Page 35 of Ghost Hunted

I turn to him, trying and failing at first to speak.

“My… my belly…” I manage at last, swallowing hard.

He looks more confused than ever. Then his eyes follow the movement of my hand clutching my stomach, and his frown clears. “Children. What did you mean by that?”

My eyes widen. “Did I say that? Did I really say that?”

“Yes, you did. I didn’t want to bring it up. But you can talk to me. Tell me what happened. Tell me if...” He doesn’t finish the sentence, letting it hang in mid-air, and panic strangles my chest.

“I don’t know.”

I’m losing him; I can tell I’m losing him. His mind is frantically searching for the truth, and he’s hitting on the only answer that makes sense.

I cheated on him.

I had another child; I cheated on him.

I shake my head helplessly. “I don’t think so. I don’t remember. Logan, I swear, I don’t remember. I don’t think I could have done that… It must be a dream. That’s all, a dream.” I choke out a terrified sob. “Please, Logan. It’s nothing.”

“Shh.” He draws me into his lap again, and the warmth in his voice makes me breathe a little easier. “Please don’t be scared, baby. If you did anything, it’s my fault. It’ll always be my fault. Remember?”

Yes, I do. And his words don’t reassure me half as much as I can tell he means them to. I don’t want him to go back to that time when he was beating himself up over everything I did wrong.

“I don’t think I cheated on you.”

“Okay.” He toys with my earlobe distractedly. “What do you remember, Lia?”

“My stomach hurt.” I swallow. “It hurt so bad. And it lasted hours. Then, I heard crying. It came from a baby, I think. But I never held it. I don’t think I ever held it.”

“Did you see it?”

“I can’t remember.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “No, I do: I think I did see it. I think I was crying, because they wouldn’t let me hold her.”

“Her.”

Now, why did I say her?

“I guess so.” I hesitate. “I guess it was a girl; yes, it was. And she had just a tiny bit of hair on her head. It was red. And she had freckles, too. And green eyes.”

The more I talk, the more I remember.

“Are you sure you’re not confusing her with Aurora?” Logan asks gently. “Maybe it’s an older memory.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m sure. It’s getting clearer now. I was in a tiny room with brown walls, and both my parents were there. And a few others, too.”

“A few others?”

“Yeah.” Her eyes widen. “Logan… Logan, it was them!”

“Them?”

“The… the men on the bikes. It was them!”

He squeezes me to him. “How can you know? They were wearing masks. Unless Quill removed them when I was unconscious?”

“No.” I shake my head frantically. “No, I don’t know if it was really them. But they were wearing the same masks. So dark they looked like black holes. You couldn’t see the features, that’s how dark they were. Just black holes.”

“Hmm.”