Licensed To Kill
My husband and I have been married for about four years now and before we married, we agreed that we would try for kids when we're happy in our careers and as financially comfortable as we can be. Well, that time is now and the first time we tried, I got pregnant right away.
My pregnancy is probably average, some great days and of course some shitty days that make me want to never have kids ever again. We found out that we're having a girl and we decided to name her Tallulah Rose, it reminds me of calm, which when we came up with her name, I was not. Tallulah's due date was approaching fast and I was so excited to meet my little girl.
"Adam!" I yell as I wake up wet one morning. "I think my water just broke!"
He heads up to our bedroom, grabs our to-go bag and we hustle our way to the hospital.
"I'm so excited to meet her!" He's filled with joy as he speeds down the freeway, I grip his hand as the pain gets worse and worse.
I was in labor for about 15 hours which I hear is pretty normal.
I hear Tallulah's cries and all of my worries and pains disappear. The nurse places her on my chest and I sob uncontrollably.
"She's beautiful." The nurse says to me as she puts her little pink hat on her head.
I smile up at her, hoping that everybody will leave my room so I can have her all to myself.
"You two enjoy some time alone, I'll be back to help you in a bit. Congratulations again." She whispers as she exits the room.
Adam kisses me on the forehead. "If you don't mind, I would like to go home and shower real quick." I smile at him and nod.
He comes back about an hour later as the nurse enters my room again.
"Sorry Adam, I know you just got back but I'm going to need to speak with your wife and daughter and show her how to do some nursing and diaper changes."
"Of course, I'll be in the lobby if you need me. My cellphone is on me." He says as he leaves.
The nurse waits until the door is shut and stands next to it for a couple seconds to make sure he is gone.
"Okay, Melanie, I'm going to tell you something that you cannot tell a soul. Not even Adam. Not even your mother or your father, not anybody." She whispers to me.
"Okay..." I say, starting to get concerned.
"Whenever you have a baby, you are allowed to kill one person. One person per baby. I know it might sound crazy, but you have to look after Tallulah. She relies on you now. Here, I'll show you the rules book." She says as she takes out a small black book.
"Why would I ever want to kill anyone?" I ask as I stroke Tallulah's thick black hair.
"As I said before, you have to protect her now. I'll leave this out for you, just make sure that Adam doesn't see it. If you ever need to use it, we installed a button on your phone while you were in labor. Press it and tell it who you need to eliminate. No repercussions for you." She sets the little black book on my night stand and exits the room. "I'll let Adam know you're ready for him."
"Okay..." I say still confused. I hug Tallulah a little closer.
A few days go by and we're getting ready to leave the hospital. The nervousness sets in and I have already forgotten about the little black book until I have to put it away in my purse.
"Maybe I'll read this later, just in case." I say under my breath making sure that Adam doesn't hear me.
"You ready to go, my babes?" Adam says, startling me.
I'm off work for a few months while I take care of my new baby. It's a little stressful trying to adjust to my new life but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
One day while Tallulah was taking her morning nap, I decided to whip out the little black book and read a little bit of it.
"This is the craziest book I've ever read. When am I ever going to use this?" I put it back in my purse after reading a few pages and forget about it for another month.
My leave is over and I wake up to get both myself and Tallulah ready for a long day. I'm heading back to work and she's heading to her first day of daycare. I'm already tearing up as I put her in the car seat. Adam helps me get everything ready, puts her into my backseat and kisses me on the forehead.
"You're going to have a great day. Maybe it will go by so fast and you'll see her soon. Don't worry. Just drive safe. I want you both back here."
I'm driving Tallulah to daycare, probably driving a lot more slowly than I should be, but I'm nervous. If someone gets too close to my car, I put on the brakes. If someone is driving too fast by me, I can feel myself holding my breath, hoping nothing goes wrong.
We finally get to Tallulah's daycare and I drop her off. It takes about 15 minutes for me to leave. I keep kissing her over and over and asking the teachers if she's going to be okay. At this point, I'm late to work but I don't even care.
The work day drags on. I watch the clock tick and it feels like it stops at one point.
As soon as five o'clock hits, I'm out the door. Rushing to get back to Tallulah.
I put her back into my car and drive home, going slower than I did this morning. Some guy gets pissed at my driving, speeds up next to me, flips me off and then cuts me off.
I'm raging.
I'm so angry that I start crying.
"There's a baby in here you asshole!" I yell, knowing damn well he cannot hear me.
Then it hits me, the little black book.
I quickly take out my phone, hit the button and without hesitation say, "the jackass that just cut me off."
The phone dings and a green light flashes.
The asshole driver is still close enough for me to see. I watch as another car rams into him, flipping his car over and his car catches on fire.
I gasp. "Did I do that?" I think to myself, but it's impossible. Maybe just a coincidence.
Then my phone deeps, I look at the screen and it says "done." I want to cry even more.
I get home and Adam asks how my day is.
"It was fine." I say blankly.
"Is everything ok with you? With Tallulah? Oh shit, what happened?" Adam says.
"Everything is fine. I'm just tired I guess."
"It has been a long day. Here, I'll feed Tallulah and put her to bed. Why don't you go and lay down." Adam kisses me on the lips and takes Tallulah from my arms.
I walk like a zombie into our bedroom. I lay down on the bed without even taking my clothes off, but I cannot sleep. My eyes are wide open.
I can't believe I just killed a man. But did I really just kill a man?
_____________________________________________________
End of part one.
Writing Prompts, Reddit
My pregnancy is probably average, some great days and of course some shitty days that make me want to never have kids ever again. We found out that we're having a girl and we decided to name her Tallulah Rose, it reminds me of calm, which when we came up with her name, I was not. Tallulah's due date was approaching fast and I was so excited to meet my little girl.
"Adam!" I yell as I wake up wet one morning. "I think my water just broke!"
He heads up to our bedroom, grabs our to-go bag and we hustle our way to the hospital.
"I'm so excited to meet her!" He's filled with joy as he speeds down the freeway, I grip his hand as the pain gets worse and worse.
I was in labor for about 15 hours which I hear is pretty normal.
I hear Tallulah's cries and all of my worries and pains disappear. The nurse places her on my chest and I sob uncontrollably.
"She's beautiful." The nurse says to me as she puts her little pink hat on her head.
I smile up at her, hoping that everybody will leave my room so I can have her all to myself.
"You two enjoy some time alone, I'll be back to help you in a bit. Congratulations again." She whispers as she exits the room.
Adam kisses me on the forehead. "If you don't mind, I would like to go home and shower real quick." I smile at him and nod.
He comes back about an hour later as the nurse enters my room again.
"Sorry Adam, I know you just got back but I'm going to need to speak with your wife and daughter and show her how to do some nursing and diaper changes."
"Of course, I'll be in the lobby if you need me. My cellphone is on me." He says as he leaves.
The nurse waits until the door is shut and stands next to it for a couple seconds to make sure he is gone.
"Okay, Melanie, I'm going to tell you something that you cannot tell a soul. Not even Adam. Not even your mother or your father, not anybody." She whispers to me.
"Okay..." I say, starting to get concerned.
"Whenever you have a baby, you are allowed to kill one person. One person per baby. I know it might sound crazy, but you have to look after Tallulah. She relies on you now. Here, I'll show you the rules book." She says as she takes out a small black book.
"Why would I ever want to kill anyone?" I ask as I stroke Tallulah's thick black hair.
"As I said before, you have to protect her now. I'll leave this out for you, just make sure that Adam doesn't see it. If you ever need to use it, we installed a button on your phone while you were in labor. Press it and tell it who you need to eliminate. No repercussions for you." She sets the little black book on my night stand and exits the room. "I'll let Adam know you're ready for him."
"Okay..." I say still confused. I hug Tallulah a little closer.
A few days go by and we're getting ready to leave the hospital. The nervousness sets in and I have already forgotten about the little black book until I have to put it away in my purse.
"Maybe I'll read this later, just in case." I say under my breath making sure that Adam doesn't hear me.
"You ready to go, my babes?" Adam says, startling me.
I'm off work for a few months while I take care of my new baby. It's a little stressful trying to adjust to my new life but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
One day while Tallulah was taking her morning nap, I decided to whip out the little black book and read a little bit of it.
"This is the craziest book I've ever read. When am I ever going to use this?" I put it back in my purse after reading a few pages and forget about it for another month.
My leave is over and I wake up to get both myself and Tallulah ready for a long day. I'm heading back to work and she's heading to her first day of daycare. I'm already tearing up as I put her in the car seat. Adam helps me get everything ready, puts her into my backseat and kisses me on the forehead.
"You're going to have a great day. Maybe it will go by so fast and you'll see her soon. Don't worry. Just drive safe. I want you both back here."
I'm driving Tallulah to daycare, probably driving a lot more slowly than I should be, but I'm nervous. If someone gets too close to my car, I put on the brakes. If someone is driving too fast by me, I can feel myself holding my breath, hoping nothing goes wrong.
We finally get to Tallulah's daycare and I drop her off. It takes about 15 minutes for me to leave. I keep kissing her over and over and asking the teachers if she's going to be okay. At this point, I'm late to work but I don't even care.
The work day drags on. I watch the clock tick and it feels like it stops at one point.
As soon as five o'clock hits, I'm out the door. Rushing to get back to Tallulah.
I put her back into my car and drive home, going slower than I did this morning. Some guy gets pissed at my driving, speeds up next to me, flips me off and then cuts me off.
I'm raging.
I'm so angry that I start crying.
"There's a baby in here you asshole!" I yell, knowing damn well he cannot hear me.
Then it hits me, the little black book.
I quickly take out my phone, hit the button and without hesitation say, "the jackass that just cut me off."
The phone dings and a green light flashes.
The asshole driver is still close enough for me to see. I watch as another car rams into him, flipping his car over and his car catches on fire.
I gasp. "Did I do that?" I think to myself, but it's impossible. Maybe just a coincidence.
Then my phone deeps, I look at the screen and it says "done." I want to cry even more.
I get home and Adam asks how my day is.
"It was fine." I say blankly.
"Is everything ok with you? With Tallulah? Oh shit, what happened?" Adam says.
"Everything is fine. I'm just tired I guess."
"It has been a long day. Here, I'll feed Tallulah and put her to bed. Why don't you go and lay down." Adam kisses me on the lips and takes Tallulah from my arms.
I walk like a zombie into our bedroom. I lay down on the bed without even taking my clothes off, but I cannot sleep. My eyes are wide open.
I can't believe I just killed a man. But did I really just kill a man?
_____________________________________________________
End of part one.
Writing Prompts, Reddit
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