didn’t have a hundred questions going over and over in my head. It always helped me in the past, so I didn’t see why it wouldn’t help me now.

I headed to the lab and noticed no one was in the basement. The area was utterly quiet, which was strange because there was usually at least one person around. Actually, there were always several people. I had never come to work down here without finding some guys lounging around.

“Hello?” I looked around, not finding anyone, as I headed down to my lab. The other labs were quiet, and even the hallways were silent. I scanned my badge, and the door to my lab opened. The lights flicked on, and my body came to a halt.

The glass was shattered all over the floor. My lab table was flipped over, and my eyes flew to the secured glass where I kept the darkness contained. The area sat empty, with glass shattered in front of it.

“Oh no…” My stomach dipped down low as I quickly scanned the lab, and my eyes found it waiting.

It stood just across the lab in a large, dark cloud, and I stepped back.

I needed to alert someone, but there was no one around.

Had it already traveled and hurt the others?

But why did it wait rather than just leave?

Before I could even think, the darkness slammed into me, I screamed, but the air was quickly yanked right out of my lungs, and I felt so dizzy. I stumbled backward, slamming into the wall. My hands reached for the wall, trying to hold onto anything to hold me up, but I found nothing.

I gasped for air, reaching for the alarm button, but couldn’t. But as quickly as it all hit me, the darkness disappeared, breaking free from my lab, and it went into the hall. I could breathe, but the dizziness stayed.

I saw everything in twos, and I laid down flat on my back. I felt like the world was spinning, and I closed my eyes trying to breathe slowly. I thought of Henrik’s words. Breathe in slowly. Slowly take a breath in and let it out.

I didn’t know how long I lay there, but I knew this was an emergency. The darkness had gotten free. I had to let everyone know that it had escaped.

But it hadn’t hurt me. I had expected to be injured, but I wasn’t, besides the dizziness that hit me.

I could breathe while it hurt, but it was like someone had pushed me down and taken my breath away, rather than someone actually hurting me.

This was nothing compared to what happened to Henrik. Henrik took days to heal.

But why? Why had it only knocked me down and winded me, yet it almost killed Henrik? Did it kill several other people?

I rolled over and turned on my stomach. I slowly sat up and stared outside my area into the hallway. There was still no one around and it didn’t sit right with me. Something was going on.

I pushed myself up slowly and leaned onto the wall. I looked around my lab, trying to piece it together. The darkness never had a problem with me. It always just went erratic when I was near, but that was it. It only ever hurt people who were around me.

I stepped out of the lab and into the hallway. “Is anyone here?” I yelled, my voice echoing.

I moved, walking over to the lab that was across from mine. I leaned against the door and peered into the room. It was dark, but I could see someone lying on the ground. My eyes widened, and I started to pound on the door. But I didn’t have access to this room.

I turned, “Is anyone down here!?”

I hurried back to my lab, taking in the pieces. I needed to piece this together. I needed to understand. I tried to rake my head around what was happening and what the darkness wanted.

My eyes widened as I realized it wasn’t me it had a problem with. It was everyone else, including Henrik.