Thumped (19 page)

WE’RE IN THE NURSERY NOW. THE GIRLS ARE AWAKE, KICKING
their tiny feet and punching their little fists in the air. It’s hard to believe that until a few hours ago, they were kicking and punching inside me.

The Jaydens are rocking back and forth on their heels in anticipation.

“Do you want to hold them?”

“Yes!” the Mr. and Mrs. reply with such unbridled enthusiasm that we all can’t help but laugh.

They gaze upon these girls with awe and wonder and humility. The Jaydens know that these girls are precious blessings.

“Do you have names picked out?” Jondoe asks.

The Jaydens glance nervously at each other, afraid to look presumptuous.

I try to reassure them. “I’d like to hear them,” I say encouragingly.

“Faith,” says the Mrs. holding up one girl in her arms.

“Mercy,” says the Mr. holding up the other girl in his arms.

Hearing the girls called by their names for the first time brings joyous tears to all of our eyes. It’s a beautiful moment, and right now I feel more in touch with a higher power than I ever did in prayerclique. I feel connected to the Jaydens in a spiritual, even miraculous way, so much so that I just have to ask.

“Do you have God?”

“Yes.” The Mrs. answers. “We believe.”

And the Mr. adds with a smile, “Now more than ever before.”

Me too.

I have no intention on ever returning to Goodside, but now I’m confident that I don’t have to. The Jaydens have shown me that I can pursue faith on this side of the gates as well as—or even better—than I ever did before. Just in a different way.

“We don’t want to pressure you, but it’s our hope that you can be a part of their lives,” the Mrs. says. “We want our daughters to know both of you. In whatever capacity feels right for you.”

This is more than I could ever ask for. I was so afraid that they might not ever let me see them again. As much as I knew such restrictions would pain me, I was even more afraid of the effects my absence could have on them. I didn’t want them to suffer as I have with uncertainty. Now they would have a chance at understanding that I’ve chosen this path not because they were unloved, but because they were loved so much.

The Jaydens are looking at me eagerly, still waiting for me to respond to their proposition. But I’m so overcome with gratitude that I can only muster a teary glugging noise.

“I think what she means is yes,” Jondoe says, putting his arm around me.

I don’t know what is going to happen with Jondoe. I don’t doubt that he wants to be with me. But he needs to learn that I’m more than just the good girl sent from Heaven to make him a better believer. I only know that I need to learn more about myself before I can possibly commit to anyone else. I hope that Jondoe will be patient with me as I discover what kind of life I’ll choose to live, what kind of person I’ll decide to be.

And yet, I’m grateful for this gift that the Jaydens have given us, as it guarantees that no matter what happens to us romantically, Jondoe and I too will have a bond that can never be broken.

The word bursts out of me.

“Yes!”

I TAP THE NURSERY WINDOW AND GIVE HARMONY A DOUBLE
thumbs-up. She and Jondoe join me and Zen in the hall to give the Jaydens time alone with their new daughters.

“I can’t get over your hair,” I say.

“I wanted something different,” she replies.

“Well, you certainly got it!” I joke, giving her hair a playful tousle.

“I mean in life,” she says. “I want to give living in Otherside a try. I want the freedom to . . .”

To what? Harmony is overwhelmed by how much she doesn’t know.

“To make your own decisions?” I suggest.

“To sometimes succeed and to sometimes fail spectacularly?” Zen adds.

Jondoe searches my sister’s eyes. “And start all over again?”

She holds his gaze, nods wordlessly. I put my arm around her.

“Me too.”

THE JAYDENS APPROACH THE GLASS AND BECKON FOR MELODY
and me to come inside.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Melody says. “I’ve never actually held a baby before. . . .”

After we’re sufficiently sanitized, I show Melody how to cradle her arms. The Mrs. gently places one of the infants right into the crook of her elbow.

“This is Mercy,” the Mrs. says.

Melody is saucer-eyed and stiff as a board, terrified to move.

I’ve helped care for babies since I was barely out of diapers myself. I take Faith from the Mr. and show Melody how to relax her posture.

“Thank you,” the Jaydens say before leaving us alone in the nursery.

Melody looks panicked.

“They’re so helpless,” she says, staring agog at Mercy’s sleeping face. “They have no idea what they’re in for.”

I gently press my hand against the rise and fall of Faith’s tiny chest. I can feel her heart pulsing against my fingertips:
thumpthumpthumpthumpthump.

“They’re stronger than you think,” I say.

I pray that it will be different when they’re our age.

I pray for a cure to the Virus so they can choose not to share their bodies before they’re ready. I pray that they will have the power to choose when and how they will marry, make love, make babies. And I pray that they will not be judged if they choose not to do those things in the “right” order.

“
We’re
stronger too,” Melody replies.

My sister and I close our eyes. We dream of a better world. We imagine what we can—and will—do to make it possible.

For us.

And for the girls.

MEGAN McCAFFERTY
is the author of
Bumped
as well as the
New York Times
bestselling Jessica Darling series, which includes
Sloppy Firsts
,
Second Helpings
,
Charmed Thirds
,
Fourth Comings
, and
Perfect Fifths
. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with her family. You can visit Megan online at www.meganmccafferty.com.

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www.AuthorTracker.com
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Cover art © 2012 by MINORU KIDA / Getty Images and rubberball / Getty Images

Cover design by Alison Klapthor

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Thumped

Copyright © 2012 by Megan McCafferty

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McCafferty, Megan.

Thumped / by Megan McCafferty.

p. cm.

Summary: Melody and Harmony are without a doubt two of the most powerful pregnant teens on the planet, and there’s only one thing they could do that would make them more famous than they already are: tell the truth.

ISBN 978-0-06-196276-9 (hardback)

[1. Pregnancy—Fiction. 2. Honesty—Fiction. 3. Infertility—Fiction. 4. Twins—Fiction. 5. Sisters—Fiction. 6. Virus diseases—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.M47833742Thu 2012

[Fic]—dc23

2011042149

CIP

AC

12  13  14  15  16  LP/RRDH  10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

FIRST EDITION

EPub Edition © April 2012 ISBN: 9780062114600