Chapter 5 The Unspeakable!

18 years ago

"Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! How could you do something so stupid?" he wailed, standing in the living room and glaring at her.

Sarah kept her eyes focused on her feet, catching glimpses of the dark wooden floor beneath her. Tears blurred her vision, threatening to spill over, but she knew this was the one moment she had to stand her ground against her father. After all, he wasn't exactly a model of good behavior himself, especially with the rumors of his involvement with his secretary.

Finally, she turned to face him for the first time since entering the room. Her gaze shifted to her mother, who sat crying softly in the dark leather three-seater armchair. Sarah's heart broke at the sight. Tears now flowed freely as her father's voice thundered around her.

"Impregnated by an angel." The words felt almost laughable, like some absurd joke. But it wasn't. Sarah had committed an act considered abominable by their society, and the consequences were far beyond her comprehension at the moment.

In her mind, though, it wasn't some illicit affair. She had loved him-or at least, she believed she did. No one could understand the connection they shared: how he seemed to know what she was thinking before she spoke, how his words always managed to make her smile and the way his touch made her feel alive.

Her father's furious voice jolted her back to reality. "Where is he?"

Sarah's mind raced. Where was he now? Why had he left her alone in this situation? "I don't know right now," she stammered, feeling the weight of her father's disappointment.

"What do you mean you don't know? Does he even know about this baby yet?" he demanded.

At that moment, her mother finally intervened. Soft-spoken as always, she did her best to calm the storm. "We can't tell anyone about this," her mother insisted. "It has to stay between the three of us. You can't leave this house until the child is born."

Her father looked at her, bewildered and concerned. "What do you mean? We don't even know what this child is going to look like-a half-human, half-angel? How are we supposed to raise such a being?"

Taking a deep breath, her mother's voice steadied. "We will figure it out," she assured him, her eyes filled with determination.

Sarah stared at the white walls of the living room, framed by gray curtains. The house that had once been her sanctuary now felt like a cage, one built by her carelessness. She was going to spend the next nine months-or however long it took to grow a half-human, half-angel baby-within these walls.

As she made her way to her room, Sarah couldn't shake the lightheadedness that had plagued her for weeks. Grasping the hallway walls for support, her vision blurred. She wondered if the baby inside her was causing this severe weakness. Sweat began to bead on her forehead, but she was determined not to draw more attention to herself.

Reaching her room, she managed to open the door and shut it behind her before collapsing onto the pink two-seater couch. The fur pricked her face uncomfortably, but she was too weak to move. Memories of him haunted her as she lay there, gasping for breath.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah forced herself to get up and crawl to her bed. Like everything else in her room, it was white, with pink sheets and decorative pillows that she tossed onto the rug to make room for herself. She pulled the white blanket over her head, but it felt suffocating. With a sigh, she pushed it down to her chest. As she closed her eyes, her thoughts drifted to the first time she met him.

---

"Omg, Clarke, I can't give you that!" Sarah exclaimed from her closet as her friend rummaged through her clothes.

"Girl, it's just a skirt!" Clarke retorted.

"Well, it's a skirt I've never worn before," Sarah replied, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Touche! I'm borrowing it once you wear it then," Clarke said with a laugh.

Sarah smiled at her reflection in the mirror as she tried to do her makeup. "I need an eyeshadow color to make my green eyes pop."

Clarke turned to her. "Don't even think about putting purple on your eyes! You need a brown or champagne shade to make them pop," she said, grabbing the palette and selecting a color. "It's a festival, so this will be perfect!"

As Clarke applied the eyeshadow, Sarah couldn't help but smile. They had been best friends since preschool, their mothers' friendship practically forcing them together. Despite their differences-Clarke's outgoing and extroverted nature contrasting sharply with Sarah's shyness-they understood each other deeply.

Clarke had always dragged Sarah to parties, but after the incident in their junior year-when Sarah had almost been roofied-she had sworn off them. Clarke, to her credit, didn't pressure her afterward.

But this festival was different. It was the biggest event of the year, open to everyone over eighteen. Although Sarah was two months shy of her eighteenth birthday, she wasn't going to miss it. Not when the headliner was Alexandria, an angel known for her contemporary rock music and her mastery of the guitar.

This was one of the rare occasions where their two worlds mingled, and Sarah was fascinated by the idea of being among the supernatural.

Clarke, who had been sneaking into events since she was sixteen, was more casual about it. For the first time, she was going legally, having just turned eighteen a few weeks ago.

As they prepared, Clarke opted for a bold outfit: a black shimmery bralette, a knitted top, and low-rise shorts that showed off her toned stomach. She paired it with black leather boots and styled her long curly hair in a half-up, half-down look. Her makeup was bronzy and glamorous, her gold accessories complementing her warm brown skin.

Sarah, on the other hand, chose a more conservative floral knee-length boho dress paired with cowboy boots. She initially wanted to wear a cowboy hat, but Clarke shot that idea down. "Girl, you need to show off that blonde hair!" she was a fashionista, and Sarah took her advice every time.

In the end, they both looked stunning.