Page 69 of Pieces

In this moment I know, I’d do anything to protect her and our baby. I’ll work until I’m dead on my feet to make sure they’re safe and we can survive school and the next year until I get drafted. Ideas begin to rush around my head about how I can provide for us, but now, I want to make sure she’s okay after all that.

Pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear, I let my hand linger on her face, slipping down to her neck, feeling the flutter of her pulse. “Now let’s go get dinner and ice cream. I’m starving, and I know you must be too.”

She smiles as she absently rubs her stomach. I can’t help but stare at her, wondering what the next few months are going to look like for her, for us. “Hmm, I think the baby wants pancakes.”

I grin. “With a chocolate milkshake?”

She flushes the prettiest pink before smiling up at me. “There’s no other milkshake that compares.”

She’s not making this easy on my heart here.

God, how am I supposed to keep it together when she looks at me like that? When she’s my actual dream girl? But I don’t say that. I just open the car door for her, letting her settle in before I close it behind her.

As I slide into the driver’s seat, I glance over at her. We just sit there in silence, the tension from earlier fading under the weight of something that’s becoming more… us. She’s staring out the window, her expression thoughtful, but there’s a calmness to her now that wasn’t there a few minutes ago. I hope some of that ease is because of me.

“Pancakes and chocolate milkshakes,” I say as I start the car. “I think we can handle that.”

She looks over at me, her smile widening just a bit. “Yeah,” she says. “I think we can.”

Chapter thirty-one

Daphne

Istareattheceiling for a moment, my chest heavy, before instinctively pressing my hand to my stomach. The baby. Just the thought feels surreal, like I’ve stepped into someone else’s life. Nothing about me looks different, but I can’t pretend I’m the same. It’s not just the nausea that’s been hounding me during the day, it’s this strange, overwhelming awareness that I’m going to be someone’s mom.

This isn’t how I imagined it happening, and I’m trying so hard not to focus on that detail.

I’m supposed to be creating content for my feature with CLUSports media team, not researching breast pumps at three in the morning. But life doesn’t hand you a playbook, and I’ve always believed things happen for a reason, despite this not being the perfect scenario. Maybe this is my reason.

My phone buzzes on the nightstand, and I stretch out to reach for it. There’s a text from Liv, telling me to call her. It’s unlike us to go a few days without talking, but things have been busy. My life is a bit like a three-ring circus lately, and I need to get a handle on that.

I bring up Liv’s name and press video call. She answers on the first ring. Her slightly sweaty face comes into view and the camera is unstable, kind of like… Is she jogging?

“Thank God, I was about to send a search party out. Did you know it’s been three days since I’ve seen your face?” she says, breathless.

“The running is making me wanna puke.” I cover my mouth and close my eyes. “And I’m sorry it’s been three days.”

“Whew, alright, I’ve slowed down for you.” I open my eyes to see the jostling has stopped. “So, catch me up. Are you in love with your baby daddy yet?”

I scoff loudly, but don’t have a chance to answer her because she goes on.

“Okay, okay, we’re not in love yet, but something happened. I can see it on your pretty face.”

I sigh. “We told Mom and Dad.”

Her mouth opens with a gasp. “You didn’t tell me!?”

I scrunch my face, fighting guilt. “I know, I’m sorry. I told you things have been crazy, and I’ve been—”

“Burying yourself in school?”

I nod sheepishly. “I’m sorry, though.”

“Eh, I’ve forgiven you already because I need to know how it went.”

Swallowing roughly, I wince at the memory of it all. “Mom wasn’t too bad, but Dad…”

“Freaked?”

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