Phantom (Endlessly Book 3) (17 page)

BOOK: Phantom (Endlessly Book 3)
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25 EPILOGUE

 

“You know, babe, when I asked for a hot tub, this isn’t exactly what I had planned,” I said.

“Jason!” Oz panted, gripping my hand, “Right now is not the time to be a fucking smartass!”

I groaned at the pressure of her grasp. “I’d like to keep the rest of my fingers, hon, and if you can cuss around the baby, then I’m going to start smoking again.”

I sat in swimming shorts with Oz in front of me, her head on my chest, and her feet on the opposing seats.

Oz glared up me through yellow eyes. Warm water barely covered her swollen belly. Her oversized shirt was plastered to her and the water made her exposed tattoos look dark. I pushed the hair away from her sweaty face.

“Jason, you’re not helping,” Ash said.

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to sound comforting. “Don’t shift, it’s almost over.” I kissed Oz’s forehead.

She crushed my hand and screamed. It killed me to see her in pain. Why did she want to do this naturally?

“Give her something!” I snapped at Coylene.

“No!” Coylene barked, squatting between Oz’s legs like a baseball catcher. “Come on, Oz, work with me! Push with the contractions!” Though she swore she’d seen this process work flawlessly, she’d also lined up an array of modern medical instruments on the edge of the tub, just in case.

“Oh my god! I can see its head!” Ash cooed over Coylene’s shoulder.

Verloren stood in the corner, his head down. Ash had demanded he be here.

Oz panted.

“Come on, Oz. One more good push,” Coylene urged. “Wait for the contraction and then bear down as hard as you can.”

I whispered into Oz’s ear: “You’re a holy being who can create a life in nine months. In my book that makes you a goddess.”

She reached above her shoulder and touche
d the scars on my face before sliding her hand down to my chest. Her fingers ran over the deep scars. Her face wrinkled and reddened as her body tensed. She clenched my hand as Coylene and Ash chanted: “Push! Push!”

Oz’s growl rose into a scream. Finally she breathed deeply. I sensed relief. The other two girls cried out as Coylene lifted a small lavender being out of the water.

“It’s a girl!” Coylene cried.

Verloren perked up and said something
I didn’t understand.

Coylene wrapped the baby with a towel, rubbing it gently. Lavender faded, replaced by a full pi
nk color. Verloren rushed over and waited on the edge of the tub with us. Finally the baby let out one sharp cry, then quieted. Coylene grabbed a rubber ball and cleaned its face.

Verloren and Coylene sang a joyous tune. Ash’s eyes overflowed with black tears. She gripped Verloren and sobbed. Something in their faces looked wrong to me.

“What is it?” I cried, my stomach sinking.

“Nothing,” Coylene sobbed.

She handed the pink bundled form to Oz. The tiny thing had a mass of black hair above a pinched face. Oz looked down at her creation. She’d fallen in love with something other than me. I didn’t mind.

Everything seemed surreal as Coylene busied herself with instruments and the umbilical cord. This was it — fatherhood. This is what it felt like to help create a life. I looked up at our trio of friends. My throat was tight and my eyes tingled. I swallowed hard. Coylene and Ash were wiping their faces.

Verloren’s face was drawn. Unable to produce tears, he cleared his throat. His voice broke when he spoke: “So are you ready for the kicker?”

What did he mean?
I wondered. Did he know what she was? Was she human? Werewolf? Or something else? Possibilities raced through my head.

Verloren looked at my daughter, and laughed. “Welcome back
, Jessica.” His voice broke, and he sobbed, recalling the friend he’d had to help pass from this world.

“What?” My eyes stung. “You’re shitting me!” I looked down at this black-haired baby girl.
Where was the bouncy redhead Verloren was talking about?

“I wouldn’t shit you
, Jason… you’re my favorite turd,” Verloren said with a chuckle.

Oz turned from our daughter. Though she was ours, her soul was her own, an
d it was also that of a friend — one of the kindest souls I’d ever known. If Jessica’s soul was our daughter’s, I knew everything would be all right. Oz sensed it and smiled at me through her tears.

I looked at Verloren and thought,
friend,
and then to Ash,
family
. I gazed at Oz,
love,
and then at the tiny Jessica,
life
. Everything, my life, my love, and even my friends who were family, had come full circle. I thought about Hania’s words:
There are so many varying degrees of love that you kids don’t understand.
For the first time, I did understand. Joyously I sobbed.

“Don’t cry
, tin man,” Ash whispered, “You might rust.”

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

C.V. Hunt is the author of the
Endlessly
trilogy,
How To Kill Yourself
,
Zombieville
,
Thanks For Ruining My Life
,
Other People’s Shit
, and
Baby Hater
.

 

BOOK: Phantom (Endlessly Book 3)
11.58Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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