She was a wonderful liar...
...I- I- honestly should have seen this coming...
It's just...I can't even...the signs were there...I mean...how could I have been so blind? Then again, no-one expects this kind of thing to happen...
I suppose the first clue should've been how she kept disappearing, coming home at odd hours, an expression of exhaustion spread across her face.
"Jeez, Syl," I commented "where've you been? Your parents and I have been worried sick"
She just responded with a small hug, and flopping onto the couch, sleep taking her before she landed.
That was only the beginning- as time went on, things got worse, she'd become distracted when we were talking, and then outright avoiding me, later on.
One day, I'd had enough, and asked her what was wrong...
You know what she said?
"I'm fine" she said.
"I'm just a little tired, is all"
"You, just wouldn't understand"
God, she just...I didn't even know who she was, anymore! It was like she was a totally different person!
I...I got desperate...I followed her when she left the house...
She walked a good distance, even into the part of town no-one went into, just because of all the rundown buildings, garbage, and broken glass littering the streets.
She entered an old warehouse, ducking under the creaking boards blocking the side entrance.
I waited a short while, before following her in, being careful not to be spotted.
The sound of two sets of feet against the concrete floor made themselves known, and I froze, thinking that if I stayed still, whoever was there would eventually walk away. They did, and I released a breath I realized I wasn't holding.
Peering out from behind a crate, and cautiously stepping forward, I ventured out from my hiding spot, searching for Sylvia.
"And just what do you think you're doing here?"
Whirling around, I saw her, sitting in an old chair next to a desk off in the corner, a bottle in her hands as the baby feeding from it was hidden behind the desk.
'Busted' I thought.
"Syl, what're you doing here?" I asked, gesturing to the empty storage facility.
"I- I just-"
She stopped, and glanced down at her lap.
"Is...is that what I think it is?" I asked, a shiver running down my spine.
"Yes..." she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
I approached, slowly, and saw the bundle in her lap.
It was about as high as my knee, covered in scales from head to foot, its claws grasping the bottle from which it drank. Its short, stubby tail swished idly across her lap, Syl occasionally messing with it to amuse the thing sitting in her lap.
"I...um...I really can't..."
"...I know..." she responded, still quiet.
Suddenly, the nipple popped out of its mouth.
"Mommy, who's that?" it asked.
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