“Challenge accepted,” she mutters, already moving into the kitchen. She opens cabinet after cabinet, clearly lost. The small satisfaction that gives me is ridiculous but real. It means she’s not comfortable here. Unlike fucking Una.
I set the gun on the counter and watch her pour soup into a pot and turn on the stove. Maybe Olivia really did send her, and she’s just here to feed me. Olivia did say that there was a ‘sister’ I needed to meet, whatever that means.
When the soup’s ready, I sit at the table and take a bite. It’s actually good. Really good. I tell her so as I shove it into my face under her pleased surveillance, but halfway through the bowl, my stomach twists. I barely make it to the sink before I’m throwing up.
Siena’s voice comes from behind me, soft but sharp with concern. “Are you sick?”
I wipe my mouth. “No. I mean, I guess.”
“Pregnant?”
My head snaps up. “Why would you ask me that?”
She lifts an eyebrow and pats her belly. I don’t see anything that indicates that she’s pregnant, but it’s clearly what she’s trying to say. “I might know a thing or two about it. And Olivia said you were acting like I do.” She sighs. “If it makes you feel any better, no one is supposed to know that I’m pregnant. Only Matti and Dr. Rossi. But Olivia figured it out, and now you know, too.”
The air leaves my lungs all at once. I grip the edge of the counter and lean over the sink, heaving. She rushes to me and holds back my hair.
“Don’t worry; I haven’t told anyone. Trust me, it was a whole conversation when she asked me to come see you and told me why.”
I swallow hard and take a deep breath, turning to face her and leaning against the counter. “It doesn’t feel real.”
“Have you taken a test?”
I nod. “A couple of them, apparently. The nurse at the house where I was being held told me I was pregnant. Then Dr. Rossi confirmed it, but he just read it off of a list of test results like it was nothing, so it just doesn’t feel like it’s actually happening.”
Siena laughs. “Yeah, that sounds like him. It didn’t feel real for me either—not until I took a home pregnancy test and saw the little lines. And the plus sign. And the ‘yes.’ And the ‘pregnant.’”
I look at her quizzically, and she laughs again.
“I took every type of test available. Just to be sure.” She pauses and watches me for a second. “Do you want to take one? Just to see?”
Pinching my lips together, I rub my hand over my stomach. Do I? I think I do. Looking up at her through my eyelashes, I nod silently.
She pulls out her phone and dials. “Hi, love.” She winks at me and smiles. “Yes, I’m still in the house with her.”
She pauses. “He’s not here. Just Giovanna.” She rolls her eyes. “You don’t need to worry. You saw the guards outside. We are in no danger. And you’re out there, love. I feel safe.”
There’s a long pause, and I can hear a man’s voice but can’t make out what he’s saying. “Matti. Matti. Matti. Hey, can you just—Matti. Matti! This is not up for debate. I’m not leaving yet.” She turns away from me. “No, you absolutely cannot come up.”
I tap her shoulder. “Matti is here? He can come up if you—”
She shakes her head at me holding up her finger. “I just want you to know that I am ordering some things, so you’re going to see a delivery driver.”
She sighs. “No, I don’t want you to go get it. It will take longer. Yes, it will. YES, it will.” Shaking her head, she looks at me. “Fine, Matti. We need—”
I wave my hands frantically, my eyes wide. “No!” I whisper loudly.
She covers the phone and looks at me. “You don’t want him to get it?”
“I haven’t—” I breathe out hard and drop my chin to my test. “I haven’t told Tommy yet. I don’t want his brother to know before he does.”
“Gotcha,” she whispers back, nodding slowly. “Matti, I’m putting in the order. You are not going to search that order when the delivery guy arrives, and you are going to wait politely in the car until I’m ready to go.”
She’s already got the app open on her phone, placing an order. I look over her shoulder: ginger candy, ginger ale, saltines, and four kinds of pregnancy tests.
“It’s already on the way,” she snaps, then she sighs. “Yes, I’m aware of what this means for me later. I would be disappointed if you didn’t.”
She smirks and hangs up the phone, and I raise an eyebrow, but I don’t ask. She lights up suddenly. “I brought presents!”
