Chapter 16: Panic

Stomachache. Nausea. Uh-oh. This was probably morning sickness again, the only difference being this was the first time I didn't know who the father was. Only a week had passed since the night at the club. Austin and I had slept together a few times after as well. Who was the father? Dallas or Austin? I hoped Austin wouldn't dump me if the baby wasn't his. Crap, crap, crap. Just when things were starting to go well for me, another curve ball gets thrown my way.

I called the only person I could think of that would be able to understand how I felt. Christian. We met at the Colisi Bistro.

"You sounded stressed on the phone, Sicily. What's going on?"

"I'm pregnant again... I don't know who the father is... I slept with two guys on the same night... I'm dating one of them... I think I could be falling in love, but what if the father is the other guy?"

"Oh Sicily."

"There's more. He showed me the mansion from my dreams."

"What do you mean he showed you? He knows where it is?"

"Yeah, he's this history buff and he really likes Ravenview history. He said he knew about this mansion on a hill that was supposedly haunted. We went there, and I'm positive the mansion is the one Alexandra and Eleanor lived in."

"Does he know about our family history?"

"I don't know. I was too shocked at the time to talk to him about it. I also really like him and I don't want him to think I'm crazy if I tell him I have dreams about people I've never even met, people who have been dead for hundreds of years."

"I don't think you're crazy."

"You're part of the same whacked out family. You know about everything."

"True, but I don't have dreams like you do. So this guy you met, what's his name?"

"Austin Meringue." A warm feeling came over me. I calmed down a little when I said Austin's name. Maybe I was falling for him.

"So you said Austin likes ghosts and Ravenview history? I just had a new book published called Ravenview Hauntings. It's about ghosts and urban legends. You could have him read it. That might give you a way to ease him into that part of your life. He might find it interesting."

"I know, but I am so scared he'll leave."

"If he really likes you, he'll accept you. Trent did."

"Yeah, but Trent was a therapist. He dealt with crazy on a regular basis."

"Have faith, Sicily."

"Christian? How did you get interested in our family... uh, problems? You're a guy, and from what you wrote in your book, only females are affected."

Christian looked away for a little bit and sighed, obviously saddened by my question. When he turned his attention to me once again, he had tears in his eyes.

"You're right, but I have gone through pain as well because of it. I married a great girl and we had a daughter. As a teenager, she was extremely promiscuous, dating a different guy every couple of days. When she was 18, she ran away. I filed a missing persons report, but eventually she came home. It had been a year, and she had a baby. Her mother and I took care of the child, but my daughter continued her behavior. She kept sleeping around and bringing home babies, asking her mother and I to babysit. She never got a job. She had five children until I lost her to a sleeping pill overdose.

My wife never got over our daughter's death. One day she went out driving in some bad weather. The police report said she drove towards oncoming traffic and then swerved suddenly. Her car flew off the bridge into the river. They found her in the car, with her seat belt on. She had never attempted to escape. The coroner said official cause of death was suicide by drowning."

"Oh my berry, Christian, I am so sorry."

Just then, I almost threw up. "Sorry, Christian, don't take what just happened as my reaction to your story. My morning sickness is really rampant this time."

Christian looked a little panicked. "Would you like me to take you home so you can rest?"

"Yes, that would probably be good."

After Christian dropped me off, Austin came by and surprised me with a bouquet of beautiful red roses.

I knew what I had to do. I had to tell him I was pregnant. He would have noticed eventually. The familiar feeling of excitement and terror was coursing through my body. I had a flashback of the day I told Trent about Augustine. Bite the bullet, Sicily. I touched his sweet face. His golden hair felt silky soft in my hands. His hot pink eyes looked directly into mine. He was smiling slightly, showing off his pearly teeth. He was wearing cologne that smelled intoxicating. I took in all the details of his face and stood very close to him just in case this was the last time I ever saw him.