Emily sat on the couch in the
living room, absently flipping through channels on the television. She
thought over her argument with Lucky again, and touched her hand lightly
to her stomach. She could not stop the tears from welling in her eyes.
She wiped them away absently and sniffed loudly.
"Everything okay?"
Ned asked from behind her.
"No," Emily mumbled,
and turned the television off. She turned to face her cousin fully. "I
don't feel very well," she said, and got up to leave.
"Wait," Ned ordered,
pushing her down lightly. "Sit down." He sat beside her on the couch and
put a reassuring hand on her knee. "Now, will you tell me what's bothering
you? You've been moping around the house for weeks."
Emily felt the tears
building up behind her eyes, and had to force herself not to cry. She took
a deep breath. "I'm just tired," she said carefully.
"Tired?" Ned looked
incredulous. "Emily, you look like you haven't had a decent night of sleep
in weeks. Tired is not the right word. Try exhausted." He draped an arm
around her shoulders and pulled her toward him. "I know you, Emily, remember?
I know you well enough to see that something's wrong. And your tiredness
is not causing the problem, like you want me to think, but I have a feeling
it's the other way around."
Emily looked up at
him, dazed. "What?" she asked.
"You can't sleep because
of what's bothering you," Ned said. "I know enough to see that. Now I wish
you would tell me what's important enough to keep you from sleeping at
night."
Emily hadn't even
noticed the tears running down her cheeks. She reached up to wipe them
away, but Ned grabbed her hand. Emily stared at him for a moment, then
sobbed and pushed him away angrily. "Leave me alone!" she shouted, and
ran out the front door and pelted across the front lawn to the gate, then
leaned heavily against it, breathing heavily. She was startled by a voice
from the other side of the gate.
"Emily?"
Emily looked up and
saw Nikolas standing across from her, his expression concerned. She wiped
away tears with the back of her hand and stared at her friend, her lip
quivering. "Is something wrong, Emily?" Nikolas asked, opening the gate
and walking toward her.
He gently touched
her elbow, and Emily jerked away. "Don't touch me!" she cried and started
to back away from him.
"Emily-" he said,
but she only stared at him wildly. He shook his head and watched as Emily
sank, still sobbing, to the ground, and buried her face in her hands. He
knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me," he
said gently.
"No, I can't," Emily
said, her voice muffled.
Nikolas stroked her
hair and took her chin gently in her hand, He turned her face to meet his
gaze and pulled her hands from her face. "Look at me," he said. Emily complied,
fixing him with a red-rimmed stare. Tears stained both her cheeks, and
continued to roll down unnoticed. "Now what's wrong?" he prodded.
Emily swallowed and
bit her lip, trying to think of a lie to tell Nikolas. No ideas came, so
she decided to take a different approach. "It's none of your business,"
she said, and sniffed. "Just leave me alone." She started to rise to her
feet, but was stopped by Nikolas's hand on her wrist.
"You're not going
to feel better until you tell someone what's wrong, Emily," Nikolas said
quietly.
"I'm not going to
tell you anything!" Emily spit out hatefully, and stood. She turned her
back on Nikolas resolutely. "Leave," she said firmly.
"Emily--"
"LEAVE!" Emily felt
a sharp pain in her stomach, and covered it with a trembling hand. "Get
off my property," she said through clenched teeth. "Or I'll call the police."
Nikolas backed away
from her awkwardly, confused and worried. He waited for Emily to call him
back, but she didn't. She stood with her back to him, shoulders shaking.
Nikolas sighed and walked back, defeated, to his car.
Emily waited until
she heard his car start, then put a shaky hand to her face and cried. She
heard someone else walk up behind her, but did not have the energy to send
them away or even to turn around. She stood dissolved in tears, oblivious
to the sound of Nikolas's engine cutting off, and the door slamming shut
behind him. Hie presence did not register until he herad her voice behind
him.
"Leave her alone."
Emily turned slowly
to face the two trespassers. Anger boiled inside her at the sight of Lucky.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. Lucky didn't respond, so she turned
her attention to Nikolas. "I thought I told you to leave!" she shouted.
Lucky looked at her
darkly and stepped toward her. "Is the guilt setting in already, Emily?"
he asked. "My god, and it hasn't even been a month."
Nikolas looked at
him, confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Lucky did not answer.
His attention was fixed on Emily. Emily only glared back at him, her tears
suddenly gone. "I didn't do it," she hissed. "I didn't because *you* didn't
want me to," she said angrily. She clenched her fists and felt the satisfying
sting of her fingernails in the soft flesh of her palms. "Aren't you happy?!"
she exclaimed. "I'm carrying your burden now!"
Lucky stared in shock.
Nikolas looked back and forth between the two, not completely lost. "What
are you two-"
Lucky cut him off.
"My burden?" asked slowly, Emily's words finally sinking in. "Mine?"
"I don't want it!"
Emily screamed. Her hand clutched her painful stomach and she felt the
world around her start to slowly whirl. "I don't want your baby Lucky!
I don't want anything to do with it, but I'm carrying it! Because YOU want
me to!" Her voice shook with rage and her hand flew from her stomach to
Lucky's arm. She gripped his upper arm with fingers of steel. "I hate you
for making me do this!" she cried. "And you hate me no matter WHAT I do!"
Nikolas felt his jaw
drop. He stared at Emily and Lucky, too shocked for words. Emily had tears
running down her cheeks. She looked ready to lose control. Lucky, on the
other hand, was perfectly composed. His face was a white mask of shock
and terror. Nikolas could see fear building in his eyes.
"I don't hate you,"
Lucky whispered. His haunted eyes searched Emily's face for a reaction,
but he got none. "I didn't want you to-" He broke off and stared into her
face, at a loss for words.
Emily dug her fingers
into Lucky's arm. The pain in her stomach suddenly became sharp, and she
gasped and doubled over, leaning heavily against Lucky. "Emily?" Lucky
asked, concerned. He looked to Nikolas with wild eyes. "What's wrong with
her?" he asked desperately.
Emily slowly straightened,
and held her stomach. Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes huge. "Oh
god, Lucky," she whispered. "It hurts," she moaned, and doubled over again.
Lucky clung to her
desperately, and turned once again to his brother. "Call an ambulance,"
he said tightly. Nikolas nodded and took a slow step backward. "Hurry!"
Lucky shoutd, and Nikolas sprang into motion.
Emily slid slowly
to the ground and wrapped her arms around her middle, crying. She leaned
her back up against Lucky's legs and leaned her head back. Lucky knelt
and out his arms around her, and leaned the side of his face against her
hair. He kissed her head lightly. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, and his
pale face crumbled. He buried his face in her hair and cried along with
her.
