Chapter Seven
May — Wednesday – Southern Maryland
Summer
We finally fall into a new routine and make it through the next month without much drama. Leo and Donnie take turns stopping by the bank for the first week or so. After that, Leo volunteers to help out and be my full-time bodyguard. He is at the bank in the mornings when Donnie drops me off, and he leaves just before Donnie picks me up in the evenings. I finally feel like the other shoe isn’t about to drop anymore. I’m glad we have friends we can trust throughout this endeavor.
Donnie is working late tonight, and Leo will be driving me home. I had my mom pick up Gus, so we didn’t have to make an extra stop. She is supposed to be meeting us at the house after they have a special grandma-grandson dinner date that I’m sure will include chicken nuggets and ice cream.
It is quarter after four when my phone buzzes, and I see Donnie’s face light up the screen.
“Hey baby,” he says as soon as I connect the call “Hey, I’m just about to head out to meet Leo. You said he will be hanging out around the house after he drops me off, right? Are you sure he won't come inside and have dinner? What if I offer?” I ask Donnie.
“No, he won't, and please don’t.” I nod my head as I listen to his words, not really convinced, but I get the feeling he would rather not have Leo in the house without him being there. “He would see it as disrespectful to be in my home with you unattended. It already took me a lot of convincing to have him be alone in the car with you. He is very old-fashioned. Women are not supposed to be alone with men who are not their husbands.”
“All right, if you say so, sir. I just wanted to ask.” I pause, grab my bag and start to pack up for the evening. “Hey, what did you call for anyway?”
“I just wanted to let you know I love you, both of you, and I’ll be home before midnight.” His words make me smile, and I rub my baby belly thinking about the little girl growing inside me.
“We love you too. She is very active today. I guess she is a fan of garlic hummus after all,” I tease. I have been craving the stuff non-stop, and he is insistent that it tastes terrible, and I’ll give our baby a hairy bottom with all the garlic I’ve been eating lately. I think it’s just because he is secretly repelled by the stuff like you see in old films, and he is worried I’ll hurt her with it somehow.
When we found out that we were having a girl at our last ultrasound, they told us that she was growing a perfectly normal length and weight. We have both relaxed and accepted that our baby being half-vampire isn’t changing my pregnancy at all, and there is no reason to think that will change now that I’m halfway through.
“Yes, sure. I just don’t want her to come out as hairy as a chimp.” He laughs on the other end of the phone.
“That isn’t a thing, Donnie. It isn’t even an old wives tale. Garlic doesn’t give babies extra hair on their butt or their heads. Just admit it's because you don’t like it, and I’ll stop, even though your daughter is the one making me crave it.” Once I’ve finished packing my bag, I head out to the parking lot. The warm summer air blows across my skin as I make my way to Leo, leaning against the red sedan I’ve grown accustomed to seeing parked in the lot.
“All right, hun. I believe you. You headed out to Leo?” Donnie asks me.
“Yes, you didn’t need to stay on the phone with me, sir. I can see him from the lobby. No one was going to grab me in the fifty feet I had to cross the parking lot to him.” I roll my eyes at his over protectiveness and wave to Leo, motioning to the phone and mouthing to him that it’s Donnie. He waves back and turns to get into the driver’s seat.
“All right, sir. I’m safe, getting in the car now. I love you,” I tell him as I toss my purse onto the floor and climb in, a bit clumsily because of my ever-growing belly.
“Love you, too. Remember I’ll be home before midnight. Get some sleep.” I disconnect and turn to Leo.
“Hey, thanks again for the ride. I know Donnie really appreciates it.” A noncommittal grunt and a nod of the head are all I get. I nod back at him. Okay, I guess Donnie was right. Talk about old-fashioned. How old is this guy? He really can’t talk to a woman?
The drive home is awkward, but I decided against making small talk with him after the greeting I just received. When we pull into the driveway, I notice one of the small red flowerpots from the front porch has fallen and is lying broken on the sidewalk. As I head past it into the house, I sweep the shards aside with the toe of my shoe and make a mental note to come back out once I’m changed and clean it up. I wave to Leo at his post in the driveway and close the front door behind me.
Once inside, I shoot a quick text to Donnie, letting him know we made it safely, even though I’m sure his watchdog will have already done the same. As I head up the stairs to change out of my work clothes and into something more comfortable, I hear a car in the driveway. When I peek out the window, I see Leo is pulling out into the road. “Must be making his rounds,” I tell the empty house, making the assumption that he is doing laps around the block to check for any sign of the SUV that had been following me.
I quickly decide on a pair of yoga pants and a loose-fitting t-shirt, then peek out the window again and head downstairs to clean up the broken flowerpot. I don’t see Leo in the driveway, but I know that he will be back soon, and my mom should be dropping Gus off within a couple of hours. I check my phone, noticing that Donnie hasn’t responded to my text. Setting it on the kitchen counter I collect a trash bag. Then head back out front to clean up the pieces of broken pottery. When I bend down, which takes a little effort at this point in my pregnancy, I hear a car pull into the driveway. Assuming it is Leo, I continue with my task and slowly sweep the mess of dirt into a pile.
Just as I hear steps coming up the sidewalk, I turn, looking over my shoulder to see a pair of black work boots coming towards me. That’s the moment I realize that something is wrong. Twisting my body, I wrap my arms around my belly as the hand comes around my chest, another with a blue cloth in it closes over my nose and mouth. The last thing I remember is the sweet-smelling chemical that my brain tells me is trouble. Then the world goes black.