My parents and brother agreed easily. My mother added, “It’s a good chance to make an appointment and get a checkup, too.”
The baby shouted, “You lied about going home! Liars must be punished!”
A sudden, sharp pain hit my stomach. Cold sweat appeared on my back. He hurt me because I didn’t listen! Was I carrying a baby or a demon?
The closer we got to the hospital, the more my stomach hurt. Finally, my heart ached too. I gritted my teeth, holding the car window so hard my veins bulged.
But as I forced myself to my sister’s room, the pain suddenly stopped. The baby didn’t move and the silence felt strange. My doubts grew stronger.
In the room, my mother held my hand and said, “Sophia, this is your sister, Abigail.”
My sister, Abigail, looked pale in her loose hospital gown. When my mother put my hand in hers, I felt a sudden fear; not mine, but the baby’s! He was scared of my sister.
I tried to pull my hand away, but my sister held it firmly. She looked at me seriously and said, “Sister, we finally meet.”
Then she looked at my parents and asked, “Mom, Dad, did you bring her here to schedule an abortion?”
My heart tightened and I pulled my hand back. “Who said I want an abortion?” I looked at them cautiously. Could the baby’s voice be real and their earlier kindness just a trick to get me to the hospital?
My mother frowned. “Abigail, what do you mean?”
Abigail’s eyes filled with anger. “Didn’t you make her come back just to donate bone marrow for me?”
She looked at me and said, “Sis, while the baby is still small, you should have an abortion. You’re young. After donating your bone marrow, you can have more children.”
My father’s face turned dark. He shouted, “Stop! Sophia is pregnant, so we can’t do a matching test. Today, it’s just your brother and me. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find another way.”
Abigail’s eyes filled with anger. “Then why did you call her back? You have my brother and me at home; you don’t need kids.” She lowered her head and cried quietly.
I saw a large red patch on the back of her neck, with peeling skin showing bright red flesh and pus soaking through her hospital gown.
My stomach turned and I ran out of the ward, covering my mouth. As we got farther away, the baby’s voice came back. “See? I was right. They just want you to donate bone marrow. How dare you come here?”