CHAPTER 37
Kid's POV
The moment I heard where she was I raced to the basement to find her, leaving all my other friends behind. I found her in holding cell B, a room slightly smaller than the one in which Crona lived and which contained a small barred window through which the occupant could speak. Professor Stein stood guard outside the door, looking down at a clipboard which he held in his hand.
I ran up to the professor.
"Could I please talk to her?" I panted, out of breath from running the whole way. He nodded and slid open the window.
Looking inside, I observed the contents of the room: a small sink, a wide cot, a bookshelf stocked with books, a mirror, a small table with several notebooks stacked atop it, a window looking outside, a door leading to what could only be a toilet. And in the center of it all was a chair in which Riley sat, looking out of the window, holding a guitar and gently strumming it.
"Riley," I breathed. She immediately turned around. Upon seeing me she dumped the guitar to the ground and rushed to the window.
Disregarding Professor Stein's presence, I stuck my arms through the bars of the windows and held her face, then pressed my lips to hers. When she pulled away I spoke.
"Riley, what's going on? Why did he-"
"Kid-"
"Are you okay?"
"Kid."
I stopped talking. Professor Stein chuckled lowly from the door.
"Kid, I-I have something to tell you," she said, her voice shaking slightly.
"Oh God, did he hurt you?" I asked, my voice getting a bit high. "I swear I'm gonna have a very strongly-worded talk with him-"
"Kid," she laughed a bit. "I'm fine, Kid. Kind of."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that… that…"
She looked away for a moment, then back to me.
"Kid, use your soul perception on me. Right now."
"O-Okay," I agreed, confused.
I closed my eyes. When I opened them the world was dark except for glowing pastel souls. My eyes lit upon Riley's shadowed form and froze.
Two souls.
She had two souls. One in her chest and one in her stomach.
"You're pregnant…" I whispered in shock.
Stein whipped his head around to look at us, I almost passed out, and Riley burst into tears.
"Your father saw the soul and…"
"I'm so sorry, Riley. We shouldn't have- I shouldn't have-" I stammered.
"It's okay," she sniffled. "It's really okay. I just… I won't be around to-"
Her sobs overtook her for a moment. I ran my hand through her hair and rested my forehead against hers, almost crying myself.
"You won't be around to take care of it," I finished gently. She nodded.
"If this was going to happen then I just… I wanted to be a family. It's going to grow up without a mother. Whenever Mothers' Day comes around it won't be able to draw a picture of its mom for kindergarten and when it scrapes its knee I won't be there to kiss it better and when it goes on its first date I won't be there to tell it how it's all going to be okay and-"
I silenced her with a kiss.
"I'll do it," I said. "I'll do it all."
She gave a single sob.
"Thank you," she whimpered. "You better take good care of it."
"I will. I will. I'll be a father and a mother and I'll… just…"
We stood there crying together for a good hour. The only things I could think during the time was how much I loved Riley, how much I already loved our child, and how much I couldn't stand my father.