Nightshade: A SimLit | Chapter 91: The Promise That Couldn't Be Kept

"Come on, pick up," Aurora grumbled, pacing around in the kitchen as she waited for an answer to her phone call. She'd lost count of how many times she tried to contact Alexander the past few days, only to be sent to his voicemail, which seemed like a broken record playing the same answering machine message repeatedly -- recorded by him personally, clearly to taunt her, she thought.

"What's shakin', bacon? Obviously, I can't take your call now, but leave a message at the tone and I'll get back to you as soon as possible... if you're worth my time."

Aurora's eyes rolled so hard they almost detached themselves and retreated deep into her eyesockets. "You're so stupid," she said, luckily just before the beeping signaled that she was recording a message. With a deep breath, she began to speak. "Hey, Alexander, it's me again. If I have to hear your dumb voicemail message one more time, I'm going to kill you the next time I see you. I don't get why you're avoiding me and not answering my calls or texts, but I'm almost starting to get worried. If you're mad or something, just tell me. But... please don't miss our date tonight. I was really looking forward to it. I love you. Bye." She sighed softly and hung up. It wasn't like him to just cut her off like this, at least not since they'd started dating almost two months ago. The road leading to their relationship was rocky, but he seemed genuinely determined to make things work this time around and hadn't caused any problems since then. She believed him when he said that he loved her, which is why none of this made any sense to her. She dug through her mind a million times over to think of any possible explanation, from the possibility that she did something to make him angry, to him doing something stupid that got him killed. Sure, the latter concept was unlikely, but this was Alexander she was thinking about. An even more irrational thought was that she was starting to feel as though he'd abandoned her -- again. Abandonment was Aurora's deepest fear, fueled by a childhood filled with desolation and later years comprised of failed relationships, of which she always grew attached to far sooner than she should have. Was he any different, or would he be just like everyone else that promised her love and gave her nothing but loneliness? The thought pained her, but truthfully, she didn't know anymore.

---

"Alright, Alexander," the lab technician began, "I'm going to send off most of your lab work for testing. You should get some results in a few days, but I think there are a few extra tests I'd like to run here that will only take a few minutes. Would you mind answering some... possibly uncomfortable questions?"

Alexander was fidgety in his seat. "...uncomfortable how?"

"Such as..." She paused for a moment, then decided to bluntly ask. "In the past few months, have you had any sexual partners? And if so, how many?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying someone gave me a weird disease? Because--"

"Please answer the question, sir," she interrupted. 

"Yeah. Depending on how many months is "a few," I've had too many to count, honestly," he said, not even showing a hint of shame. "But probably less than a dozen unless I was too drunk to remember somebody."

She looked frankly disturbed by his answer. "...I see. Well, were any of those... partners... by any chance an alien?"

"Uh, yeah, my girlfriend is. I've been in a completely committed relationship with her for over a month... why is that relevant?"

The technician pursed her lips. "...and you said your symptoms have been nausea, vomiting, fatigue and... unexplained weight gain, correct?"

"That's correct, but you're ignoring my question. You know something that you're not saying." Panic started to form in his voice. "Am I going to die or something?"

"No. In fact, I think I know exactly what's wrong. Just... give me a few moments to run some of those tests and I'll get back to you." With a nervous smile, she left before he could say another word.

"Okay then," he mumbled underneath his breath. 

He didn't have anything better to do than to check his mountain of voicemails while he waited. Most of the new ones were from today, and from Aurora, as usual. He hadn't called or texted back in several days, which he felt bad for, but he just didn't want her to see him like this -- or know how bad he was feeling. It all started about a week ago when he got up in the morning and felt as if he had the worst hangover of his life, except he hadn't even been drinking the night before. After puking his guts out and feeling like a train wreck every day since then, not to mention the sudden weight gain, he started to assume something was wrong. Maybe he'd finally tested one too many faulty serums at work, or maybe his excessive drinking was finally starting to get to him in strange ways. He really wasn't sure, but he knew that something was... off. And he had to get to the bottom of it fast. So now here he was at the hospital, being asked oddly invasive questions about sleeping with aliens as though that had anything to do with the situation. 

After three or four voicemails, Alexander shoved his phone back into his pocket and sighed heavily. He couldn't wrap his head around what was going on, but every minute that passed by left him growing increasingly uneasy. It felt like ages before he heard approaching footsteps and the lab technician returned with an unusual glint in her eyes.

"I have some news for you."

Nervously, he glanced up at her. "And hopefully answers?"

"...well, um..." She awkwardly grabbed a folding chair and placed it in front of him, seemingly trying to find a good place to start explaining. "Are you aware of how the alien reproductive system works?"

"What is this, a middle school class?" Alexander irritably asked. "I mean, I don't know, I guess like everyone else's? ...then again, you wouldn't ask if that was the case."

The technician frowned. "To put it simply, alien reproduction doesn't work the same way as most other life forms, especially not humans, or vampires in your case. As you know, our reproductive anatomy is quite different--"

"Yeah, yeah, I obviously know about the tentacles, get to the point."

"We have a very... unique ability."

"...which is?"

"Both male and female aliens are capable of becoming pregnant and impregnating others. But it doesn't stop there; either can also impregnate both sexes of any species, not just females," she explained. 

He tried to keep himself from panicking, but to no avail. "W-What are you getting at...?"

"Well, to put it bluntly," she said, "congratulations, you're pregnant."

Alexander was certain that he could have a heart attack and drop dead at any moment. "I-I'm... what!? That's not possible!"

"I just explained how it's possible."

"N-No, you're crazy, I can't be..." His voice trailed off, quivering too intensely to form proper words anymore. "I-I don't want to be..."

"Well, this is something that you'll have to discuss with your girlfriend." The technician frowned. "Before you leave, you'll need to set up an appointment to begin prenatal care, but otherwise you're free to go."

"M-My girlfriend... right," he nodded, hesitantly standing up and struggling to find his balance. By now, his head was spinning. "I... I have a lot of questions about everything."

She smiled reassuringly. "We'll be glad to answer them at your next appointment, so let's go set that up. I know things seem intimidating, but you'll be fine." 

He was everything in the world but fine.

---

"Alexander! What's taken you so long to call back? What's going on? Why have you been ignoring me?" The voice on the other end of the line bombarded him the moment the phone was answered. "Are you okay?"

"...We need to talk, Aurora," he sighed, watching as his breath formed mist in the stiff, cold air. Winter in Windenburg was way harsher than what he was used to, but luckily, today's forecast was only light snow. "I'm on my way to your apartment."

"Oh, um... okay," she replied. "Is this something serious?"

"Yes, it is. I'll be there in a few minutes." With that, he hung up and picked up his pace. Her apartment building was just up ahead, but he wasn't actually sure that he was ready to face their upcoming conversation. When he arrived at the front of the building, he stopped and simply stood there, despite the freezing temperatures causing his body to plead with him to go inside. He'd already decided how today would end, and it wasn't something to look forward to. A short walk and an elevator ride brought him to her doorstep, something he'd always found inviting before, but now it didn't feel even the slightest bit welcoming. He knocked as confidently as ever. He had to be confident, harsh, anything in order to avoid feeling sorry for her when the situation inevitably escalated. Sorry was the only thing he couldn't allow himself to feel.

"Hey, babe," Aurora tried to seem cheerful when she answered the door, but his expression was already sour as he stepped into the doorway, arms crossed tightly. 

"I can't believe you," he said with a quivering voice. His confident facade was already slipping away. "How could you do this to me? I trusted you, I gave you a chance at love, and this is how you repay me?"

She frowned. "What? What did I do?" 

"What did you do?" Alexander scoffed and shoved past her to enter the living room. "You neglected to tell me a really relevant detail about yourself. And now it's a problem. A big one."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" She quickly followed him. "I-I don't understand why you're angry, but if you'll just calm down, I'm sure we can work out whatever problem--"

"This can't be worked out!" He snapped, glancing over his shoulder. "You do know what I'm talking about! You ruined my entire life!"

"How did I ruin your life!? Just tell me, because I don't know! I've done nothing but try to love you, as hard as that is sometimes, such as right now!" Her eyebrows furrowed. "You're always looking for a way to cause a problem, Alexander! What is it this time? What's so terrible that's somehow my fault?"

With clenched fists, he whirled around to face her. "I'm pregnant!"

Aurora's face fell. "...You're...?"

"Pregnant," he repeated slowly. "All thanks to you, without even telling me that it could happen. Do you have any idea how screwed up this is? I-I'm not supposed to be able to get pregnant!"

"I thought you knew that could happen! You said you did a bunch of alien research at work, how was I supposed to know you didn't know something so basic?" She scowled. "And besides the point, even if you didn't know that you could get pregnant, I'm sure you knew good and well that I can! But that was clearly fine with you, considering you still slept with me. That's a double standard. It can't just be a problem if you're the one--"

"No, you being pregnant would have been a problem too," he interrupted harshly. "I don't want a family with you either way."

His words stung more than she'd have expected them to. "But... why? Is having a baby really that horrible of a thing? I-I mean, I definitely wasn't thinking about kids either, and I know we're really early in an already rocky relationship, but... you're financially stable, and I'm adjusting to life outside of Sixam well... we can handle this together, I'm sure of it."

"You don't understand. I can't handle this," he said, his voice dropping just barely above a whisper. "This isn't how my life was supposed to be. I was supposed to have a family with Brynn, not you. But I couldn't, and if I couldn't with her, why on earth would I want that with anyone else?" Tears threatened to form in his eyes, but he forced them back.

Aurora's grip on her composure was quickly slipping, and you could feel her seething in the silence after he spoke. She understood his heartache over losing someone that he loved so much, but at the same time, she hated every time he so much as uttered the women's name. It was an obsession of his that she despised more than any other habit or trait he possessed. She never felt good enough when he talked about Brynn. She knew she wasn't good enough because she wasn't Brynn. She was sick of being compared to someone that he couldn't even have, and that she could never compare to no matter how hard she tried. Her anger boiled hotter until it drove her tongue to lash out like a venomous snake, carelessly aiming for the kill without even a second thought. "Everything's always about Brynn, and I'm always second to her! What about us, Alexander? Our relationship? Our future? You can't keep dwelling on the past! I'm supposed to be the person that you love now! She's dead and she's never coming back!"

Alexander lurched forward with an inhuman-sounding snarl. For a moment, his eyes flashed a yellow-gold before returning to their usual state. "You think that all I care about is Brynn, but all you care about is yourself! You couldn't care less how I feel, or what I'm going through!"

"That's not true! I do care about what you're going through, but you're so blinded by your own pity party you can't see what you're putting me through!" Tears streamed down her face. "I love you, I really do... but I can't take this anymore..."

"Well, that's fine, because you don't have to." His gaze turned cold. "I'm leaving."

Aurora hesitantly reached out to him. "N-No, wait. Fighting is stupid right now... we need to just... stop yelling at each other and talk about the baby. That's the important thing we have to figure out right now."

"I'm done talking." He smacked her hand away and turned to walk toward the door. "I need some space. Whatever we're figuring out, we'll figure it out later."

"Don't go. I don't want to let you leave on bad terms," she said, quickly following. "I just want to fix this."

Ignoring her plea, he opened the door and stepped outside, unable to bring himself to look at her -- mostly because he was afraid she'd notice his tears. "There's no fixing this. We can co-parent and raise this kid to the best of our ability, but that's as good as it's going to get. We'll never be a family. I just... can't."

"I'm begging you to try. I want us to be a family. I-I want it more than anything," she sobbed. "Give me a chance to make you as happy as she did..."

"I'm sorry, Aurora," he replied softly, "but we're over."

The door slammed shut.

"You can't do this!" Aurora crashed forward into the door, now the only thing supporting her to stay upright, as she unraveled into a bawling mess. "You said you'd never hurt me again! Alexander, you promised!"

He tried to keep walking, to drown out her pitiful display of heartbreak of which he'd inflicted on her, but he was frozen in place outside her door, eyes squeezed tightly shut in an attempt to stop his own tears from falling to no avail. 'You hurt me first this time,' he thought. 'You brought this on yourself.' He'd never take the blame for anything. Nothing was ever Alexander's fault, at least not in his own egotistical mind. It was his biggest flaw... and the one that would eventually become his downfall.

---

"So, you might be wondering why I've gathered you both here in the kitchen for an urgent family meeting as soon as I got home."

"Without even taking off your coat," Amelia said, "which by the way, has been dripping water onto the floor from the snow all over it, and I'll have to dry it up after this "urgent" conversation." 

"Okay, first of all, don't interrupt me, especially not to go off on one of your neat freak rampages." Alexander's eyebrows furrowed. "This is really serious, and I honestly don't know where to start."

"If it's serious, I'm already terrified," Onyx murmured.

Amelia's eyes widened. "Did you get into trouble with the police again?"

He closed his eyes and exhaled heavily through his nose. "This time, it's worse than that."

"What could be worse than that?" She was afraid to know the answer.

"...There's... this girl I've been seeing. I mean, I guess I've seen lots of girls, but... she and I have been friends for years. Not long after Brynn died, we... kind of had a fling, then things didn't work, but we got together again and in an actual relationship this time--"

"You've been seeing someone and you didn't even tell me? After all this time?" Amelia frowned. "Onyx and I already figured the "lots of girls" part out, but it would have been nice to know that you had a girlfriend sooner... but honestly, I'm surprised that you actually... want that with someone after Brynn."

"Just listen," Alexander sighed. "I didn't really know how to tell you. Especially considering how rocky the relationship has been, and... some of the things that have happened, but I guess I have to now. She's an alien, her name is Aurora, I'm pregnant, and I just told her about it a while ago. And, uh... then I broke up with her."

He swore he could have heard crickets chirping in the distance after that. His gaze quickly averted to the side, but he could still feel their eyes burning into his soul, looking at him like he was a complete nutcase.

"...Sorry, repeat that again? I, uh, think I heard it wrong," Amelia laughed awkwardly.

"I said I'm pregnant," he reiterated. 

Her face quickly contorted into one of disturbance. "...Alexander, are you feeling okay?"

"I-I know it sounds crazy, but it's true! I went to the hospital and everything! They said it was some weird alien reproduction thing. Even I can't make this crap up, you guys know that."

Onyx was still racking his brain for a response, but the only words that came out of his mouth were mumbled and jumbled to pieces. "I-I...  you... what?"

Alexander leaned closer to him and spoke slowly. "I'm having a baby, Onyx. B-A-B-Y."

Horrified couldn't begin to describe Onyx's feelings -- for Alexander, the baby, or himself? All of the above.