Page 121 of Body Shot

I didn’t mean to put my hands on the guy, but I still want to punch his smug face.

Dammit.

I get outside and the shock of cold air that hits me calms me a little.

Fuck.

I lean against the wall and stare out at nothing.

She’s back with Seth Crandall.

I didn’t even know he was working with her.

Yet another thing she hid from me.

None of this makes any sense.

The woman I fell in love with isn’t duplicitous like that. She just isn’t. She might not love me, but she’s not a liar or a cheat. Something else is going on.

And I really need to know what it is.

I’m not the kind of guy who’ll beg a woman to love me, but I deserve the truth.

I came here to be honest with her, and as I stand here shivering in the light rain that’s started, I realize I have to finish what I started.

I love her.

She doesn’t have to love me back, but she has to know what’s in my heart. Especially if we’re going to co-parent that baby I honestly don’t want her to lose.

Whether we get back together or not, I have to go back up there and talk to her. Seth can stay or go. I don’t give a shit. But she’s going to hear me out.

I turn and walk back into the hospital.

FORTY-FOUR

Claudia

I’ve been dozingon and off all day, but I’m still exhausted.

The doctors talked a lot, but the end result is that no one knows whether or not I’m going to lose the baby. Sometimes pregnant women bleed. Sometimes it’s indicative of a miscarriage, sometimes it’s not.

My bleeding was excessive, but every time they check me, I’m still pregnant.

Then I got a lecture about not eating.

The fact that I’m dehydrated.

It’s not entirely my fault.

I’ve been nauseated and haven’t been able to keep much down the last two weeks, but a nurse still found it necessary to tell me what I’m supposed to be eating, how the baby is depending on me, and a bunch of other nonsense. I know all of that. If I could eat something without wanting to heave, I would.

Then there was the whole thing with my parents.

Having to explain that I’m pregnant.

That Anders and I had broken up.

So much drama.

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