Chapter 5 Wanda's POV

"Ian, I'm so confused," I said resting against the wall. It was in a hushed whisper so that Mel and Jared couldn't hear. "Well," he said joining me. "When a man loves a woman they participate in something called sexual intercourse." I could not believe he was trying this. Or maybe it was the fact that he thought I knew nothing about the subject. My face went bright red as I put it into my hands to hide it from him.
"Ian, I know what that is. I didn't mean I was confused about THAT," I practically hissed at him. He chuckled a little. I wasn't sure if it was a joke or he was serious now. How could my sister be pregnant? She was smarter to have unprotected sex in a world like this. She didn't want to bring a baby into this world. And now, she was going to be stuck with one.
Ian looked at me and shook his head. "Don't judge them Wanda; I'm sure there's a personally reasonable explanation."
"There is no explanation Ian. THEY'RE HAVING A BABY!!!" I said in a very mad tone. I hadn't noticed, but I was enraged about this. I had thought about wanting a baby, but I'd gotten a lecture on how unsafe and bad this would be for the caves. Of course, it was a year ago, but the point still stood. Mel was having the baby though, when she had told me not to. And she didn't even tell me; that's probably what made me the maddest. That I was so close to her and she had even kept this a secret. We never kept secrets. After sharing a body for that long of time, there weren't really many secrets left that could be kept from each other: past, present, or future.
The other room went quiet. Jared or Mel didn't mutter a single sound after my outburst. I gulped, hoping Mel wasn't mad over this. Or Jared. Humans could get really angry at times very easily and it made me nervous. I heard a little bit of shuffling around and soon enough footsteps coming towards us. The red door almost knocked me back, but I landed in Ian's welcoming arms instead.
"You...you heard that?" she stuttered. I didn't respond. I just got up onto my feet and marched back to my room. I smashed my curtain for effect but it made almost no sound. It would have worked better, had it been an actual door like Melanie had.
It was very hard to be mad at Melanie. There was a special bond between us. It pulled us back together even during our worst fights. It kept our love for each other strong and loyal, even when times were tough. But right now, times were impossible. I couldn t believe she had done this. I wouldn t be so mad as long as she had told me, but she kept it from me. And it felt like she had broken the bond between us when she did that.
She knocked on the rock besides the curtain. Wanda? she said lightly. I wanted her to go away, but I couldn t find my voice to say it. Or maybe, I just didn t want to seem rude. I still couldn t hurt her, despite what she had done.
Wanda? Why were you outside my room? she asked in a normal tone. She was probably mad, but she didn t show it by her voice. Maybe she just didn t want to make things worse.
I tried again to answer her, but my voice was still gone, stuck in a lump in my throat. A Frog in the Throat, as Pet would have called it. She had a nightmare where she killed you and wanted to see if it was true, Ian answered for me from outside in the hallway. "Wow," was all Mel could say to that.
She knocked again on the rocky surface. "Wanda, can I please come in?" she said, her voice guilt ridden. But I was even worse. I felt bad for overreacting. I felt bad for yelling at Ian. I was just a horrible soul now.
"Wanda?" Ian asked this time, sounding very worried about his girl. "Come in," I said to the wall I was still facing. The door opened and I heard the shuffling of many feet. Melanie, Jared, and Ian were all probably trying to come in. "Just Melanie."
The shuffling stopped abruptly. "But Wanda," Ian protested, not wanting to leave me alone. "Go get a bite to eat Ian. We'll meet you there. He sighed and left the room, leaving a quiet aura behind as me and Mel didn't know what to say.
The bed quickly leaned to the other side as Mel sat on it and I had to grab the sheets to keep my small body from rolling down. I turned over to face her, finally stretching out my body a little. "So, would you like to go baby shopping with me?" she asked, putting a goofy smile on her face. I couldn't help but smile back at her. She was my sister, and maybe, just maybe, it was an accident.
"Did you mean for this to happen Mel?" I asked. I had been so ready to have a baby with Ian; it was my calling after all. I hadn't told Ian, but I thought about it constantly. And Mel had said no just like that. "This isn't the world we should bring a child into," she would always tell me when I brought it up. In my mind, it translated into "You shouldn't bring it into a world you ruined Wanda." And that always shut me up: the fact that it was my own fault I couldn't have a child.
"No Wanda, I didn't," she said looking down ashamed. "Jared and I were being careless. I said no when he asked about putting on protection and I let him go ahead. It's my fault." I didn't know what to say so I stayed quiet.
"But this baby will be loved still, right?" I asked. I knew I would love the baby no matter what, but I was a soul. And Mel hadn't even wanted the baby in the first place.
She nodded quickly. "Of course. Jared and I are going to get baby supplies as soon as we can. But there was a raid tomorrow already that I wasn't invited to. Can you believe that? He won't tell anyone what its for."
I laughed to myself. "You can come with Ian and I."
"It's your raid. For what? Did something happen?"
I nodded, blushing to myself. Thinking of a few nights ago with Ian in the tuxedo, Jamie too. And the cooked meal he did so good with. I thought of him on his knees holding the ring out to me.
"Wedding supplies," I said raising my hand in front of her and showing Mel the engagement ring. She was the first one I showed and it felt so good to show it off.
She squealed a little and hugged me. "So, tomorrow we go for one day for wedding and baby supplies? Ian, you, and me?"
"And Jared," I added. We'd let him know about the wedding too.
She nodded giggling, probably wondering how she could have forgotten Jared. "And Jared," she added to herself.