mountain of pamphlets. Which meant the lighter period I’d had in May wasn’t just a light period. I’d been spotting, as I was apparently ten weeks along already.
I had a moment when I did the math in my head, counting back to when Aiden and I had last been together at my parents’ house over Christmas. Then I laughed like a crazed woman, realizing how stupid the thought was. It was impossible. I was relieved, if only for the fact that every time I thought of Aiden, I still remembered the way he’d left me crumpled and discarded on the sidewalk at the start of the year.
After my unnecessary freak-out, I felt like the biggest idiot. Adela had a good laugh over it too. To say she was shocked when I’d told her I was pregnant would be an overstatement. She’d jumped off the couch, screaming with her arms in the air, hollering that Dale owed her a hundred dollars.
Now if I could just tell Gloria and Sabrina and maybe my mom without throwing up, that’d be fantastic.
As it was, I wasn’t feeling nauseous, but my boobs ached, which I’d attributed to hormones when Everett had squeezed them too hard.
Turns out, I didn’t need to say a word.
“You’re pregnant,” Gloria greeted, hands on her hips when I walked into work that Friday.
“Uh, hey?” I blinked; the door slammed behind me, wind chimes dancing.
“When were you going to tell us?” Gloria’s eyes were doing that weird rounding thing they did when she was getting pissed.
“When you didn’t look like you might kill me?” I offered a weak smile.
Sabrina finished with an arrangement, then set it down and opened her arms. “Oh, she’s just messing with you. Come here.”
I went to her, my emotions climbing as her scent and arms enveloped me.
Gloria clucked her tongue, then groaned. “Fine, but I wanted Aiden.”
I could feel Sabrina give her the eyeball over my shoulder, and then Gloria was hugging me too.
I started blubbering like a baby, and they began to coo and pet my hair as I mumbled out incoherent things. “Didn’t know. And I don’t know if I’m ready. And Aiden’s b-back. I’m not even twenty-one yet. And I don’t want to see him. And oh, my God, I’m having a fucking baby.”
The wind chimes sang as a customer walked in. “Um, I just came by to grab some—”
“Later, Allen,” Sabrina said. “Shoo.” The chimes sang again as he retreated. “Have you told your mom yet?”
“No.” I stepped out of their embrace, thanking Gloria when she handed me a tissue. “I don’t know how. Everett and me…” I blew my nose, then dabbed at the mascara trails beneath my eyes. “We’ve only just gotten to a place where we feel like we’re finally able to do this.”
“Having a baby won’t make anyone mad at you, darling.” Gloria rubbed my back.
“Your mom might even be excited,” Sabrina offered. “When she gets over the shock of becoming a grandma of course.”
“Not helping.” Gloria glared.
“Why don’t you head home for the day?” Sabrina tucked some hair behind my ear. “Put your feet up, or hey, maybe—”
The door opened again, and I looked over to see Everett walk in wearing a megawatt grin, the kind rarely seen on him.
It fell when he caught sight of me, and then he was rushing over, collecting me to him. “What happened?” His tone was sharp but not accusing.
Ensnared in the crisp clean scent of his black T-shirt with his arms around me, I struggled to remember why I’d been so worried. “I was just having a moment. I’m okay.”
Framing my face, his hands tipped it back to search my eyes. “A moment?”
I nodded, sniffing and smiling. “I guess my hormones are going to be crazier than normal.”
His thumbs brushed beneath my eyes, removing the wet smudges, and his lips pressed into a tight line. “You should’ve called me.”
“It only just happened.”
He peeked over my shoulder at Gloria and Sabrina, then returned his attention to me. With his hands brushing up and down my arms, he drew in a ragged breath. “I fucking hate seeing you cry.”
“I’m sorry.”
His brows furrowed, lips twitching. “Don’t apologize.”
“What are you doing here?” The way he kept bailing when he needed to be recording this album wasn’t right. They’d barely gotten started, and I wasn’t sure how Jack and the rest of the band kept allowing it.
Then again, it was Everett. He did what he wanted when he wanted to.