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“You know you could have just knocked like a normal person.” She frowns. It makes me smile because she has not changed one single bit. My witty redhead has not lost her fire.
“We both know I am not normal.” I take a seat on the side of the bed next to her. We look at one another for the longest time without any words exchanged. Both of us take each other in, looking for signs of change with mutual understanding.
“I can’t believe you are really here,” she says, finally breaking our silent trance. It makes my heart skip a beat at the hint of excitement in her tone.
“Tell me it’s mine.” I look at her belly and then back to her. Even though I know with every fiber of my being, this baby is mine. I have to hear her say it.
Her beautiful hazel eyes tell me before she says the words. “Of course, it’s yours. I am just a little over seven months along.”
I exhale loudly with relief. I was not ready for her to tell me otherwise. I refused to entertain the thoughts that I could have been wrong.
“How are you here? I thought you were dead.” She looks at me with disbelief.
I take her hand in mine. The smoothness of her skin warms my soul. “That’s not important. I am here now.”
She shakes her head as if she still can’t believe I am here. “How did you find me?”
“Don’t worry about that for now. How are you? Is everything okay with your pregnancy and the baby?” I try to redirect her. I know she will not like my truthful answer.
“Don’t you dodge my question.” She looks at me with warning. “How did you find me?”
“Nicolai.”
“What?” Her eyes grow wild with panic as she pulls her hand from mine, sitting up straighter. Pumpkin sits up too and glares at me like I had just insulted him.
“Relax, it's okay.” I hold her arm, stopping her from trying to get off the bed. “No one is going to hurt you. I promise.”
“For now.” She scowls, trying to shove me away. “But what about after I give birth? You can’t have it. You can’t take my baby away from me. I won't let you.
“Scarlet. Stop it. Getting upset can’t be good for you.” I attempt to calm her gently, but she keeps shoving at me. I stand up and back away from her with my hands in the air. “Red, I am not here to take the baby from you. I am here to take both of you home.”
“I don’t believe a goddamn word that comes out of your mouth, Luca. I swear to God, if you hurt this child or me, I will fucking kill you and your entire family.” She picks something up from underneath her mattress and points it towards me. It’s a gun. She has a fucking gun!
I have never seen this side of Scarlet. She did not fight this furiously when her life was on the line. I see the defensiveness in her eyes, even though her hand holding the gun is shaking. She is serious. She will kill me to protect her baby. Pride fills me at the sight of it. I could not think of a better person to look after my baby than her.
Pushing back the urge to snatch the gun from her, I hold my stare. I have to convince her somehow that I am not here to hurt her without actually using any force. When force is all I have ever known, that is no easy task. The fear she is demonstrating runs far deeper than I ever saw in her when our roles were reversed, and it was I who held the gun at her.
“Scarlet, please,” I implore.
“Get out, Luca. Go the fuck home and tell your brother you could not find me, or so help me God, I will blow your brains all over the wall.” So much fire burns between us. I can feel it even through her fear, even through her fight.
I try to remain as calm as possible. I doubt she will follow through with her threat. “I am not going anywhere without you. Put the gun down, red. Let’s talk this over.”
“No.” She tightens her grip on the gun. “We have nothing to talk about. There isn’t anything you could possibly say that will make everything alright between us.”
I swallow her insult thickly. It’s now or never. I have to tell her. “I am in love with you.”
“What?” she says in a high pitched tone, her mouth remaining open.
“I said. I love you.”
In the dull light, she blinks rapidly. Her chest rising and falling heavily. Lowering the gun, she sits back on the bed, shock and disbelief paling her face.
Picking up my phone off the floor, I use the flashlight to find the light switch and turn it on. Scarlet sits on the bed staring at me, unwavering. I kneel on the floor between her legs, reaching out to touch her face. Her eyes close at the contact as she leans into my touch. I stroke her face gently, admiring the sweet softness of it. When she opens her eyes again, a tear falls onto my hand.
“I know that you could never love someone like me, and I am not asking you to. But please, let me take care of you and my child.”
“You're only saying that to get me to come with you. You would never have come if you didn’t know I was carrying your child.”
