Mrs Jones (GxG)

4. {Sushi}

I held a strange concoction in a coconut cup—or was it a cup masquerading as a coconut husk? The liquid was a ghostly white and slightly opaque. Cloudy. I drew each sip through a vibrant pink straw, which created a stark contrast to the drink's muted hue. I was on my third cup, yet I couldn't recall its flavour or its scent. Was it sweet? Tart? Did it even have a scent?

But it must've been good for me to keep drinking.

Without warning, pain stabbed through my abdomen, making me wince, and sent the straw tumbling from my grasp. I jerked upright, heart hammering against my ribcage, eyes darting in search of Drea. In the dark stillness of the night, she nor Alex was nowhere to be found.

Why was I even awake at this ungodly hour? Nursing phantom cocktails.

The pain subsided, and I allowed my body to sink back into the embrace of the couch, the pillow in my lap offering comfort. But the moment the straw grazed my lips, the pain returned with a vengeance. It was a pain I'd felt before, as was the sudden urge to relieve myself. As sudden as it was, it was insistent too, making me dash toward the bathroom.

Perched on the toilet, the pain crescendoed to pure agony. My body knew this torment well, having gone through it not that long ago, yet my mind seemed numb to it. I was feeling the pain, but not really. Yet I knew it was immense from how my legs trembled uncontrollably and my tightened grip on the vanity that made the wood splintered and snapped beneath my fingers. A scream clawed at my throat and a groan escaped my lips, but the sensations were distant, as if muffled by a thick veil.

In a reflex born of instinct, my hands reached down, and into my trembling palms fell something slippery and soft. Time stopped, my world narrowing at the mystery cradled in my hands. What the—was it a baby? It couldn't be a baby. That was impossible. I wasn't pregnant. There had been no signs, no symptoms. Not to mention I didn't have a belly.

A wail pierced the silence that jolted me from my daze. It was the unmistakable cry of a newborn. My pulse raced, adrenaline surging as I lifted it from its precarious position between my legs, beneath my dress. There, in the dim light, I beheld her-- a baby girl with eyes as bright as Drea's.

Adreanna suddenly appeared at the bathroom door, Alex in her arms and her eyes wide with shock at the sight of me. I turned to her, on the cusp of hysteria. "Baby," I whispered, my voice a mix of panic and calm. I held the baby out to her, the umbilical cord still a lifeline between us. "Look what I found?"

"...baby... baby, look what I found..."

"Jules?"

"...look what I found..."

"Julia!"

The world snapped back into focus as I bolted upright in bed, Drea's touch a lingering ghost upon my skin. A phantom pain echoed in my abdomen, the memory of childbirth gripping me in its invisible clutches. Frantically, I flung the sheets aside, my legs splaying wide as I searched for any trace of the impossible birth. My hands roamed the bed, finding nothing but the familiar smoothness of the microfiber sheets.

"What are you looking for?"

Drea's voice cut through the fog of my panic, and my attention snapped to her, my eyes straining against the dark. Her face emerged from the shadows, stained with concern and worry. Her fingers brushed my cheek, and I shivered, the simple contact igniting a cascade of sensations that contrasted sharply with the residual tremors of my dreamt delivery.

"Adre-"

"Princess, I'm here."Her arms enveloped me in a hug, and I clung to her, grounding myself in her presence. "It was just a dream."