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grossed out beyond words.
    He held back my hair, sinking down to the floor with me as he continued rubbing my back in soft, slow measures. “It’s okay. I got you.”

Chapter Six
    Wednesday, December 23rd
     
    EMILY
    My mom looked up from her newspaper as I entered the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I made pancakes.” She folded her paper and took a sip from her coffee mug.
    I shook my head, trying not to make a face as I sat at the breakfast counter. “My tummy’s still a little queasy.” The scent of her cooking still lingered in the air, and even that didn’t sit right with me.
    “Emily…” My mom had that uncomfortable look she got whenever she tried to have a serious conversation with me. “Are you and Thomas…being careful?”
    My face burned as I looked away. Oh my god , she thought I was pregnant. “Geez, mom… Yes , all right?” Why’d she have to jump to conclusions? Couldn’t I have just eaten something bad? 
    She cleared her throat and took another sip of her coffee. “Just making sure.”
    Thomas chose that moment to walk into the kitchen, his face as red as mine. He must’ve heard everything. Shit, how could he not with his super-hearing?
    “Morning, Thomas. Would you like some breakfast?”
    He couldn’t look my mom in the eyes. He just mumbled, “Yes, please.” 
    Even the tips of his ears were pink.
    My mom made him a plate as he pulled out the chair next to me, the soft scrape of the legs on the tile filling the awkward silence. “Here you go, dear,” she said as she set his plate in front of him.
    Thomas smiled and thanked her as he picked up his fork.
    My lip curled as I watched his syrup drip down the stack of pancakes, moving thick and slow. Gross. 
    My mom grabbed her mug and took a sip. “I’m off to shower,” she said, giving us a wave as she left the kitchen.
    I listened to her slippers scrape the living room floor, then the hallway, making sure she was out of earshot before muttering, “Oh my god, kill me now.”
    Thomas winced as he stabbed a hunk of pancakes with his fork. “That was pretty bad.”
    My head dropped to the counter as I moaned. The granite felt nice and cool against my forehead. I didn’t get to enjoy it for long, as an errant thought decided to bolt through me then, making my chair fall back as I stood.
    I ignored Thomas’s arched brow and said, “When you said you couldn’t get me pregnant before I matured, did you take into account my…otherness?”
    His eyes dropped, and my stomach dropped along with them. “ Oh my god .” My hands cradled my head as I paced. Could last night have been morning sickness? 
    My stomach roiled at the thought.
    Thomas set his fork down and stood. “Come here.”
    I glanced up at him, but couldn’t make sense of his words for the life of me. “What?”
    “Come here,” he said, pulling me to him. He dropped to his knees and pulled up my shirt, placing the side of his face against the skin of my lower belly.
    “What are you—”
    “ Shh ,” he said, frowning as he held a finger over his mouth. I stood stock-still as he stayed like that for several seconds. He finally dropped my shirt and stood. “I don’t hear a second heartbeat.”
    My lips parted. “You could hear it?”
    “If there was something to hear, yes. But there’s not—at least not yet.” He shrugged as he sat back down and picked up his fork. “I can try and listen again in a few days.”
    “Well, that’s reassuring,” I mumbled.
    He took a drink of his OJ and said, “Sorry, but it’s all I have right now. Human pregnancy tests won’t work on you, so…” He shrugged again. 
    I picked up my chair and sat next to him. “How does reproduction work for Feeders? Is it the same as for you guys?”
    He frowned. “You know, I don’t really know. They don’t seem to have our infertility issues.” He speared another piece of pancake. “I’ve always wondered how their women can carry a child to term.”
    My brows pinched.