"Nice. Congratulations," Mary replies. She begins punching some stuff into a screen then instructs me to lie flat on the table. Lars lingers right next to me. He's so close that I can feel his breaths hit the bare skin of my stomach. Mary squirts some gel on my stomach then flips on a large projector on the wall in front of me.
She begins moving the wand all around my stomach and I watch the screen intently, not sure what exactly I'm looking at.
"Alright. We're going to have to do a vaginal ultrasound because you're still just a bit early for the abdominal scan."
I push myself up on my elbows. "Is that normal?"
"Absolutely. It's very rare that you'd be able to see a ten-week gestational sac through the abdomen. No worries, hun. We'll get you all checked out. I'm going to step out and you'll need to take your clothes off from the waist down." She looks at Lars. "Just push the door open when she's all set."
Folding my clothes in a neat pile, I realize that the pain has subsided. It's been minutes since I felt the sharp twinges. Lars holds out his hand to take my clothes from me. "I think I'm ok now."
Lars goes over and pushes the door open a crack then returns to my side. "You wanna leave?" Because I'm not too keen on them shoving a wand up your pussy." He grabs ahold of a wand about the length of a ruler and holds it up. "You'll never enjoy my dick again."
Bursting out in laughter, I snatch it from his hand. "Put that down."
"You sure you don't want me to loosen you up a bit with it before she rams it in? Ya know, a little foreplay?"
"Stop it." I blush.
"There might be some extras in the cupboards. We can bring one home for later."
I shoot him a stern look when extra light breaks through the room from the open door.
"All set?" She asks as she takes her place by the monitors. Tearing open a plastic wrapper, she pulls out a condom and proceeds to roll it onto the wand. My first time using a condom and it's not even on a penis. That's about as backwards as this entire situation. "Ok. Legs up. You'll feel some slight pressure and let me know if you feel any pain." The wand rolls in and I try hard to focus on the screen and not what's going on beneath the sheet.
"Is that her?" I ask, pointing to the screen at a tiny little lima bean.
"It sure is."
It's moving around. Not much, but tiny little flutters. A few seconds later, Lars' phone begins vibrating loud enough to catch my attention. At the same time, a swooshing sound rings through a speaker connected to a monitor. It's fast and strong.
"That's your baby’s heartbeat."
Warmth radiates through me. A happiness that I didn't even know existed. That's my baby’s little heart. I look up at Lars, but he's nose-deep in his phone. "Lars. Did you hear that?" He doesn't lift his head. His eyes are wide and his face his pale. "Lars," I say again.
"Hmm?" He lifts his face from his phone and looks at the screen. "Ah, yeah. Nice and strong heartbeat." He kisses my cheek. Though, his expression doesn't change. He's here, but he's not really here.
"What's wrong?" I whisper when he presses an elbow next to my head and watches the screen with me.
"Not yet," he mumbles.
My phone begins vibrating in my pants on another chair and we look at each other. Lars probably knows what it's about. I, on the other hand, have no clue what's going on.
After Mary snaps a few pics, she pulls the wand out and I pull the sheet down over my legs. "These are for you." She hands me a couple pictures of my little lima bean. "Go ahead and get cleaned up and I'll be back in a minute to take you back to your room."
I hold my breath, counting the seconds in my head until she's gone. "What happened?" I spit out as soon as the door latches shut.
"Holy shit, Willa. You're not gonna believe this." He hands me his phone. "Read that."
December 22, 2020
BREAKING NEWS
Josh Moran, 18, of Redwood, AZ, has been found deceased in an apparent murder-suicide.
Chills circulate through my entire body. I slap a hand to my mouth and look at Lars who has returned to his pale ghost-like state.
Josh Moran went missing sometime at the end of October. His car was pulled from Lake Ruin, just east of Redwood three weeks later. Though, foul play was suspected, his family held out hope.
"He's a good kid. Smart. Funny. Everyone loved him." His sister, Vi Moran, seventeen and also of Redwood, told authorities.
"Well, that's a lie. Even Vi knew her brother was a sicko."
"Keep reading. It gets crazier." Lars moves his eyes from me to the phone.
Authorities were called to the two hundred block of West Elm when Pastor Richard Jeffries was found deceased with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. Beside him, they found dozens of photographs in a biblical box containing child pornography of male and female children that stem back to as early as 2010. The children range in age from only eight-years-old to an estimated sixteen years of age.
"No way!" I choke. "Oh my God, Lars. Kids? There are more kids?" My heart breaks in two. Wait. A box. I stop reading and scroll down a bit at the collage of photos. There's my house with caution tape surrounding it. And the box. There are no pictures, of course. But that's the box Zed had me get. "Lars. I think that Zed was a victim of—" I can't even stomach the words.
Lars nods. "I think you're right."
Oh
