“What’s wrong?”
“Can you still eat chips?” he asked, eyes returning to the road. “It’s not one of the many restricted items the parasite won’t allow you to have?”’
“I… Did you just call my baby a parasite?”
“Did you just call your parasite a baby?” Dante didn’t wait a beat before he continued. “I’m sure she’s going to be beautiful when she’s here. Well, if she looks like you. If she looks like Luc, then we’ll have to sell her to the circus or something and try again. I will nobly offer my services and a turkey baster for the second attempt.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that came from me. A hearty sound that was the first true speck of joy in months. I had forgotten how ridiculous D could be. Forgotten how he would fill silences with whatever ran through his mind and he’d let out without filter.
“What makes you think it’s a girl?” I asked him when my laughter subsided.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged, and I could see the smile tugging on his lips. “I always thought you and Luc would end up with a bunch of girls. It’d drive him mad. No more than he deserves, really, after the shit we put Charlie through.” Dante looked at me once again. “Do you know?”
I chewed on my bottom lip before nodding my head.
“Oh my God.” He slapped his hands on the steering wheel. “What is it? Tell me. Am I right?”
It would be so easy to believe that the past few months had never happened. That time hadn’t passed, and threats hadn’t been made. I could see the way it should have played out with Luc and I teasing Dante about his future Godchild until we finally cracked and told him. Or maybe he would have known before us and planned an entire gender reveal with Gabe and Tori’s help. However, that wasn’t the case. The reality was, I was being driven back home with my pregnancy a secret and my life hanging in the balance.
“Can’t say,” I whispered, joy well and truly drained from my body. Ripping open the bag of chips, I was glad to keep my hands busy and my mind distracted.
“Mia, I meant what I said,” Dante told me. “I swear I won’t let him hurt you.”
How was I meant to tell Dante that it wasn’t Luc that I feared the most? Maybe he already knew, and that was why he hadn’t sworn to protect me from everyone. “I need you to promise me something else,” I said, popping a chip in my mouth and crunching on it. Salty foods had become a craving and Dante had struck lucky with his choice of snack.
“What is it?”
I swallowed the bite and looked out at the road ahead of us, illuminated by the headlights of the car. From what I could remember of biology, animals were all about survival of the fittest. Those who were able to adapt would succeed in survival. Even if you could adapt, there was always the predator and prey dichotomy and, unfortunately, I was not a natural born predator. I wasn’t entirely sure that you could learn how to become one. If that was my lot in life, then I could accept it, but there was only one thing I put before myself.
“I need you to promise that you’ll make sure my baby stays safe. Before anything else, before myself, my baby is safe.” In the silence that followed my request, I thought Dante might decline. I’d asked him for something that he hadn’t offered, and potentially didn’t want to do.
“I promise you,” he said eventually. Content with his answer, I settled back against the seat and stared out the window, occasionally feeding Dante a chip upon his request. “I missed you, Mia,” Dante said suddenly. “It’s been weird without you at home. Things changed. They haven’t been right.”
“I missed you too, D,” I returned. I’d missed everyone, but this was the first time I’d allowed myself to truly admit it.
“Next time you want to go AWOL, could you at least leave a note?” he laughed.
“I did.”
“What?”
“I left a note. It was with my engagement ring. I told Luc I needed to clear my head.”
Dante shook his head. “There wasn’t any note, Mia. Luc got back to the house and said he found the engagement ring and…” He stopped himself in the middle of his sentence and sucked in air between gritted teeth.
“What’s the matter?” I asked him.
“Xavier. Xavier was with him when they got back to the house.”
I didn’t need for Dante to draw me a diagram. If Xavier had found the ring and the note before Luc, then he’d disposed of the evidence that meant I had still cared. He’d twisted the narrative to suit his purpose.
“He got rid of it,” Dante said.
“Of course, he did,” I confirmed before the silence swallowed us once more.
By the time we arrived home, it was pitch black and I couldn’t stop yawning. Sleep was only staved off by the anxiety that thrummed through my veins. As I walked to the door behind Dante, it felt like I was wading through thick fog. I was back in a place I never thought I would step foot in again. The silence of the night was the calm before the storm. The moment people knew I was back there would be questions and chaos. The fear of the unknown had taken over every one of my senses.
Dante opened the door to his house and stepped inside. I’d barely placed a foot over the threshold when the barking began, and Cerberus bounded up to us. My heart felt fit to burst at the familiar sight. My little puppy had grown up into such a handsome boy. Crouching down, I scratched behind his ears as his tongue popped out. The nerves that had wrapped around me temporarily loosened their grip to make way for joy again. Cerb wouldn’t hate me for disappearing; he was just grateful for me to be back.
