Page 59 of Forced Knocked-Up Mate

“Come on, little man,” Fiona says, putting her arm around Caleb. “You need a bath for dinner. You look like you’ve been rolling in mud.”

“That’s because I was,” Caleb laughs, following his mom. “Bye, Uncle Pete!” Caleb calls, turning around for one last wave.

Peter smiles, waving back. When he looks down at me, his green eyes are clear, with not even a hint of the pain I’ve seen lurking there in the past.

“Ready to go?” he asks. “Do you want to cook tonight, or should we get takeout?”

“I’m happy with picking something up,” I say, getting up. “Can’t deal with dishes and stuff tonight.”

“Agreed,” Peter laughs. “What should we get?”

“I don’t know.”

As we reach the dirt track that leads out of New Hope, Peter takes my hand, looking up at the canopy of trees above us. The sky is beginning to darken into ink-black, stars appearing one by one and shining brighter as the sun sinks further beyond the horizon.

I squeeze Peter’s hand, wishing that I could let go of my bad mood. I’ve felt tired and a bit sick recently, just out of sorts. I don’t know if it has something to do with the spell, or if it’s just my fear.

I’m probably coming down with something. I’m assuming this has a magical or emotional cause. It’s probably just a stomach virus.

When we arrive at the car, Peter stops me, holding my shoulder with one hand so he can look into my eyes. “Are you okay, Lucy? You’ve seemed really tired lately.”

“Yeah,” I answer. “We’ve just had a hectic routine.”

“Okay. Let me know if there’s anything you want to talk about.”

Yes, everything.

“No, nothing,” I say instead. “Don’t worry about it.”

He squeezes my hands gently, then gets in the car. As I move to open the door, my phone dings, and I pull it out to check.

When I see it’s from Amanda, a mixture of emotions I can’t define slams into me. I’d almost forgotten I asked her to come. I want confirmation that Peter is staying with me out of love, not because of magic, but I’m still terrified.

I flick the screen open.

Hi, Lucy! Sorry, it’s taken me so long. I’ll be there in a day or two to help you out. Talk soon!

Numbly, I put my phone back in my pocket. As I get into the car, Peter chats about what takeout we should get and our routine for the next day. I can barely focus on his voice, just nodding or making a noise of acknowledgment in response.

By the time we get back to Silver Meadows, an awkward silence has fallen between us. I pull into the driveway and stare straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel hard enough to make my fingers hurt.

“Lucy, we didn’t stop for food,” Peter points out.

“No, I guess not.”

“Are we going inside?”

I nod, forcing myself to move. Walking up the path to the door feels surreal, as if I’m in a dream where all my senses are blurred and slow and I can’t even wake up.

When I get to the door, I drop my keys and have trouble finding them on the ground. Peter grabs my arm and makes me look at him.

“Lucy, what the fuck is going on? Like, I’m actually worried about you right now. Did you hit your head?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

Peter lets go of me and crosses his arms across his chest. “You’re going to tell me right now what’s upsetting you, or I’m going to take you to the damn hospital! We were getting along great; I’ve been enjoying my new routines—even though I didn’t believe for a second I’d like a normal life like this, I’ve been really trying. But the last two days, you’ve pulled away from me. And now you’re acting like someone hit you with half a pack of sleeping pills.”

Tears fill my eyes as I look at his handsome face. When he’s angry, the sharp angles of his cheeks and jaw seem more pronounced, and he talks with his hands, becoming animated and vivid.

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