Page 54 of Simply You & Me

JJ's eyes widen, looking from me to Tate, Wyatt, and Rylee. Julian and Zach do the same when they turn around.

They don't look so good. They have dark splotches under their eyes like Mom has lately. Maybe they don't feel so good, either. But Zach just said they don't feel good because they’re the reason my mom is hurt. That can't be right.

"You told me you loved us, so why would you hurt my mom?" My voice wobbles, and it feels like I can hardly push the words out.

"Rory," Julian whispers, and I swear his eyes are sparkling.

He looks like he's in pain. So, does Z. I feel bad and want to hug them… but if they hurt my mom...

"Come here, Rory. Let's go see Addie," Rylee says, her voice kind of rough. She plucks me off Tate's back and places me on my feet. Walking by all the big guys, I feel nervous. Normally, I love being around them. So why does it feel like things have changed?

I just want my mom.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Adelyn

"You doin' okay?"

I grimace at Marc's throaty voice. He isn't being loud, but damn, am I feeling sensitive. Listening to the officers talk and forcing my voice to give my statement has me feeling raw in so many ways.

Don wasn’t the one to take my statement, thank fuck. But still, being surrounded by the people my dad used to work with hurts my heart. I miss him so much. He never would have let anything happen to me. Uncle Don has been blowing up my phone, but I have no idea what to tell him. I’d rather he just read the police reports, so I don’t have to rehash the horrors of last night with my only parent figure.

I swallow, gripping the sheets over my stomach. "Fine," I whisper. Marcus watches me as he reclines on the couch, keeping an eye on me. He's worried. It's nice.

My baby is okay, the doctor said. It's hard to believe. When they took my vitals and blood, they came back, and I heard for the first time that I was pregnant. The confirmation made my heart and mind riot with happiness and nerves. I cried until I was numb after they told me everything was okay. I'll need an ultrasound to tell me how far along I truly am, though.

I made them show me the results, but I wasn't prepared for the onslaught of emotions to come barreling down on me. Guilt and disbelief war with excitement and nervousness. I can't believe I let my baby be put in that position, yet it's hard to fathom that I am actually pregnant. I'm excited for the life growing inside of me and to be a mom, but the nerves rolling through my muscles are because of all the uncertainty of the future. I don't even know how long I've been pregnant, let alone how to deal with the baby’s dad.

Life feels too messy and wobbly for me to feel confident in my calculations. My last period was six weeks ago, but does that mean I’m six weeks along? Or do they calculate by when I conceived, which, if I’m remembering correctly, was like four weeks ago? I have no idea how any of this works, and it’s freaking me the fuck out. So, I booked my first ultrasound. An appointment I will probably have to go to alone. The two people I really want to come with are dead. My mom won't be here to meet her grandbaby. My dad will never have the chance to hold another baby in his arms.

A miracle baby. Just like Rory. I never thought I would be able to have kids after watching my mom struggle for years to conceive after losing my first sibling. I hated her tears and the never-ending hope that this would be the time. A baby was something I never considered would be possible for me. Yet it was so easy. A drunken night and too many scattered weeks.

Now here I am, holding my tummy in hopes I won't cry like my mom did. Here I am, hoping like hell I’ll have a healthy pregnancy and meet this little bean someday. I already want to take another pregnancy test. Something solid to hold on to of my baby.

Sighing, the voices outside the door become louder. It's late morning, and since I woke up not long after being carried into the hospital, Zach and Julian have stopped at nothing to see me. JJ running interference has been a blessing. I don't want to be any more of a mess when Rory gets here.

Ry texted me a little while ago, saying they were on their way. She, Rory, Tate, and Wyatt. All four guys will be hovering outside my door now. I'm too tired to see them. I know I have to talk to them, but I have nothing to give. No words to make them feel better, no forgiveness to offer. I didn't know where we stood yesterday morning, and there's no way in hell I know where we stand twenty-four hours later. An awful, complicated twenty-four hours.

Rylee told me that everyone knows about the baby except the kids. My symptoms were fairly obvious to her. When she asked about the results today, she was overjoyed to hear that the baby was okay. Since it's still early enough, Bean is tucked in pretty well behind my pubic bone. Safe. Unharmed.

Me, not so much. I didn't have a line of defense saving me from the kicks, rough handling, and strangling. The trauma I experienced, I know, will affect my baby in some way. The doctors said that whatever they used to get me to pass out might have some side effects for me, like headaches and dizziness, but for Bean, we will just have to keep a closer eye on my pregnancy for a while.

My hips are pretty banged up on both sides; scrapes and bruises that are turning purple as we speak. My throat has a ring of blue fingerprints around it. Every time I think of them, I feel Johnny's hot skin stealing the air from my lungs. I remember how absolutely useless I was in keeping me and my baby safe.

As were the guys. The thought is horribly harsh, but fucking hell! They brought this here. Johnny was here for them, not me. It's such a sick twist of fate that one of the men after my guys is my ex. The ex who raped me, ruined high school, and an array of friendships. Did they know? I told them what happened. What Johnny did to me. Were they so furious because they knew him?

"Fuck, Jackson!" I huff at Zach's shout through the door. "I know it's our fault. I feel absolutely terrible! If we hadn't kept this from everyone, Addie and our baby wouldn't be lying in that hospital bed. It's our fault they're hurt, and I have no idea how to fix it if she won't let me see her!"

I'm ready for someone else's voice to overpower his in return, but it never comes. Instead, muted shuffling and muffled words barely reach me. Who shut Zach down that fast?

"Knock, knock!" Rylee doesn't wait for me to say anything before she cracks the door open and slipping inside with Rory.

"Mommy!" Rory cries, shattering my fragile heart with one broken word. Behind her, Marc swoops in on his wife, but soon I can't see them as a curtain of dark hair flies across my face. "Are you okay, Mom? Aunty Rylee and Tate said you were hurt, and the guys out there said it was their fault. I thought they liked us, but they hurt you?! I thought they were my friends!"

Rory's arms around my neck shake with each hiccupping sob she drenches my hospital gown in. I shush her, rubbing her dainty back as she tries to burrow further into me. I hold back my hiss of pain when her bony knee bashes against my bruised hip. The need to comfort my daughter is much stronger than any physical pain I'm enduring.

"I'm okay, honey. I'm okay, I promise." I keep my eyes closed in hopes of holding back my own tears. My sweet girl doesn't need to see me hurting any more than I already am.

---