deCIPHERED (Book 1)

~Chapter 21~

A/N: Okay, so the last chapter may have been one of the longest chapters I've ever written, especially for this story, but this chapter will be shorter. Oh, and this chapter will start off in LUCAS' perspective, and it will shift from Lucas to Annabelle and back! But the next chapter will be in Michaela's perspective, just so you know.
~Luna

FOUR MONTHS LATER

Lucas

We were back in America, in the Dreamscaper Society late at night. There were countless stars in the sky, many crickets chirping loudly, and almost everyone was asleep, including Artemis.

Annabelle's friends, Richard and Jasmine Hassibor, and Daniel Rogers, had to leave the Society temporarily so they could take care of their newborn children, Tiffany Hassibor and Nathan Rogers. The rest of us were in bed, except for me and Annabelle. I couldn't stop reading the prophecy, and it made me numb and restless. Tonight Michaela would be born, if everything the prophecy said was true.

Part of me was hoping the prophecy was fake. I wanted to have a child, and I wanted Bill to be gone forever, but I didn't want to lose Annabelle. I didn't know what I would do without her.

Annabelle was in the same room with her brother, Derek, and she was crying on his shoulder. This was similar to how she felt the day she found out she would be having Michaela. Except this time, she was sick with worry as well.

"I'm only going to have three months to take care of her before my death...Derek, what if she doesn't remember me?" Annabelle trembled. I felt awful now, I wished I could've said something to help her. Instead, I sat outside Derek's bedroom and listened to them.

"Michaela is always going to remember you. You're her mother. She will love you with all her heart. Promise." Derek said.

"I hope you're right, Derek." Annabelle responded, wiping away a tear with a tissue. "And if she doesn't remember me?"

"We're all going to miss you dearly, Annabelle. And so is Michaela, whether she remembers you well or not."

"That means a lot to me, Derek."

Suddenly, there was a long pause. I peeked inside the room, where Annabelle was practically frozen with fear.

"Oh my God..." I whispered.

"Anna, are you okay? Anna, say something!" Derek panicked.

Annabelle didn't respond. She simply kept breathing hard and almost fainted.

"Derek...get Lucas...the baby's coming..." Annabelle said under her breath.

I nearly tripped over my own feet when I jumped up. I had to get Annabelle to the hospital, and fast. But I couldn't blow my cover or hers as a Trucekeeper or a Dreamscaper- or as the parent of a Discorded child -so I had only one reasonable option left.

Annabelle was too weak to teleport, so I grabbed her hand and Derek's hand as well, and did the job myself. We arrived at the hospital less than a second later, and there was a room available for her. Derek and I were told to stay in the lobby until the child was born.

"Give me one good reason why I should stay out here! I'm the child's father, for crying out loud!" I demanded.

"Your wife is having a great amount of trouble giving birth. We're trying to figure out the problem, but we'll let you in once it has been resolved." The nurse replied in a snooty voice, walking away as soon as the words slipped from her mouth. No way...

"She said Anna was having a lot of trouble?" Derek panicked.

"You got that right," I said in fear. "Let's just hope she survives this."