This Is Where I Want To Be

89. Oh Crap

Juliet

Louis had left for Washington. He would meet Carl and Kubra there. We have not seen Kubra again since he dropped off Charlene. Carl would move in when they came back. To be closer to Louis. All three of them and Bertram would be traveling worldwide for some time... It was the trip Marcus was supposed to make. There were a lot of things that Louis needed to finalize.

My mom was busy with Charlene and Miné. They were together the whole day. Louis had left my dad in charge of the compound. He and Jessy got along well. That meant I was alone. Everyone left me alone because I was in pain. Cranky. Still a bit traumatized. Angry when I woke up every morning in the worst kind of nightmare. My back was killing me. It was challenging to get through the day, and every day got worse.

I could at least sleep in my own bed. One morning, my patience was done. Sick and tired of being sick and tired. I got up desperate. Desperate people called for desperate measures. I disappeared and left out the big gates that didn't need to be closed anymore. Damian was still hanging. It had been days. Still the mascot for the men who thought they could do anything to women.

I was walking to the one place I knew I could get answers. I faced my worst fear with Damian. So I might as well find some more closure for another one.

It wasn't that far, and it only took me five minutes to reach the science building. There were no signs, but I knew what it looked like. Lots of glass and windows. Tall up into the sky. Just a few floors. It took me a while to wait for the doors to open so I could sneak through. I didn't want anyone to know where I was. Alone in a corridor or in front of an elevator was easy. I could quickly press a button or open a door and disappear again. But getting to where there were no people was the problem. From what I had seen on the plans in Marcus's study, I knew where I was going. Coupled with Chris telling me where they hid the entrance.

The elevator opened to the last floor down into the basement. It was a dark space, open plan, with glass cubicles. I had heard about Rodrigo's stalls down there, so I wasn't scared. I had seen his monsters before. If something was going to jump up and hit the glass.

"Thud!"

I swore loudly. "I thought I would be prepared." I flinched at the monster glaring down at me. As I walked through the cubicles, the lights went on. It was just one narrow corridor with glass on either side. Each stall had a different monster. The ones we saw on TV were definitely the one I was staring at. I had stopped to stare, having such a good view.

"Juliet?" The voice gave me an instant flashback of him picking me up and sniffing me. Another one of Damian touching my back and hair. "You're pregnant." I spun around, the fear forgotten. The words stunned me into silence for a moment. He didn't say anything, either.

"What? How did that happen?"

He laughed lightly. "Really? You need an anatomy lesson?"

"How do you know? Would you know after only three weeks?"

He snickered and nodded. "I can smell it. As clearly as your cherry lip gloss." My lips pressed together. I walked over to him. He wasn't so scary anymore. He seemed different. Not as twitchy as he was back then.

"Can you tell me who the father is?" He actually smiled and held out his arm. He ushered me into the back, where his lab was. I got on the steel table.

"I'm going to do a proper exam." I nodded. As a doctor would. He first looked into my ears, nose, and mouth. He felt my glands and took my pulse and all my vitals, circling to my back. "This doesn't look good."

I shook my head. "It hurts. Couldn't you have made me bulletproof? Lashingproof. Any proof."

Walking over to the cabinet on the wall, he opened a glass door with hundreds of tiny bottles lined up perfectly. One thing about Rodrigo. He was painstakingly OCD.