“You can stay here with me, or if you have to go home, we can clean you up. I will give you one of my dresses to wear. I will even walk you home just to make sure those two assholes don’t catch you before you get there.”
“I do have to go home, but once we hit the edge of town, I will call an Uber to take me back home. If they don’t hear a car in the driveway, it will seem suspicious. I can always make up some kind of excuse for why Phillip didn’t bring me home.”
We spent the next hour cleaning Delilah up, so she could return home. If they noticed that she had on a different dress, it would be explained away that she spilled something on the one she had been wearing. That they stopped and bought another dress before going to see the movie. It was ruined, so she threw it in the garbage instead of carrying it around with her. We held hands as we silently walked through the woods to get to the edge of town. Once Delilah called for the Uber driver to pick her up, she hugged me. I held her tightly, telling her that everything was going to be okay. I stayed with her until the taillights of the car disappeared, then I went back home. One way or another, those two would pay for what they did to my Delilah!
Chapter Two
The last few months had been so hard on Delilah. She kept having nightmares about the rape. She had started spending even more time here at the cabin with me. It seemed the only place she felt safe was here with me. That afternoon Delilah showed up very upset again.
“Felecia, I had thought I was going to be able to put the whole thing with the creeps behind me. I’m not going to be able to do that.”
“Delilah, yes, you will. It’s going to take some time to get over what happened. I know you will never forget what they did to you, but you will be able to start living again without being afraid all the time.”
Standing there crying, she shook her head no at me. What is going on now that has her so upset again? Those fuckers better have stayed away from her.
“Felecia, I realized a couple of days ago that I haven’t gotten my period since they attacked me. I went to a doctor in the next town over. I made sure to use a fake name and I paid in cash for a visit. Damnit, I’m pregnant with one of those mother fuckers kid. What am I going to do now? I can’t confront them. No way can I tell my family. I just don’t know what to do now.”
“If you want to keep the baby, then you move in here with me and we raise the child as if it were ours. If you don’t want to keep the baby, you can either get an abortion or give the baby up for adoption. Whatever you decide to do, you know that I am here for you!”
“I can’t have an abortion, no matter how much I hate both of the guys. Even for me to give the baby up for adoption, I’m still going to have to leave home. Are you sure you want me here with you? Especially with everything that happened to me and now a baby on the way.”
“Delilah, I love you no matter what. Like I said, if you want to keep the baby, we will raise the child as our own. We were going to need a donor anyway. I just hate that it happened this way to you. This is our home, so as soon as you want to start bringing the things you want to keep with you. I’m pretty handy, so I will see if I can make an addition to the cabin for a room for the baby. We can do this if you really want too.”
That’s all it took for Delilah to start crying. She has been doing that a lot since she was raped. Now that we know she is pregnant; it explains things even more because her hormones are going crazy.
“I love you, Felecia. I don’t know of anyone who would want involved with me or this mess that I’m in. I’ll start bringing my things over the next couple of weeks. I’m going to have to leave home before I begin to show. I feel so bad for running out on my family, but there is nothing else that I can do. I’m going to write a letter to leave behind for them. At least with the note, they will know that I left on my own and wasn’t abducted by someone. I don’t want them to worry any more than they are already going too.”
It took Delilah a little over a week to gather what she wanted to bring with her. Every time she came over, we talked more about the baby. I can understand if she doesn’t want to keep the child and puts it up for adoption, but a part of me, a big part is praying that she keeps the baby so that we can raise it as ours.
I’ve already started working on the addition to the cabin. It won’t be a huge room but will be plenty big for a baby into a small child. As the child grows, I can always enlarge the room down the road. I hope Delilah won’t be too disappointed living here with me. Even though I’ve never seen her home, I know she comes from money. Living off of the land, hunting and fishing for food are going to be a whole new experience for her.
The things that I’ve already taught her she has picked up quickly. It’s a different beast altogether when it’s your everyday life. I have a few memories from when my parents were alive. More of them than where we lived. I just wished that I had a picture of them. Their faces have slowly started to fade over the years. I don’t want to forget what they look like.
Delilah was back with her final load of treasures that she wanted to keep. As hard as this is on her, I’m thankful that she trusted coming to me.
“Welcome home, Honey. Did you leave the note for your parents to find? Will they try to find you? What about your brother? Will he come looking for you?”
“My parents won’t do it personally; they will hire someone to try and track me down. Wait until they go to the bank and see that I closed out my account. I left all of my credit cards and checks at the house. I emptied the account, so we would have the cash to use for everything. Money can’t be traced like a credit card can.”
“You never mentioned you had money. I always figured your dad gave you an allowance.”
“Oh, he did, but when my real parents died, I inherited half of everything they had. My father sold the house, the business and everything else. He then took that money and set up two accounts. One for me, the other one for my brother. I have no idea if Dad ever gave him his money or not. He gave me mine almost two years ago.”
“You know you’ve never talked much about your brother. Are you two close?”
“No, we aren’t close. To be honest, he hates me. I don’t know what I ever did to make him hate me so much. He is gone away to college and none of us have heard a single word from him since the day he left town. Father knows he is alive and doing exceptionally well in college because they send quarterly reports home. The last time dad talked about him, he said that my brother was the top of his class.”
“I guess that’s a good thing. It’s a shame you never hear from him. You must be exhausted. Why don’t you lay down and take a nap? When you wake up, I will have dinner ready for us.”
“Thank you, Felecia. A nap does sound really good right now. For some reason, being pregnant seems to drain me more and more as time passes.”
I made a big dinner for us using fresh vegetables from the garden. I had managed to make my way into town early this morning before it got busy and bought some chicken from the grocery store to cook. The fresh herbs made the whole cabin smell like heaven. By the time dinner was finished cooking, I was starving. It seems that the scent woke Delilah up too. She came into the kitchen, all sleepy-eyed, rubbing her belly. After loading our plates with chicken and vegetables, we sat down to eat.
“Delilah, if we do keep the baby, have you started thinking of baby names yet? You’re getting close to being seven months pregnant. The baby is going to need a name when it’s born.”
“Yes, I’ve been thinking of names. Are you positive that you want to help me raise this child? It may have been a horrid act for the baby's conception, but the longer I’m pregnant and nourishing this little life that’s growing inside of me, the more I’m coming to love this baby. If you are sure, we will keep the baby and raise it.”
Jumping up, I ran around the table, giving Delilah a hug. Then I leaned over kissing her belly.
“Welcome to the family, little one. I can’t wait to meet you. This home is filled to the brim with so much lov
e that we can’t wait to share it with you.”
As I talk to the baby, I see a tear roll down Delilah’s cheek. Keeping one hand on her baby bump, I use my other hand to wipe her tears away.
“If it’s okay for me to suggest, I thought if it’s a little girl, we name her, Arabella. That is as long as you like the name too. It’s a beautiful name and I know if you have a daughter, she is going to be just as beautiful as her mother.”
“Felecia, that is the perfect name. I love it. What do you think of the name Dieval for a little boy? I don’t know what it is, but there is something that I really like about it. It’s unique and seems like a strong name.”
“It’s the perfect name for a boy. So, we agree it’s either going to be Dieval or Arabella. I am so excited; I can’t wait to meet our baby.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be long until we get to meet the little stinker. Whoever is in there has been kicking me like crazy. Plus, I’ve had the Braxton-Hicks contractions, false labor pains a few times. Someone wants to come out in the world and be known. I doubt I carry full term. Only time will tell.”
Chapter Three
Time flew by as we set up our home. I had finished the addition to the baby’s room. It had been hard to get the things that we needed for the baby. Delilah couldn’t go to town, if someone spotted her, they would let her Father know. So, I had to get everything a little at a time. I tried to go to a different shop or store each time. Luckily no one questioned why I was buying baby clothes, diapers, a bassinet, and everything else that we would need.
Delilah read all the books I could find on giving birth at home. She explained everything to me so that I could deliver the baby. Damn, I’m nervous as hell. What if something goes wrong? By the time I get to town and get help out here for her, I could lose both the loves of my life.
Late one afternoon, I was out in the garden picking some fresh vegetables for dinner when I hear Delilah scream. As I ran to the cabin, I prayed to God that she and the baby would be fine. Once I got inside, Delilah was smiling and crying at the same time. If anyone else saw her like that, they would swear that she was bat shit crazy.
“Felecia, it’s time. I’m sorry for the mess. I went to get a glass of tea to drink when my water decided to break all over the floor. Oh no, another contraction. Please help me back to bed.”
Poor Delilah, as happy as she was that the baby was finally arriving, the pain was worse than either of us could have imagined. I got the soaked clothing off of her tossing them into a pile on the floor. I would worry about them later. Helping her back into the bed, I can see that she is already dilated close to what she should be for the baby to come.
“Delilah, how long have you been having labor pains? From everything that we read in the book, there is no way you should be this dilated so soon. All of the ones we read said that first births tend to take a lot longer.”
“Please don’t be mad at me. There was nothing you could do but worry. I figured it would be better to wait and tell you closer to time to deliver our little soccer player. The pains started last night right after we went to bed. They weren’t so bad at first and were pretty far apart.”
“You have to be kidding me. You’ve been in labor for almost eighteen hours and you didn’t bother to mention it to me? You’re lucky that the baby is almost here or you would be catching hell right now. Don’t worry, I will get you later, right now let’s bring our child into the world.”
Another labor pain kicked in. Delilah tried not to scream, but the pain was just too much. When I checked again to see how she was doing, I couldn’t believe the sight before my eyes.
“Delilah, the baby’s head is right there. It’s starting to crown. That means when you have your next contraction, I need you to push. It’s not going to be long now.”
When the next contraction hit, Delilah grabbed the sheets on the bed, screaming as she pushed with all of her might. The baby’s head was out and part of its shoulders.
“You can do this, Delilah. On your next contraction, you have to push as hard as you can. It should be your last push before we meet our child. Just remember, I love you very much!”
Delilah had started to tell me that she loved me when it was time to push. This was by far her worst contraction. She bared down and pushed as hard as she could. The baby’s shoulders were finally free and I was able to help her get the baby the rest of the way out. Laying the baby on the blanket, I cut then tied the cord as the books had said to do. Taking one of the towels that we had on hand for when this happened, I started to wipe the baby as clean as I could. Choosing a smaller blanket that Delilah had made for the baby, I wrapped it up nice and snug. Once that was done, I turned back to Delilah.
“Honey, I know you’re in pain and exhausted. You have to give one last push to get the afterbirth out. We have to make sure to get all of it, so you don’t get sick or an infection. Remember, we need you so very much.”
Giving one final push Delilah rid her body of the afterbirth. I threw it into the bucket to dispose of later. Thankfully she didn’t rip while giving birth. I wasn’t looking forward to possibly having to put a few stitches in the bottom part of her vagina. I finished cleaning her up. She was so tired and starting to fall asleep. I can’t let her go to sleep just yet. She has someone waiting to meet her.
“Delilah, sweetheart, someone wants to meet you.”
I picked the baby up then made my way to the top of the bed where I could sit beside of Delilah as I introduced mom and baby.
“Delilah, meet our daughter, Arabella. Arabella, this wonderful woman is your mommy.”
Arabella is beautiful, just like her mother. She already has light blonde peach fuzz for hair. It’s almost the same color as Delilah’s. I give them a chance to spend a little time together as I start cleaning things up. I would have plenty of time to play with Arabella while Delilah sleeps. Once I finished up and went back into the bedroom, I watched in awe as our daughter nursed from Delilah’s breast. When she was full and Delilah was close to falling asleep, I took the baby from her.
“Honey, you did a fantastic job bringing our daughter into the world today. She is every bit as gorgeous as you are. You’re exhausted, so please get some sleep. I’m going to burp Arabella, then clean her up. I hope I can remember how to put her diaper on. By the time I’m finished, she should be sleeping. I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit.”
Leaning over, I gave Delilah a quick kiss. As I stroked her cheek, I told her how much I love her. Barely awake, she whispered she loved me too. Tip-toeing out of the room, I made my way to the kitchen to heat some water and fill the small tub we bought for the baby. The poor thing is almost asleep. I hate to wake her again, but she needs a bath, a diaper, and clean clothes put on her before she can sleep. As the water heated, I placed her against my chest, patting her back as tiny bubbles of air escaped. Finally, there was a good-sized burp.
Mixing hot and cold water until it was just warm so that it wouldn’t burn her soft pink skin, I unwrapped Arabella then gently placed her in the bath. Her little eyes popped open. I could tell she was getting ready to cry, so I talked to her as I bathed her. I remembered a nursery rhyme that my mom used to sing to me. I started singing it to her as I began to dry her off. I swear she smiled at me, even though the books say that babies don’t smile when they are newborn. Now that she had her diaper on and one of the little outfits, I had picked out for her, we went and sat in the rocker next to Delilah in the bedroom.
I must have been more tired than I thought. I woke to something wiggling in my arms. Arabella was awake and wanting her mommy. It’s feeding time, so I have to wake Delilah. When I stood up, I glanced her way and realized that she was awake and smiling at me. Delilah stretched her arms out for me to give Arabella to her. I carefully gave her the baby then sat on the side of the bed as she fed her.
“How are you feeling, Delilah? I hope your nap helped some. I wish I could have taken the pain you went through. I would gladly have suffered
it so you wouldn’t have had to feel that.”
“Felecia, the pain was terrible, but it’s all part of becoming a mom. I’m still a little sore, but look at this face and tell me there isn’t any pain in the world that you wouldn’t go through to protect her from all the evils of mankind. I know I would and from what I saw of you two sleeping together in the rocker with her safe in your arms that you would too.”
“I will protect her with my life and care for her with my whole heart. You have both filled my heart so full that I swear it could burst with all the love that’s in it. I promise you here and now that I will always love and cherish you both until the day I die and beyond. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you both never want for anything.”
“Felecia, I feel the same way about both of you. My life truly began that first day we met when you made me drop all of those boxes of pastries. You have been in my heart and on my mind every minute since that day. Will you do me a favor? Over in the top drawer of the dresser, there is a box that is black with gold roses all over it. Will you get it and bring it here, please?”
I didn’t want to move away from my family. Wow, I can actually say my family for the first time in so very long. I did as Delilah asked, but I kept my eyes on them the whole time I crossed the room. I only took them off of my girls long enough to look for the box in the drawer. Returning to the bed, I sat back down and handed Delilah the box.
“I had these made after I found out I was pregnant. Once we agreed to keep the baby and raise her as our own. I had a feeling that Arabella was going to be a girl even then. It was smart to choose a boy’s name as well just in case. I know we haven’t talked about it recently because of the pregnancy and everything that we had to do, so we were ready for Arabella’s arrival.”
The Dark Kingdom Anthology Page 32