Page 84 of Hidden Gem
Her heart heavy, Marnie stumbled out of the clinic. She supposed it had been too good to be true for someone like her. Maybe it was for the best.
Her phone beeped, a text from Shasa, asking how she was.
I’m okay. Probably not pregnant for long, though. Numbers not high enough.
The three bubbles told her Shasa was busy writing back. Something encouraging, no doubt. The girl believed in true love. She had her sights set on a happy ending, just like for her and Mac. But it wasn’t that simple.
Slipping her phone back into her handbag, Marnie focused on walking. All she needed to do was take one step after another, to get her back home. It was best not to think about things she couldn’t change. Like this pregnancy. It either was or wasn’t. Even if it wasn’t, knowing that a piece of Jason’s DNA had taken root inside her, forming an embryo that lived long enough to drown her in hormones, made her hopeful. She wasn’t dead yet. There was evidence of life, a faint line she would keep forever.
Chapter 40
The next morning, Marniewoke with a start. She’d dreamt of a baby. A real, tiny human of her own flesh and blood. The delicious new-born smell lingered in her nose, conjured by her imagination. She stretched out on the bed, trying to sink back into the dream, but it slipped away, replaced by the terrible news from the day before.
She sat up and checked her undies. No blood. Not yet. Her breasts ached as she stood up, demanding the support of a bra. What if she just believed in this? Despite the numbers, despite the doctor’s words?
Marnie rubbed her belly, whispering to the baby, “Hang in there, okay? It’ll all work out. There’s a place for you in the world.”
She padded downstairs to make herself a cup of tea. Something safe. She wouldn’t take any chances. At the foot of the stairs, she froze, taking in the strange scene. Someone was sleeping on her couch. Tiptoeing closer, she recognised Tom. Her son had curled up under a throw rug, looking like an oversized toddler, perfectly positioned under his own artwork on the wall above him.
Tanya appeared from her downstairs bedroom, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“What’s he doing here?” Marnie whispered, quietly circling her son.
“Tom! What are you doing here?” Tanya raised her voice, and her brother jerked awake.
He took a moment to get his bearings, then glared at his sister. “Cheers, Tan. I went to bed like three-thirty.”
Tanya shrugged. “Well, Mum was asking what you’re doing here.”
Marnie shook her head, wrinkling her brow at Tanya. “I didn’t want to wake him.”
Tanya slipped to the kitchen, and Marnie joined Tom on the couch. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”
“Yeah. The landlord put up the rent, so we moved out.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped, maybe covered the difference.”
