Rise: Populations Crumble, Book 2

by K. A. Gandy

  The smile Odette gives us is wan, and I get the distinct impression she doesn’t want to be here. She is tall and angular, with flowing black hair. Next to the tiny Carolina, she could be a swan, or a ballerina.

  “So, how are you all liking the amenities so far?” Dominic asks.

  “It’s beautiful here! I went out for a run this morning, and the views are exceptional. I get the feeling that we’re pretty secluded here, too,” Patrick answers.

  “The resort grounds are pretty large, so we’ve got plenty of privacy, for sure. I asked one of the activity guides and he said there are nearly five hundred acres dedicated to this center, with several thousand surrounding acres of forest,” Carolina enthuses.

  My mind reels at that number, but I see an opening to dig up more dirt on Josephine. “Oh, I wonder if it’s so large due to the pregnancy center being here, also. We heard this was a great honeymoon spot since both are in the same place.” I place a hand casually on Patrick’s arm.

  Carolina nods. “Yep, there’s a state-of-the-art medical facility on the grounds. You would have driven past it on your way in. It’s the square building with all the windows.”

  At least we won’t have to go far to see Josephine.

  “We didn’t get in until late, so we probably just missed it,” Faith suggests with a friendly smile.

  “I wonder if we could get a tour? You know, see where they’ll be taking care of us?” I suggest, eager to find Josephine and find out what happened to her after they sedated her and dragged her away. The image of her hanging limp between two guards has been branded into my brain ever since that day.

  “Ahh, eager newlyweds I see. Hoping to visit the baby center sooner rather than later.” Emmett ribs us with a grin.

  Carolina elbows him in the ribs. “Oh, hush. We all started out hopeful that it wouldn’t take long. Don’t burst their bubbles the first day here! Let them enjoy the possibilities.”

  The look he gives her speaks of genuine affection, and he slides his arm around her shoulders. “That’s my girl, always thinking of others,” he says with pride.

  Odette snorts delicately and looks out the window, clearly not impressed with the direction of the conversation. Dominic gives her a sideways glance but doesn’t try to engage her further.

  “Have you four been here awhile?” Faith asks in a delicate tone.

  “We’ve been here about eight months, and we were in the resort at Rico Republica for three months before we transferred here. It was gorgeous down there, but we wanted some cooler weather,” Carolina says, nonplussed by the fact that it’s been a while.

  “Oh, it’s almost your anniversary, then! Are you doing anything special to celebrate?” Faith sounds excited by the prospect.

  Carolina shrugs. “Probably nothing much. The staff does a really nice dinner whenever someone has an anniversary, so that will be good.”

  Our attention shifts to Odette and Dominic. When she lets the silence linger beyond comfort, Dominic steps up once again to carry the conversation. “We’ve been here four months, so not long at all. Are you all just married?” He eyes Faith speculatively, clearly having noted that she’s older than the rest of the women here.

  Teddy fields that question, “Yes, we’re all just in from Georada, but this isn’t Faith’s first match. It’ll be her last match, though.” He gives her knee a squeeze, and the look she gives him for that comment says she’s downright smitten. I have to look away.

  “Overly confident, are we?” Odette’s tone is icy as she pins my brother with a glare. “You do know that despite the supposed superior genetic matching,” she does air quotes, “there are no guarantees. You two might not even be that good of a genetic match, just the best available.”

  It’s clear she has a chip on her shoulder, but Teddy doesn’t let it faze him. “Actually, we’re a ninety-nine percent match. So, we have an exceptionally good shot. Were you two not as high as you’d hoped?” It’s his turn to pin her with a no-nonsense look.

  She is the first to break the staring contest and drops her eyes to her lap where her hands are tightly clenched. Dominic tries to set his hand on top of hers, but she flinches away from him and stands, striding out of the room without a look back.

  I can feel my eyebrows trying to climb straight off my forehead as I look back at Dominic, his shoulders slumped.

  “Things aren’t going well, I take it?” Patrick says, his tone gentle.

  “It’s not your fault, man. Just keep trying. She’ll come around,” Emmett says, and gives him a firm slap on the back.

  Based on what I just saw, that’s wildly unlikely. But that wouldn’t be helpful to tell Dominic.

  “It’s my own fault. I shouldn’t have told her about Carla. We were already not doing well, and from that moment on she’s completely iced me out. Nothing I say makes a difference.” He drops his head into his hands heavily.

  “Who’s Carla?” I ask.

  He looks up, a weary expression on his scruffy face. “She was my sweetheart back home. We dated through high school and signed up together when she had to join the program. We both got sent to the local New Life Center together, and we really thought we’d been matched. But, it turns out that she’d matched some guy from Ionoiri. And I matched Odette. It was torture watching each other date somebody else, and I made the mistake of telling her that we’d signed up in hopes of matching each other. I was her only match, and we’re only fifty-five percent. So she feels like she’s wasting her time with me, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s going to be a long freaking three years.” He sounds utterly dejected, and I can’t say I blame him. That’s a bad hand if ever I heard one.

  “Where are Carla and her match?” I ask gently.

  His face is grim when he looks up to answer, “They are already in Ionoiri, at the pregnancy center. She got pregnant two months ago, but she’s not doing so well.”

  Emmett gives him another slap on the back in camaraderie, and the rest of us exchange glances.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that, Dominic. Hopefully, she’ll be fine, and the next thing you hear will be good news.” I offer my most encouraging smile, but it falls flat.

  “Thanks, I hope so.”

  Carolina suggests a group beach walk to continue getting to know each other, so we all tromp along the beach until lunch, when we go our separate ways. We spend the rest of the afternoon in our cabin reading. Patrick seems lighter now that his secret isn’t between us anymore. He reads half of a military space adventure novel before I’m through a few chapters of my favorite western romance, which I can’t seem to focus on. My distracted brain loops back over the same page every time I stop to sneak a peek at my handsome, but untrustworthy, husband. My mind keeps turning over the dichotomy that is Patrick. One of the worst parts of this situation is that, now, I can’t trust my own judgment. Can I learn to trust him again?

  Can I learn to trust myself again?

  Cold Shower

  Another day dawns, and this time I sit up in bed and look over to see a rumpled Patrick, still awkwardly stuffed onto the chaise lounge in our room. The light sounds of his breathing can barely be heard over the waves outside. That does not look comfortable. His neck is twisted to fit, and his ankles and feet are dangling over the end of the dark blue leather cushion. I’m going to have to let him in the bed tonight. The thought makes my throat tighten, but it’s not fair to him to keep him squashed onto that tiny lounge chair.

  He interrupts my train of thought by trying to roll to his back, only to clear the edge and flail his arm wildly before hitting the ground with a thud. His groan echoes around our room.

  “Are you okay? Need a hand up?” I toss the words down to him.

  His voice is gravelly when he answers, “Why is it the one morning you’re actually awake is the one I fall off this thing?” He pops the side of the offending furniture with a clenched fist from his position on the wood floor.

  I climb out of the very fluffy mattress and walk around t
o offer him a hand. “Come on, time to get up.”

  He’s stretched out, hands propping his head up from the cold floor. That pose has really got his biceps popping out of his sleep shirt. It’s also making that sleep shirt ride up just a little from his pajama pants, and it takes all my willpower not to check out his exposed stomach. Remember, you’re still mad at him. Even if he is a tasty-looking stud muffin.

  “Okay, but this is the first time I’ve been flat in almost forty-eight hours.” He extends one hand, and I wrap both of mine around it and pull him to his feet.

  “Thanks, Sadie.” He leans down and gives me a soft kiss on the top of my head before padding into the bathroom. The door shuts with a soft click, and I head into the hall bath.

  A short while later we’re both dressed and ready to head down for breakfast at the guest house. We made plans yesterday to meet Faith and Teddy there, and then do a tour of the medical facility right after. I’m excited to finally see Josephine, and also curious what this top of the line facility entails.

  We made our way down the beach in companionable silence, and we’re the first ones in the dining hall for breakfast. A pink-shirted waiter brings around a basket of delicious pastries, and I’ve already finished a cheese Danish and started on a cherry turnover by the time Teddy and Faith walk in, nearly ten minutes late.

  “What took you two so long?” I grump around a mouthful of flaky cherry goodness.

  Patrick snorts next to me, and for the first time I take in Faith’s slightly mussed hair and reddened cheeks.

  “Oh, nothing much. Just overslept,” Teddy says as he holds her chair out for her, and she gives him a beaming smile. “So, what’s on the menu this morning?”

  We all order way too much food and discuss what activities we want to do when we’re done with the medical tour. The guys want to go sailing, and also go out on a lobster boat. Faith and I want to go hike to a rocky outpoint with an old lighthouse. It’s been out of use for well over a hundred years, as there’s almost no marine traffic to this area anymore, but they have maintained it for visitors.

  We’re only allowed one outing per day, so by the time we finish our breakfast smorgasbord, we’ve got the entire week planned.

  Even if it’s awkward at times, I’m so glad Teddy and Faith are here with us. At some point I’m going to have to tell them about Patrick. My mood darkens at the thought. Not today. Maybe later this week when we’re not in earshot of so many employees. A quick glance around the room and I count no less than six pink-shirted men lingering. Finished with our planning and extravagant breakfast, the mood is light as we head out the front door to the medical center for our tour.

  The driveway is very different in the daytime, as we can now see that it’s planted down both sides with tall decorative grass bunches which blow in the continuous breeze, and long-stalked flowers that bob brightly interspersed among them. The four of us make a pretty jovial group, and in no time we’re walking in the front doors of the medical facility. Melissa, the director, is waiting for us in the lobby. Her outfit today is flamingo pink scrubs, paired with chunky shoes covered in rainbows. It’s a polar opposite vibe than Dr. Mitch gave off, and I’m relieved about that. As we approach, a cloud of her floral perfume engulfs us.

  “Welcome newlyweds! We’re so excited to show you all around our dedicated pregnancy and fertility center! You four are actually the first to ever request a tour, but we like the idea so much that we’re going to put it on the activity menu from now on. Why not get comfortable here, even before the big positive?” She says it as if it’s the most novel idea that she’s ever heard. Her smile seems genuine, and I can feel a release of tension I didn’t know I was holding in my shoulders.

  “Who’s ready to get started?” She looks at us eagerly, and once we all nod she bustles towards a shiny white hallway with a big pink stripe down the center of the walls. “Here on the main floor, we have our basic appointment rooms. This is where we see you for any ordinary medical visits, confirm pregnancy tests, and even perform ultrasounds.” She stops at the open door for a pretty standard-looking appointment room. The only difference is the huge screen built into one wall, and an assortment of medical wands that come out of the wall.

  “This is the ultrasound equipment, and the high resolution scans are projected directly onto the wall. You can actually see the baby bigger than life size—can you imagine? One day, with any luck, you four will be here checking out your little nuggets on that very screen.” She sighs dreamily before continuing down the hallway. “At this end of the hallway we have a full barrage of screening equipment. So, if we don’t see results in the timeframe we’d expect, we are able to assess any issues right here in house. I have to say, you chose the best honeymoon location.” She stops, puffing her chest slightly with pride, “You can have anything you need on your fertility journey taken care of right here, while still staying in the comfort of your own perfect ocean-front bungalow.”

  She leads us up a flight of stairs, and on the second floor there is a baby blue stripe down the walls. “This floor houses all of our second-tier pregnancy support services. If you need some extra help or monitoring, we have suites on this floor where you can stay and receive round the clock care. However, the designers have really gone all out to make each room feel more like it’s at a spa than a medical facility.” This time, the door she stops at is open to a pristine and calming turquoise green room with a large bed in the center, and antique lanterns studding the walls. The attached bathroom has a massive infinity tub in front of floor-to-ceiling windows which overlook a thick thatch of woods. You could almost miss the medical panel and tubing recessed into the wall behind the bed, if you weren’t looking for it.

  “Uhm, is there a way to cover those windows when you’re in here? It’s beautiful, but I don’t usually show all my business to whoever might be walking by.” Faith gestures up and down her body nervously.

  “Of course! The windows are fully adjustable for privacy.” She walks to the corner, and with the press of a button the windows fog fully, with one more press they fog only halfway up so you can still see out, and on the third press they resume their crystal-clear state. “There’s also a nightlight function which will cause it to glow.” Her answer is chipper.

  “It seems like they’ve thought of everything,” I say. “Are there any pregnant women on the floor now?”

  She shakes her head sadly. “No, not right now. Every pregnancy is big news around here, so we usually deck out the hallways with balloons whenever someone is in.

  “Oh, okay,” I say, confusion coloring my tone.

  Her brow furrows. “Were you expecting someone?”

  How to answer without giving away Glitch’s illicit research? My mind spins before answering, “Not necessarily. A friend of ours was supposed to be honeymooning here, but we didn’t see her at the introduction yesterday, and I hoped she might have been here.” I give her a smile, silently praying she’ll let it drop.

  “Oh, I understand. Right now we have four couples at this location, and unfortunately no babies yet this year. Hopefully you four will be able to change that soon.” She pauses, and looks around as if someone is going to jump out of the woodwork before whispering, “Between you and me, I’ve reviewed your files and you four have exceptionally strong genetic match potential. The best I’ve seen in my entire five years at this facility, so we’ve all got high hopes for you in the next few months.” Her eyes twinkle with excitement, but my stomach churns at her words.

  I force myself to paste on a smile, and not think of Patrick sleeping on a too-small chaise lounge. Faith thankfully speaks up. “Oh, we’ve got high hopes ourselves. Teddy is my third match, and I’d love to finally have my baby.” Her voice chokes up at the end, and I can tell she’s fighting back tears. Teddy wordlessly slips his arm around her shoulders and pulls her into his side.

  The blatant display of hope makes me feel ashamed of myself. Here I am, miserable and feuding with Patrick, a ninety-nine percent
genetic match for me, while Faith has been married and divorced from two men before Teddy and still hasn’t been able to conceive. When I think about how lucky I am, how hard she’s had to fight for what’s been handed to me, it makes me reconsider my reluctance to start a family. I look over at Patrick, who’s been silent for this entire tour to find him studying me intently.

  We lock eyes, and the moment fills with tension. His hand flutters up, as if he wants to touch me, but hesitates and he lowers it back down without making contact. I glance away and clear my throat, not willing to have this moment in front of an audience.

  You have to talk to him soon, Sadie. And Teddy and Faith, for that matter. My stern pep-talk does little to encourage me.

  “Okay! If you’re ready to continue the tour, the top floor is the most exciting yet!” She says, oozing enthusiasm as she hustles out the door and back down the hallway to the stairwell. We climb another flight of stairs, this time coming out on a landing with a butter yellow stripe on the walls.

  “This floor is where the magic happens!” She flings her hands wide as if, instead of another hallway, we’re looking out over a majestic view. She leads us to the first doorway on the right. “Each room on this hallway is a delivery and maternal care suite. This is where you’ll come for the last month of your pregnancy, stay for delivery, and two to four weeks after the baby’s born for round-the-clock monitoring.”

  She may intend that to sound safe and inviting, but instead, it makes me feel like the walls are closing in. Living as a bug under a microscope for nearly two months sounds like a circle of hell. And if I remember correctly, my sister-in-law Tess was miserable towards the end of both her pregnancies. Why would they keep us locked up in this tower? I’m about to ask as much when Teddy interjects.

  “We don’t actually have to stay though, right? We were under the impression that once our pregnancy is confirmed and the first trimester is over, we’d be able to go home to Georada to be with family.”

  She hesitates, and for the first time her chipper façade slips. “Well, technically no, you don’t have to stay in all scenarios.”