Dawn of Eve, MJ Howson [lightweight ebook reader TXT] 📗

island. Jacob leaned against the counter and asked, “What’s going on, Dawn? If you didn’t want to see me tonight, why lie about it?”

“I’m sorry. I . . . I just needed time.”

“For what?”

Jacob stepped into the kitchen and selected a wine glass from the cabinet. He emptied the rest of the merlot into a glass for Dawn and brought it to her. She took a small sip and then took a few steps back.

“To figure out how to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

Dawn looked into Jacob’s big brown eyes and bright white smile. His scar looked oddly menacing this evening. A small part of her could not resist his handsome face and charming grin. She looked into her glass and said, “We don’t see this working out.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” Jacob’s brow furrowed. “Wait. We?”

“Eve and I. We don’t like liars.”

“Liar? Me?” Jacob’s tone darkened as anger filled his voice. He stepped closer and pointed at Dawn. “Do you hear yourself? We? Your obsession with that doll has to end.”

“It’s not an obsession. She makes me happy.”

“She makes you happy?” Jacob scoffed and shook his head. “What about me? Us? We were doing great before . . . before . . . .” Jacob scratched his jaw anxiously.

“Go ahead, say it.”

“Before you got pregnant.”

“And that’s the problem, Jacob.” Dawn suddenly felt empowered. She reminded herself of his endless excuses for being unavailable. Jacob had become a different man since her pregnancy. She wasn’t the one that changed. It was him. “You never accepted the baby we made. You never embraced your role. My . . . my pregnancy was a miracle.”

“Miracle?” Jacob reached into his pocket and retrieved the bottle of Clomiphene. He slammed it on the counter in front of Dawn, causing the pills inside to rattle loudly. “Bullshit!”

Dawn stared at the bottle, her eyes widening. Her heart pounded with fear and confusion. She suddenly found herself unable to move.

“You’ve got the nerve to call me a liar?” Jacob said. He pulled the other bottles from his pocket and placed them on the counter. “When did you stop taking these?”

Dawn stared at the bottles in disbelief. She slowly reached over and picked up one of the crushed containers, studying it as if it had returned from the dead. Without looking at Jacob, she asked, “Where did you get these?”

“How long have you been on these fertility pills?”

Dawn’s eyes immediately darted to the bottle of Clomiphene. Her quivering heart settled as anger filled her chest. She looked at Jacob and asked, “Why are you snooping around my apartment?”

“Answer me, Dawn.”

Dawn’s hands trembled as she scooped all four bottles into her hands. She felt tears well up as she walked past Jacob and over to the trash bin, tossing the three empty ones away. Dawn turned to Jacob and said, “Eve was right. She told me not to trust you.”

“Eve?”

“She’s been telling me what a liar you were. And how you couldn’t be trusted. I fought for you, Jacob! I didn’t want to believe her. But now I know the truth. I should have listened to her from the beginning.”

Jacob stared at Dawn, disbelief washing across his face.

“You’re talking to that doll? And she’s talking back? You’re more messed up than I thought.” Jacob turned away and leaned against the kitchen counter. He let his eyes absorb the kitchen, dining, and living rooms. His look became melancholy as his gaze settled on the stunning view of the Hudson. He looked back at Dawn, his eyes now filled with rage. “What a waste of my time and money you’ve been. You’re as fucked up as your mother.”

“What?”

The comparison to her mother shocked Dawn. Her confidence from earlier suddenly vanished as she wondered what Jacob meant.

“I was a fashion model for a decade. Do you think I don’t know about her?” Jacob looked around Dawn’s place and shook his head. “And now, because of you, I’m going to end up in some shithole apartment living God knows where.”

Jacob marched toward the spiral staircase. Dawn watched Jacob in disbelief as if a complete stranger had suddenly appeared in her apartment. She quickly followed him, asking, “Where are you going?”

Jacob paused at the base of the stairs. He looked back over his shoulder and, in a voice filled with calm clarity, said, “To set you free.”

Jacob ran up the staircase, his long legs jumping two to three steps at a time. Dawn, her bare feet slapping against the black and white marble stairs, raced after him. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched Jacob enter the nursery.

“What are you doing?” Dawn cried from the hallway. She stepped inside the room to find Jacob reaching into the crib. “Stop!”

Dawn ran to Jacob and pounded her fists against his arm. He ignored her blows and picked Eve up with one hand, holding the doll by her throat. Eve’s eyes snapped open.

“Don’t hurt my baby!” Dawn reached up and grabbed Eve, yanking her from Jacob’s grip. The doll’s dress tore from the struggle. He quickly used his other hand to pull the doll back. Dawn’s fingers grasped one of Eve’s white leather shoes and tore it from her foot. “Stop!”

Dawn coiled her body and, with all her might, slapped Jacob across the face. He immediately dropped the doll and grabbed his jaw. Eve’s eyes snapped closed as she fell into the crib. Dawn kicked Jacob in the knee, causing him to crash to the floor. She scooped Eve into her arms and ran to the hallway, ascending the spiral staircase to her bedroom. She whipped the door closed and twisted the lock.

“Are you okay?” Dawn clutched Eve close to her chest and went and sat on the bed. She carefully ran her shaking hands across Eve’s stained porcelain face, inspecting her tattered dress. As she tipped the doll up, the eyes clicked open. Dawn took Eve by one of her tiny ceramic hands and asked, “What is it?”

“Bad men must be punished,” Eve said.

Suddenly