Chapter 4 - Storm on the Horizon

Once they were home, Emilia had made sure that the kids were alright before excusing herself to the bedroom. The bedroom was strictly off-limits to all three children, and Marcus had decided to go play on the swings outside.

Mom had seemed really quiet on the trip home. A couple of times, he’d asked her questions or tried to have a conversation, only to get a vague response and a smile that just didn’t seem to reach all the way to her eyes. He didn’t know why, but it upset him to see Mom like that, and the swing creaked as he pushed himself back and forth. Rhea hadn’t even seemed to notice anything was wrong.

These days, it seemed like Rhea never noticed when things were wrong. She didn’t see how stupid Ciara was, and it didn’t seem fair that he had to feel like this and Rhea could feel happy. It felt mean to think like that, so instead he tried to think about the Voidcritter tournament, and about his Canis. He'd been training it every moment he could. He really hoped he could battle Chanel and take down her Yorier.

Marcus liked Chanel, at least. She didn't think that Voidcritters was boring, and because of her sister, she knew all about the Greywall books. She'd borrowed the first one from Ciara, and even though she hadn't read it all the way through yet, she liked it, and had come to find him and talk about it. He really wanted to battle her, and he'd recently gotten a Wisp card that he already had. He wanted to give it to her after the tournament. 

But would that be weird? He didn't know. 

Later on, he was cheering his Canis on as it took down the bunny training opponent on the Battle Station, when the thought crossed his mind again. Would it be weird if he gave it to her? He really wanted to, but he didn't want her to be weirded out. Sometimes it was hard to be friends with a girl.

In her own room, Rhea was practicing on her violin. She didn't feel quite as calm and happy as her brother thought, but instead poured herself into practice while she tried not to think.

Her grandmother had been so happy to see them, but...something was different. Marcus and Mom had been speaking with each other on the trip back, but Mom had seemed distant somehow, her answers vague. And then she'd gone into her and Dad's bedroom. Maybe it was just Rhea, but it seemed like Mom had started being unhappy after talking to Grandmother. 

But why? Why would she be unhappy? 

In the middle of the night, things got even worse. A thunderstorm started, waking Maranda, and every member of the house jolted awake to hear her wailing at the loud crash of the thunderstorm. Rhea and Marcus each turned back over individually, pillows over their heads, while in her room, Maranda cried even louder.

“It’s okay, it's okay, Marrie, I'm coming." Emilia called, getting up while her husband rolled over and groaned.

"Emilia..."

"I'll be right back, I promise." She ran a hand through his hair, and he relaxed, letting her move swiftly off to Maranda's room. 

As soon as she walked through the door, she swept Maranda up into a hug, holding her close. "It's alright, it's alright." 

Maranda clung to her, and patted her tummy lightly, gently as if she was playing with a doll. "Baby scare?" she asked. A chill went through Emilia, and she hugged Maranda closer. 

"Marrie, it's okay, it's just a thunderstorm." She removed Maranda's hand from her stomach. "Let's get you back to bed."  

Maranda was more than happy to be tucked back in and fussed over until she fell asleep, but Emilia's mind was racing. It was true that she had felt a little sick when she woke up the other day, but if Maranda could sense that...She shook her head. There was no way. No way. She made her way back to her own bed, snuggling under the covers until the bone-tiredness of it all did the rest. 

Still, in the morning, she dug around the medicine cabinet for a pregnancy test she'd bought just in case the other month when she'd felt a bit wobbly. That one had turned out negative, but this one...

When Darrel came into the kitchen for breakfast, his wife was sat at the table, waiting for him, a troubled look on her face. 

"Are you dropping Maranda off at daycare today or am I?" he asked, before taking a second look at her expression. "Oh. Honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's...wrong as such, it's just..." She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant again." Her expression didn't much change as she focused on her breakfast, but he knew Emilia. He knew she was shaken, and he could understand. 

She looked up at him, finally, and he could see that she'd been crying at some point. "Honey, how did this happen? We promised we'd be careful after Maranda, and that if we were...we were going to wait, and..."

He sighed, deeply. "Milly...You know these things can happen." He wanted to hug her, comfort her, but he was also floored by the news. A baby. A baby, while Maranda was still a toddler and determined and moving about and so much. 

"I know they happen, Darrel, but I didn't expect it. What are we going to do?"

To which Darrel could only give her an honest answer.

"I don't know."