I didn't really know why. After all, Colt had warned me that it would. He told me that the spell had a fail-safe.
So why the hell was I breaking down?
I chalked it up to stress, and Colt pressed both of his hands at the sides of my face.
"Hey. Take it easy." He breathed slowly, guiding my breaths too. "Everything is going to be okay. We just need to keep our heads level."
I nodded, a wave of embarrassment flowing through me.
He was right. What the hell was I doing breaking down like that? It didn't make any sense.
I got a grip on my emotions and my mood leveled out, with it came the fire to beat the clock and save my mother.
I glanced down at the clock, we had just around forty-five minutes left, and it wasn't nearly enough time to explore the entire grand building, especially with the dark being lurking the halls like a security guard.
Colt and I exited the electronics store and made our way quickly across the hall.
"Yes!" I quietly cheered at the sight of the giant map that was illuminated in the middle of the walkway that contained an outline of the blueprints of the mall and each store that it contained.
Three stories, really? How the hell are we supposed to find her in such a big place?
I huffed, feeling suddenly discouraged again, but this time instead of waiting for Colt to pick up my pieces, I closed my eyes, concentrating on the low thud of my heart.
I was there, inside my mom's fucking mind, rescuing her and my demon father from a magical spell that trapped them.
I was a badass, even in the times that I didn't feel like it.
Get your head in the game, Scarlett!
I coached myself, not caring that Colt had heard every word of my mini self pep talk.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Colt smile at what he'd overheard. But I didn't mind.
Colt knew more than anyone who even though I was only half-human. I was still human. I wasn't perfect.
I didn't have to pretend like I was with him.
I skimmed the map, my eyes grazing over all the names that didn't stand out.
Bed Bath and Beyond grabbed my attention.
My mother had loved that store when I was young. It wasn't much, but it was a place to start.
It was on the third floor, which made me a little uneasy. We had no idea where the shadow creature had lurked off too, or even what his powers were so we knew how to handle when we faced him, but we had gone so far, I wasn't going to let a little black cloud stop me from fulfilling my mission.
I stepped foot on the escalator that cut up to the second floor, and as it pulled us higher and higher, I got a better glimpse at my mother's mind. The mall nearly stretched as far as I could see, with the back wall ending far out in front of us.
I silently thanked the universe that the Bed Bath and Beyond was only a few floors up and just around the corner. A hop, skip and a jump away.
Colt followed closely behind me, sure not to let me out of his sight. After a few minutes of walking he even slid his hand into mine, holding it tightly.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, looking up at his gorgeous face. I could tell by the look he wore that he was riddled with thoughts.
"Yeah, yeah. Of course." He answered quickly.
I didn't need to be a mind reader to be able to tell that something was bothering him, but it was obvious that it was something that he didn't want to talk to me about, which bothered me.
I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip.
"Okay, okay." He sighed, "I was just wondering what happens after this."
His tone was laced with worry.
I scrunched my nose at his question.
"What do you mean?" It wasn't like Colt to be vague. There was something he wasn't telling me. Something that he felt like he couldn't.
"After you save the world, like you always do, what are you going to do then? Go back to the surface?" The worry in his eyes told me that was what he thought I was going to do.
"You read minds, you know."
"I know what you think I'm going to do, but what are you actually going to do?"
His words stung, and I felt myself putting my defenses up, pulling my hand from his.
Was he saying I didn't follow through on my word?
Or that I didn't have control of my own choices?
I wasn't sure to be quite honest, but all I knew was that it set me off.
"I think we should split up to cover more ground." I muttered.
I turned away from him to storm off.
"That's actually the exact opposite of a good idea." He said a little louder than a whisper.
I didn't care, I was determined to follow through on my word, just to show him I could.
"Scarlett, you're being unreasonable!" Colt jogged to catch up to me, walking closely on my heels.
I huffed and kept power walking in the direction of the store, hoping he'd get the hint and give me space.
I never thought in my life that I would be so determined to get away from Colt. Especially not after he had literally been dead and I thought that I'd never see him again, but there we were.
He still trailed close to me, so close that I could almost feel his warm breath on my neck.
"Scarlett stop." He pleaded.
"Scarlett. You're pregnant."
The words made me dig my heels into the ground and stopped me in my place. He bumped into me at the abrupt halt.
I froze, his words still processing in my head.
"Why would you say something like that?" My thoughts were a whirlwind of denial.
He couldn't be right. It had to be a ploy to get me to listen to him or something.
But the more I considered that, the more I realized that Colt wasn't the type of person who would manipulate someone like that.
Any of the other guys? Maybe. But not Colt.
"Because it's true." Colt sighed. "One of the extra perks of reading minds is that the mind processes all the information from the body. Even the information that the mind isn't aware of yet."
I looked up at him, trying to sort through my emotions.
There was no way in hell it was true. No way.
Colt grabbed my hand and pulled me to look him directly in the eyes.
"Scarlett. It's me talking. I would never lie to you."
His voice was warm and sweet, but most importantly it was sincere. I didn't need vampire powers to tell me that.
"When I first saw you a few days ago, I thought you knew. For you it had only been days, but for me it had been years. I thought you'd move on. I thought the world must have been a good enough place for you to settle down. I had no idea what the hell you were doing pregnant, in the underworld, but when it comes to you, no one knows." He half laughed at the last sentence.
Tears filled my eyes, and I instinctually clutched my smooth, flat stomach. I didn't know why I did it. I knew I wasn't going to feel anything. It was impossibly early yet, but then again I was a half-demon, who had sex with multiple supernatural beings. I had no idea how supernatural pregnancies went. That was the kind of thing I needed my mom for. Pregnancy in general for that matter.
My mind raced as I sorted through my thoughts.
I didn't need a pregnancy test to confirm it, the small voice inside me that picked up on things that others didn't told me to believe him.
"Colt. If I'm pregnant, there's a possibility that it's yours." I couldn't believe the words that came out of my mouth. They definitely weren't ones that I'd been expecting in any lifetime.