Worlds Collide by Scott Jasper T

Author:Scott, Jasper T. [Scott, Jasper T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0B13ZF9R3
Goodreads: 61268494
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: 2022-08-21T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

3:48 PM, February 25th, 2070

“Well?” Layla’s mother knocked on the bathroom door. “What’s it say?”

“Hang on,” Layla said. She was sitting on the toilet, waiting for the result of the second test. She’d bought two, just in case. The first one was sitting beside the sink, and now she was waiting to confirm the result with the second.

It had taken her a few days to get up the courage to tell her mother what had happened. For some reason Abigail was more focused on the prospect of having another grandchild than the possibility that her daughter might have been violated or artificially inseminated without her knowledge.

Layla’s mouth twitched bitterly. But she was no longer eager to end this pregnancy. Something was going on. She hadn’t seen the shadow man return, but then, she’d been sleeping more deeply than usual. In fact, she’d never felt so rested, or so energized and vibrant. It was as though life had suddenly been painted in different colors—brighter, happier ones. If this was what it was like to be pregnant, she suddenly understood why some women were so eager to have kids.

Layla resisted the urge to tap her foot as she waited.

She didn’t have long to wait. The word materialized on the tiny display.

Pregnant.

She couldn’t believe it. Setting the test aside with the other one, she stood up and zipped up her jeans. She emerged from the bathroom with both tests in hand. Her mother’s eyes were wide and sparkling, her hands up, palms out, and her mouth slightly agape and smiling, as if she were just about to crush Layla into a hug and start jumping up and down for joy.

“Let me see!” Layla’s mother grabbed both tests in a fist and checked them. It took a moment for the news to sink in. And then she exploded. “You’re pregnant! This is incredible! Oh, honey, I know it’s not what you expected, but you’ll see! This is going to be such a good thing for you. There’s nothing in the world like being a mother. No greater sense of fulfillment.”

Layla frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. Her mysteriously good feelings on the topic diminished with the need to put her mother’s feet on the ground. “Did you forget what I told you?”

“Hmmm?”

“I don’t know who the father is. This wasn’t the product of some one-night stand before I disappeared, or after. This is something that happened to me. Without my knowledge.”

Abigail frowned and waved a hand at her, as if to swat away a fly. “Oh, that.” She began turning away, a smile twitching back onto her face. “Let me get you some lunch. You’re eating for two now!”

“Mom!”

Abigail stopped and turned around.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“I am.”

“And? You still think this is a good thing?” Layla’s own misgivings were making a swift comeback now in the face of her mother’s blithe acceptance of the news. “What if someone has been experimenting on me? Or ... or worse, what if it’s them?”

“Them?”

“The Architects.

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