Page 9 of The Secrets that Surround Us

Afew hours after I called her, a whirl of blonde bursts into the room. “Oh, my gosh Fiona. I’m so sorry it took me so long to get here. When you called, I was in the middle of working at my family’s car shop and needed to finish up some paperwork before I could head out.”

Hazel finally sits down in the chair next to me, taking a deep breath her gaze settles on me. “Tell me what happened?”

My fingers twirl the cord for my oxygen pulsator as my eyes seem to suddenly find them fascinating. “I have something to tell you. And I really hope you can help me.”

“Fiona.” Hazel calls my name in a soft but stern tone. My eyes pop up to meet hers. “Tell me. I’ll help you if I can.”

A knot forms in my throat as I try to bring the words forth. Her eyes soften as she watches me, placing her hand over mine, stilling them. “It’s okay. You can tell me. I promise I’m the last person to judge you.”

I know that. I really do. She’s always been so kind to me. I nod. “W…Well, at your wedding, I kind of slept with your brother-in-law.” Pausing, I pull in my lip and start chewing on it, trying to gather the strength to continue. Hazel starts first, though. “You mean Alex, right?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not a big deal. Alex has slept with a lot of people.” She must see my eyes widen because she continues, “I mean, Alex hasn’t slept with many people; he’s just a friendly guy.”

Shit, of course, he does. The one I hook up with has a reputation of a player.

You already knew that, Fiona. That’s why you went home with him that night.

My inner self is right, but that doesn’t mean I want to be reminded of it. Especially now that I’m pregnant with his child. Though I guess she doesn’t know that yet. I chuckle under my breath at the way Hazel tries to over correct herself but doesn’t quite do it well. I take a deep breath.

“Well, over the last few weeks, I kept getting sick. Apparently, I’ve become so dehydrated that I fainted, and my parents brought me here.”

I stare into her eyes, hoping she catches on to what I’m trying to tell her without telling her, but she just keeps looking at me, waiting for me to continue, so I do. “When they brought me in, the doctors ran some tests.”

She seems to get it because her eyes pop out of her head. “You’re pregnant.”

“Yes.”

“And it’s Alex’s?”

“It is. I haven’t been with anyone else.” Feeling uncomfortable, I shift in the hospital bed.

Squeezing my hand again, she draws my attention back to her. “Why did you call me Fiona?”

Closing my eyes, I squeeze them shut when I explain. “When my parents found out, they told me not to come home.” Tears roll down my cheeks when I look back up at her eyes. “I snuck out of Alex’s house. It was my first one-night stand, and I was trying to play by the rules.”

Sniffing up the snot that wants to drip out of my nose, I continue, “I didn’t even get his number. Can you call him for me?”

“Oh, honey. Yes. I’ll call him. And you can come stay with Dex and me until you find a place.”

She leans over and wraps both of her arms around my neck, and I sob even harder. “It’s going to be okay, Fee. Everything is going to be just fine. I promise.”

Clinging to her and her words, I pray that she’s right and that everything works itself out.

By the time I’m discharged from the hospital, it’s dark outside. Hazel, thankfully, gives me a ride to her house for at least the night. When we pull into a cute neighborhood, I sit up straight because I recognize the neighborhood we’re driving through. It’s the same one Alex’s house is in. My heart hammers against my chest as my breathing kicks up.

“Ugh. Hazel, where are we going?”

She glances over at me while trying to maintain her eyes on the road. “We’re going to mine and Dexter’s house. Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay.”

“You live near Alex.”

“Oh shit. Yeah, Dexter and I moved into a house in the same neighborhood about a week ago. He was the one who helped us find it.” She smiles at me, probably hoping it will ease my worries.

Nausea churns in my stomach. Fuck, I really hope I don’t puke in her car. She’s already been so wonderful to me. But with all the stress and apparently what the doctor calls “morning sickness," my stomach is worse than it has ever been. I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep anything down.

My eyes can’t seem to focus on any one thing as they dart all around. The fear of pulling into Alex’s driveway swirls in my stomach. How am I going to tell this guy I’ve been with one time that I’m pregnant with his child? The weight of the unknown sits on my chest. It eases when thankfully Hazel pulls into a different cute bungalow than the one from that night.

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