Page 72 of Warped

That was a relief. Other than my whole body aching, and a pounding headache, I felt okay.

The nurse continued. “And you’ll be relieved to hear the baby is fine, too.”

My mind blurred with confusion. “What do you mean? There wasn’t a baby in the car. Was there one in the vehicle that hit us?”

Her brow pulled together in a frown, and then her expression cleared as she realized something. She glanced toward X. “Perhaps you could wait outside for a moment.”

My grip on his hand tightened. “No, he stays.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you could use some privacy in this case.”

I knew she was trying to get me to speak to her alone, but there was no way I was letting X out of my sight. “Whatever you’ve got to say can be said in front of him.”

She gave a guarded smile and looked between us. “Okay. I’m going to assume from your reaction that you aren’t aware you are pregnant.”

Her words hit me in the chest, stealing my breath. “What?”

“Yes, about five to six weeks now, so it’s still early days. But the heartbeat looks strong, and considering the fetus survived the trauma you’ve just been through, I’m sure it will be a healthy pregnancy.”

“But … but … I can’t be five to six weeks pregnant.” I didn’t want to admit I’d only know X a matter of weeks, but I had to get the dates right. “We haven’t known each other that long.”

She gave that reassuring smile. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s just how the dates are calculated. You’re effectively already two weeks pregnant at the date of conception, so those dates would work.”

Of course, it made sense. It explained the sickness and the fatigue I’d been suffering from. Plus, I knew we’d had sex enough times for it to have happened. I didn’t know why the possibility hadn’t occurred to me. That my period was late hadn’t even registered. I guessed I just had so much going on in my life; I hadn’t processed stuff like I normally would.

“I can’t believe it.”

I didn’t even want to look at X, terrified of what his reaction would be. My cheeks burned, and I stared down at my hands knotted together on top of the sheets.

“I’ll leave you both to talk. You obviously have some important things to discuss. If you want to talk about your options, I’m available when you’re ready.”

“Options?” I looked up at her. I knew what that meant. “No. No options.”

She gave a reserved smile and nodded. “Well, you two have a talk about things. Give me a shout if you need anything.”

I nodded, and she left. I stared back down at my hands, still not wanting to look at X. Was he going to be angry? Horrified? Would he turn and run as far away from me as he could?

“Vee?”

X’s voice coaxed me to look at him.

“Vee, it’s going to be all right.”

I forced myself to look up, and my eyes locked with his. “I can’t believe it. I feel like I’m in a dream.”

He smiled gently. “It explains the throwing up. I guess you hadn’t picked up a bug after all.”

“No, I guess not.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe it. I mean, I know unprotected sex results in pregnancy, I just didn’t think of it happening to me. I guess I never thought I would live long enough for it to be a problem.”

X’s smile widened. “I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.”

I stared at him. “You do? Seriously?”

He laughed. “Absolutely. You having my child. It’s perfect.”

“It’s not perfect, X. It’s far from perfect. My father wants me dead. My sister is possibly being tortured or has already been killed by him. You have people after you as well.” I shook my head again to emphasize my point. “This is not perfect.”

“We’ll figure it out. I don’t know how yet, but we will. I promise. I’ll take care of you and the baby with my dying breath if I have to.”

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