Page 15 of Savage Reign

Letting out a small sigh, I looked to the left and waited for the bus to come. I knew I couldn’t live like this forever. If I was really pregnant, I needed to think about my next step. And if I really planned on staying away from the brothers, if I decided whatthey had done was really unforgivable, then I needed to move on with my life and not think about them anymore.

The scary thing was, I really didn’t think Iwasn’tcapable of forgiving them.

They crossed the line, but the longer I stayed away from them, the more I wondered if it was so bad. And that was such a scary thought. It made me wonder what else I would forgive them for.

The bus came then, taking me out of my thoughts.

I hopped on and, like before, found a seat in the back. I sat down, and that was when I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise. I shifted and looked out the window, but nothing seemed out of place. I looked over at the drugstore I had just come out of and stopped when I noticed the man I had bumped into. He was standing in the front, his gaze directed at the bus. My skin burned. Was he looking for me?

No, that couldn’t be right. Besides, he was all the way by the drugstore, and I was on the bus. It wasn’t like he could follow me back to the motel if he decided to do so.

I shuddered from the thought just as the bus pulled forward.

I was just being paranoid. Everything would be fine.

Yet, the feeling of someone watching me never left, even as I got off the bus and looked around, seeing nothing and no one.

I quickly walked back to the motel room and locked the door behind me. I leaned back against the wooden door and waited for a beat before moving to the window and looking out.

Still nothing and no one.

Perhaps I was just being jumpy because of the pregnancy test.

And I didn’t want to wait anymore. I couldn’t. I hated not knowing. I threw the bag on my bed and shifted through it until I got the pregnancy tests out. Then, I headed to the bathroom and read the instructions on all of them.

They seemed pretty simple. Just had to pee on a stick.

I could do that.

I tried not to think about anything as I did it and laid the tests down on the sink counter. Then I washed my hands, avoiding looking at them.

What would I do if I was pregnant?

What if my child was a girl? How would I protect her when I already felt so powerless in the world?

My heart beat furiously in my chest just from the thought.

When I decided I had waited long enough for the result, I pushed off the wall I had been leaning on and walked over to the tests. My hands shook and gripped the counter. My vision went blurry as I tried to focus on the little screen.

My heart jumped at the result of the first test, and it pounded twice as hard at the result of the second. It became almost erratic on the third test, and it finally stalled when I got to the fourth and final one.

I blinked, and tears sprang to my eyes.

Fuck.

I was pregnant.

I squintedwhen I got out of the motel room. It was late afternoon, and the sun was still high up. Humidity and heat wrapped around my skin, making me feel like I needed a cold shower.

I ignored the sensation and locked the door behind me, breathing out a small exhale. I could have stayed in the motel room all day and all night. I probably should have, considering my state of mind at the moment, but I had been in there since I’d taken the pregnancy tests, and all it did was make me feel likethe four walls were slowly closing in on me, making it hard to breathe.

At least outside, things felt a little better.

I knew a quick change in scenery didn’t resolve my problems, but at least it didn’t feel so overwhelming.

I took off to the left, walking around the cracked cemented pathway near all the motel room doors, taking in the barren surroundings of dirt and not much else. I should have picked a better place—asaferplace to stay, especially now that it wasn’t just my safety I needed to worry about.

Just the thought sent a zing of panic through me, and I was suddenlyveryaware that a baby was growing inside of me, supposedly safe because I was protecting him or her…

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