Page 69 of Solitude

He doesn’t offer me any words or ask questions. He just lets me ruin his shirt with my tears and snot until my sobs fade away and my eyes run out of water. Then I lift my head and bang my forehead into his chest.

“I’m pregnant, Cole.”

His fingers tighten on me for a moment then he sighs. “You kids move so fast.”

“It wasn’t planned! I thought the pill was fool-proof!” I tell him, exasperated as I slap at his back. “Why do you think I’m crying? You’re supposed to tell me it’s going to be okay.”

Cole pulls away and steers me toward a table. He helps me onto a stool then sits across from me and smiles softly. “It’s going to be okay, Winnie. You know it’s going to be okay. It’s just taking you a minute to process.”

“Still nice to hear.”

“What did Beck say?”

“I haven’t told him,” I confess sheepishly. At his scowl, I defend myself. “I just found out this morning.”

Cole levels me with a look. Just as the door swings open he says, “I can’t believe you told me before Beck.”

My eyes widen as Beck, Ben, and Gus walk throughthe door, a frown on Beck’s beautiful face, and I begin to wonder who else is going to walk through that freaking door with horrible timing.

“Tell me what?”

Ben and Gus share a look behind him, lips pursed. Beck flicks his eyes between me and Cole, and I watch as understanding fills his gaze followed by the most heartbreaking frown ever.

“No!” I shout suddenly, seeing exactly where his brain is trying to lead him. “No, gross. Don’t even think that.”

“Think what?” Cole asks.

“He thinks…” I trial off, unable to even finish the sentence. Cole gets it all the same because he says, “Gross, ew! She’s like my baby sister!”

Beck looks between us suspiciously then settles his gaze on me, an air of vulnerability in his eyes that shreds my heart a bit. I haven’t seen him in months, and it feels diminishing to simply say I missed him. Too small for how much I’ve longed to touch his face, run my fingers through his hair, seek comfort in his arms.

To simply say I missed Beckett Hale is not enough.

Now I’m face to face with him for the first time since April, and my stomach is in my butt as he looks to me for answers to the tension.

So I blurt, “I’m pregnant.”

Beck blanches at the same time Gus slaps his back, grinning as he congratulates him on his expert swimmers. Ben stares wide eyed and stunned, and he drags Gus out of the shop in a flurry of movement as Gus fights him.

Sometime in the chaos, Cole wanders into the backroom with Gwen and Betty, and I step closer to Beck.

“Beck?”

He shoves a hand through his hair, stress and exhaustion evident in his features. “I was drafted.”

“What?”

He nods. “It’s not official, but LA wants me.”

My face falls. “LA. That’s across the country, Beck.”

“I know.”

I don’t know how this day could get any worse.

As if on cue, there’s a thud in the backroom, and I hear Gwen scream. Beck rushes past me to the backroom, and I follow after him, concern pinching my features as we round the corner. Gwen is leaning over her grandmother, phone in hand as she dials nine-one-one. Cole’s on his knees beside Mrs. Betty’s head, pressing a towel against the gash on her forehead.

When Gwen stumbles through her words as the dispatcher answers, Cole jerks the phone away from her, his voice calm and reassuring as he speaks.

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