We stared at each other for long moments, neither of us saying a word.
Suddenly, I wished I hadn’t asked for bacon.
Tarek was gone.
He left me alone.
For the first time.
With the woman who wanted to kidnap my baby.
the confrontation
I
thought about cautiously backing away like one might in a room full of angry snakes. But then I remembered this was my house. I’d been doing nothing but tiptoeing around, avoiding her, and trying to be as inconspicuous as I could.
Screw that shit.
She was on my turf.
Tarek had been trying to show her what it was to be among humans, and I hadn’t exactly been helpful. I hadn’t given her a reason, or even a chance, to get to know me or like me.
She couldn’t sympathize with someone she didn’t know.
I walked into the room as she lowered herself onto one of the two bistro chairs in the corner. I was aware of her watching me, her wide eyes almost catlike. So I turned and smiled.
“Morning,” I chirped as I reached for a small glass, then turned to the fridge for juice.
“Morning,” she echoed. She had the same accent as Tarek, yet it didn’t affect me like his did.
Teagan looked beautiful, as always. Her long, dark hair was glossy and straight. She probably got out of bed looking like that—just like Tarek. Her purple eyes were almond-shaped, exotic, and rimmed with dark lashes. I knew she wasn’t wearing makeup, but she didn’t need any. She was just that pretty.
Her posture was rigid, her body reed thin, and she was dressed in a pair of skinny white jeans (yes, white, and they looked perfect) and a flowy-looking blue, sleeveless blouse. Beneath the table, her small feet were a contradiction to her height and long limbs, and they were bare.
Maybe I should have attempted to comb my hair.
On second thought, maybe my looks would scare her. Ha.
After I poured my juice, I went over to the table and sat across from her. She remained stoic, but I knew she was surprised by the way her lips flattened.
“I realized we haven’t really spoken since you, uh, came to visit,” I said.
“You mean since I came to watch you?” she said.
“That too.” I refused to be intimidated by her any longer.
I sipped the juice while I studied her. She’d spent all this time staring at me, so I figured it was time I returned the favor.
I watched as she skillfully peeled the orange in front of her. She placed long ribbons of the orange skin beside her tea, arranging them in a neat little stack. I watched her fingers move, noticing the long shape of her trimmed, unpolished nails. She wasn’t wearing any jewelry either, and it made me wonder if the rest of the women on her planet were as unadorned as her.
“Do women wear jewelry where you’re from?” I asked. “Paint their nails, wear makeup?”
She paused in peeling. “We do not place importance on physical possessions or the way we look.”
“Must be easy not to care how you look when it’s nothing less than beautiful all the time.”
She glanced at me. “You think I’m beautiful?”
Her question surprised me because she acted like she had no idea how beautiful she was.
“Of course. Surely everyone does.”
She shrugged. I remembered what Tarek told me, about how he was supposedly “average-looking,” and wondered if Teagan was just another example of average where she came from.
“Matt thinks so too,” I said, watching her closely to gauge her reaction.
“He does?” Teagan abandoned the orange completely and looked at me straight on, true interest in her eyes.
I nodded. “Definitely.” I paused. “He’s a good guy.”
“He isn’t like the other males I know,” she replied.
“Matt definitely dances to the beat of his own drum.” I agreed.
The expression clearly confused her so I backpedaled to say, “Matt is a unique guy. That’s what makes him special.”
She nodded and resumed taking apart her orange.
“Do you like it here?” I asked.
She shrugged. “It’s okay.”
“Is it very different from Sapia?”
“I don’t remember Sapia. I haven’t been there for a very long time.”
“Where have you been, then?” I asked.
“Mostly on a hovercraft.”
“Sounds lonely,” I murmured.
She ignored me and drank her tea.
“I really love him, you know,” I said quietly, after several long minutes of silence.
“That’s going to be difficult for you when he leaves,” Teagan replied. “Your kind is very emotional.”
My stomach twisted at her matter-of-fact tone of voice. I raised my chin. “And you think being emotional is a bad thing?”
“I think it makes you weak.”
“Says the woman whose planet is dying off.” I countered.
I was rewarded with a flare of something in her eyes. But then they went back to that cold, emotionless expression and glanced at my baby bump. “Not for much longer.”
“So that’s your answer, then?” I prodded, anger creeping into my tone. “To take other women’s babies and repopulate your planet?”
“That baby is ours,” she replied haughtily.
“Since he’s growing inside my body, I would have to say he’s mostly mine.”
That seemed to shut her up.
I drank my juice and continued to stare at her. I hope it made her uncomfortable. While I stared, I wondered how much longer Tarek would be.
“What’s it like?” she asked, taking me off guard. “To be pregnant?”
She seemed genuinely interested, almost wistful. Something inside me softened toward her in that moment. Surely, she had tried to conceive. All the women from Sapia had likely been trying, considering the dire situation of their people dying off.
And since she was sitting here before me, completely slim, totally planning to steal my son, I could accurately surmise that she was totally not pregnant.
“I’ve never felt anything like it,” I said honestly. “I was scared at first, you know?” I said, my hands automatically going to my stomach.
She nodded so I would continue.
“But it’s hard to be scared of something when you love it so much.”
“You love that baby?” she asked, like it wouldn’t be obvious.
“Of course I do,” I said immediately. “He’s been living inside me, growing. I feel him move. He’s part of me.”
She was watching me aptly, so I kept talking.
“It’s hard to explain because even though technically I’ve never met him, I know him. And he knows me. I’ve been with him every single second of every single day. I can’t wait to hold him. To look into his tiny face. I think he’s going to look like Tarek. At least, I hope he does,” I said sheepishly.
Sadness washed over her features, and I felt sorry for her. “You want to have a child, don’t you?”
“More than anything,” she answered, looking away.
“Tarek told me the babies on your planet are taken from their mothers and are not raised by either parent. I think that’s incredibly sad.”
“It’s the way we do things,” she answered. It made me think she’d been programmed to think that way. I wondered if she would agree with it if she had a choice.
“If you stayed here, you would be allowed to keep your child. To form a bond with her or him. It might make conceiving a lot easier.”
“Are you suggesting I betray my people like Tarek?”
Anger sliced through me. How dare she say he’s a traitor? I felt my eyes flash as I stared at her. “Tarek hasn’t betrayed anyone. He came here to help ensure the survival of your people. He stayed with me because it was the best way to ensure this child survived. We fell in love. Falling in love is not a crime. If anything, your people could learn something fr
om him. He’s being punished for doing what you wanted.”
“We didn’t want him to fall in love. We didn’t want him to become loyal to you.”
“I feel sorry for you,” I snapped. “You spend all your days plotting ways to take my life from me instead of getting a life of your own.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“If you ask me, the reason you can’t conceive is because you’re coldhearted. You have no idea what it takes to love a child. To love anything.”
I got up from the table, unable to sit there another second. Screw trying to make her like me. I would never like her so it was useless.
“I want you gone,” I spat. “Tarek is far more tolerant of you, which I guess you consider another weakness.” I tossed the words at her with heat. “I’m done. Get out of my house.”
“I don’t need to conceive to have a child,” Teagan said, her words almost taunting.
A little prickle of unease climbed up my spine, but I ignored it. “Well, good luck with that,” I said. “Now get the hell out.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I get what I came for,” she replied, still sitting at the table.
Inside me, the baby kicked out, like he heard her words and was disturbed by them.
Realization dawned.
Absolute horror struck me to my core.
I placed my hands over my stomach protectively and swung to stare at Teagan. “They told you that you could have him,” I whispered.
She smiled. “Seems I will have a life of my own very, very soon.”
“You can’t have him,” I told her, backing up. I was completely sickened at the thought of them handing my son over to this uncaring, cold, and emotionless bitch.
He would never know a day of warmth in his life.
“Tarek will never let you have him.” I threatened. Maybe she would be more intimidated by the idea of his anger than mine.
She smiled. “Tarek doesn’t get a say. He’s done his job. He’s created an heir. He’s of no use to us anymore.”
I gasped. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means once this baby is safely delivered, he will be removed.”
They were going to kill Tarek? Panic rose up inside me. This woman was completely insane. What the hell kind of people were these? They were plotting to steal my child, kill Tarek, and… “What about me?” I whispered.
Her cold eyes stared at me as if daring me to figure it out.
So they were going to kill me too.
Like fucking hell.
I continued to back away from her, going farther into the kitchen. My back hit the counter, and I slid a few steps down, bringing my back against the drawer I wanted.
God, she was so sick, just sitting there calmly at my table, sipping her tea like she didn’t just announce her plan to kill people.
‘There’s one problem with your plan,” I said, sliding open the drawer behind me.
“Is there?” she asked, lifting a perfectly sculpted brow.
I pulled out the biggest knife I had and wielded it in front of me. “Yeah. You won’t be able to kill me if you’re already dead.”
I rushed her, holding the knife like I was some sicko in a horror movie. Maybe I was sick for doing this, but it was her or me. Eat or be eaten.
I’d do anything to protect this baby.
Teagan’s eyes widened as I barreled toward her. I swung the knife down as she leapt away from the table, sending her chair clattering to the floor. I knocked into the tabletop, and her teacup fell onto the floor, shattering everywhere around our feet.
I stepped toward her once more, backing her into the wall, feeling the glass cutting into the bottom of my bare feet, but I ignored the stinging pain.
Teagan threw out her hand, and the knife was ripped out of my mine. It spun around, the glistening blade pointing at me and shaking in midair.
I really should have thought this through. It probably wasn’t the best idea to attack someone who was telekinetic.
“There you go,” she said. “Thinking with your emotions again.” She made a tsking sound, and the knife cut through the air toward me.
I shrieked and backed up, slipping on the wet floor and falling backward onto my butt.
I cried out, gripping my stomach, worried for my son as the knife came closer. I threw out my arm to knock it away, and the blade sliced into my flesh.
I screamed as the knife flung across the room, smacked against the wall, and then clattered to the floor. Dark-red blood welled in the cut, dripping down my arm and onto the floor beneath me.
It stung and burned, but I pushed away the pain as anger and adrenaline flooded me. This bitch was completely insane.
She was like the alien version of that bitch from The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.
I pushed up off the floor, keeping my wounded arm against me and my eyes on the crazy.
“Don’t worry,” she said calmly. “I won’t tell your son how pathetic his birth mother really was.”
With a scream, I charged her, knocking into her thin frame, and she crashed against the wall. I felt sick pleasure when her skull bounced off the doorframe and her eyes rolled back in her head.
I lunged forward to grab her by the hair and pull her up again, but before I could reach her, she threw out her hand again. The force of her energy smacked into me, and I stumbled, unable to walk a step closer.
I fought against the wall she put up between us, but I wasn’t strong enough to break through. My energy was draining quickly. The adrenaline, fear, and pain was taking an extra toll on my already tired form.
I stopped struggling, wanting to conserve what little energy I did have, suddenly terrified I could hurt the baby. Once I stopped struggling, her forceful energy pushed me back, and I hit against the kitchen counter.
My back bowed outward and pain radiated across my middle. The cramp in my lower abdomen caused me to double over.
I cried out with pain. “No!” I said, wrapping my arms around my middle. Another pain ripped through my center, and sheer panic ascended.
It’s too early for the baby to come!
I still have weeks left to go!
Blood ran down my arm, dripping onto the floor, as another rush of liquid between my legs splattered at my feet.
“The baby!” I sobbed. “My water just broke.”
Teagan was standing nearby, staring at me. Her face was scared, like she hadn’t meant to send me into early labor.
“It’s too soon,” I sobbed again. “Get Tarek,” I pleaded with her. “Please.”
For a split second, I thought Teagan was going to help me. She looked toward the door, like perhaps she was going to go find Tarek like I asked.
Another intense wave of pain tightened my midsection, and I cried out, hunching over.
“Tarek,” I called, wishing he were here.
I looked up at Teagan through tearstained eyes, ready to beg. She stepped toward me, that blank look taking over her features.
“Tarek isn’t coming,” she said calmly. “It’s time.”
“No!” I said, pushing away from the counter and stumbling toward the kitchen door. My arm was still bleeding, the cut deep enough that it needed stitches. My feet were cut and bleeding, and all the blood was mixing with the fluid my womb was releasing. If I had been in my right mind, I would have been horrified.
Teagan didn’t say anything else as she stepped toward me. Fear blanketed my entire body. She reached out her hand and laid it on my shoulder.
And then both of us disappeared.
the birth
I
’d been hijacked by a bat-shit crazy alien who apparently thought once I was out of the picture, my son would be hers for the taking.
I was in pain. On the cusp of early labor, my arm was still bleeding and my feet had bits of glass in them.
And I wanted Tarek. I wanted to feel his hot, smooth touch, I wanted to hear his lyrical voice, and I wanted to see that steely, cold look in his eyes. It was that lo
ok that would reassure me everything would be fine. It was that look that would tell me he was fighting, that he was going to do whatever he could to keep us together.
Tarek isn’t coming.
Teagan’s words echoed through my head, taunting me and delivering unparalleled fear. What if he was dead? What if they attacked him, kidnapped him, or something equally horrifying while he was on the way to the grocery store?
The thought of him dying or being tortured was almost too much to bear.
Another intense contraction ripped through my middle, and I cried out, reminding myself to breathe, that I was in pain because I was supposed to be. Labor hurt. It didn’t necessarily mean something was wrong with my son.
It became startlingly clear that I couldn’t worry about Tarek and this baby at the same time. It would kill me. I had to focus. I had to focus on getting this baby born. I had to focus on keeping him safe. Tarek was strong; he would be able to take care of himself.
He would come for us.
Until then, I had to be strong.
Sweat dotted my brow as the worst of the contraction faded away. I took advantage and looked around where Teagan had literally dumped me and disappeared. I was on a hovercraft that looked a lot like the one I spent time on with Tarek. But I had no idea if it was the same one. They probably all looked the same. These people didn’t like dissimilarity; they wanted everything to be the same.
The lighting was a bit brighter than before. It still had a blue cast to it, but it wasn’t as dim. The floors were clean and bare, and the room I was sitting in was empty.
I sat up, looking for a anything I could use as a weapon, for anything I thought might help me. There was nothing. Even if I found a door, I couldn’t use it. We were likely floating an unknown distance above the atmosphere, and unless I planned to plunge to my death, I would be staying here.
My clothes were saturated with blood and fluid. I glanced down at the open cut on my forearm and winced. I needed to stop the bleeding. I grabbed the hem of my dress and ripped into it, shredding a scrap of fabric from around the hemline. I used it to wrap around my arm, winding it tightly and using my teeth to help. Once I managed to get it into a terribly tied knot, I sagged against the floor as another contraction ripped through me.
Distant Desires: Part 3 Page 7