Page 20 of Mending Scars

Nori flipped me the finger and laughed. “Hey, you threw a lot at me at once. Give me some time to process.”

“Yeah, its some heavy shit. I’ve been so stressed out that I’ve been throwing up every morning and have never-ending headaches.”

“Wait, what? You’ve been throwing up every morning? For how long?” Nori asked with her eyebrows raised.

“Um…” I thought back to when I got the first text. “A few weeks maybe. Why?”

“Do you think you might be pregnant?” Nori blurted out.

I laughed loudly. “Are you joking?” When she didn’t join in my laughter, I stopped and met her gaze. “Wait, you’re serious.”

It wasn’t a question. The look on Nori’s face told me she wasn’t joking—she was dead serious. “I can’t be pregnant. I’m on the…”

Oh shit. When was the last time I went for my shot? The last I remember was before the shooting. Fuck.

Nori smiled sympathetically. “Would it be that bad if you were?”

Would it?

I never planned to have kids because I didn’t think I was in the right emotional state to be able to raise any that weren’t totally fucked up. I rubbed my palms on my pants. “No, but I’m sure it’s just stress.”

Nori gave me a knowing look. “Maybe you should take a pregnancy test—just to be safe.”

I sighed. “Fine, I will. But I really think it’s only stress.”

The waitress came back with our drinks and wrote down our lunch order. When she left, Nori said in disbelief, “I can’t believe Kamden pushed you.”

I sadly shook my head, then stared down at my hands in my lap. “Me neither. He’s gotten really bad. I don’t know what to do to help him.”

“Just keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t give up on him.”

I looked up and made eye contact. “I won’t.” I could never give up on Kamden after everything he’d done for me.

Nori changed the subject. “So, what does Ryker think about the text messages?”

I took a drink of my water. “He’s beyond pissed. Especially since he can’t do anything about it.”

“What about the police? Have you thought about going to them?”

“Yeah, but Ryker said they won’t do anything.” I stirred the straw around in my drink before taking another sip.

Nori shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I think it’s worth a shot. What if they could help?”

She had a point. Ryker didn’t know for sure whether or not the police would be able to help, and the messages weren’t stopping like I wanted. “You’re right. I’ll look into it.”

Amy came with our food, and we started eating. In between bites, Nori said, “Tell me something good. I’m tired of all this negative bullshit.”

“Tell me about it.” I laughed. “I don’t have much to tell you, except that everything with Ryker is amazing. I keep waiting to wake up from this dream.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” she crooned with a smile. “I’m so happy that you finally found someone that treats you how you’re supposed to be treated.”

My lips curved up. “Yeah, I’m pretty lucky.”

Nori took another bite of her sandwich. “At least you have him to help you through all this.”

I nodded as I swirled my spoon in my soup. “Yeah, I’d definitely go crazy with all this if I didn’t have him.”

That’s an understatement.

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