Christine meets up with an old friend who has just had a baby, named Scarlett. The new mother, Fiona, lost her first child, and is having mysterious trouble with the second one.

Fiona appeared with the warmed bottle. Her carpet slippers had slid silently over the carpet and Christine was taken by surprise. Fiona handed Christine the bottle. “You do it, you feed her. She likes you.” Christine tested the milk on her arm before she maneuvered the rubber nipple into Scarlett’s mouth. The baby sucked once and began to cry again, her face scrunched into a knot of anguish. She squirmed like a wet cat as her tiny fists flailed against Christine’s face.

The Baby was published in Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles’ 2021 anthology entitled Avenging Angelenos.

Category: Published short story. Genres: murder, paranormal, psychological

© Avril Adams, 2022

Photo credit: Francesco de Tommaso via Unsplash.com