I shivered and my mom quickly held me up. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?” she asked.
“I’m just a bit tired from walking,” I said. “I’ll be fine after a short rest.” I held my waist and sat on the sofa.
Mom still looked worried. Then I heard footsteps outside; my dad and brother walked in one after the other.
My baby said coldly, “Your father and brother are liars. They only care about your sister, not you.”
My heart sank. But then my brother walked over, smiling warmly and looking worried. “Sophia, why did you come back alone? I thought you’d wait for me to pick you up.”
My father smiled gently. “You don’t look well. Are you sick?”
I was shocked. They weren’t like the baby said. I thought for a moment. “I’m fine. Are you going to the hospital later?”
My mom nodded. “Your sister is very sick and needs a bone marrow transplant. Your dad and brother will get tested later.”
The baby shouted, “Fool! Run! They’re taking you to the hospital to test your bone marrow!” As the baby screamed, pain hit my lower belly and my heart raced. I bent over in pain.
My mom looked worried. “Sophia, what’s wrong? Hurry, drive! We need to take her to the hospital.”
“She’s pregnant. We have to be careful.”
“Sweetheart, don’t go to the hospital!”
“Let’s go home!”
The baby’s heartbeat grew louder. I took a deep breath. “I’m not going to the hospital. My house is nearby. I’ll go home and rest.” After that, the pain in my stomach slowly faded.
Before my parents could speak, my brother got upset. “You live in an old building with no elevator and your husband’s job isn’t good. He’s always working late.”
The baby scoffed, “They hate that you married a poor man and embarrassed them.”
My brother said, “I don’t dislike him, but climbing stairs will be hard for you while pregnant and no one will care for you at home. You can stay with us until the baby is born. We have plenty of rooms and your husband can live here too. We’re family and it’s nicer with more people around.”
A warm feeling filled my heart, but I wanted to check something, so I insisted on going home. My parents looked at each other and let me go.
They were going to the hospital for a blood test anyway, so they could drop me off on the way.
As the car neared my neighborhood, I said, “I want to go with you to the hospital to see my sister.”