Page 2 of A Little Puck Luck

So I picked up the phone on the third ring.

“Hey, my love.”

He always loved to call me that, and it broke my heart to do this.

I forced out, “Hey. How was your day?”

I needed the time to gather all the strength in the world to do what was necessary.

“Oh, it was great. Do you know how awesome it is to have all-you-can-eat omelets? I had three different kinds today. Then we went into the scrimmage. That sucked somewhat since our team lost, and I got crushed about four times. But the media session was fun. My Insta and TT accounts were blowing up after.”

Good for him. He loved social media, and I could see him being an influencer if he wanted to.

I didn’t say much. Because just the thought of what I was going to do next hurt too much.

“You’re awfully quiet, Annie. What’s wrong?”

Of course, he called me Annie to get my attention again. He and my dad were the only two people who were allowed to call me that.

“I lost the baby.”

Everything went cold in that moment. I hated lying to him. I’ve never told such a bald-faced lie before.

After a moment, he said, “I’m so sorry. Do you need me to fly back?”

“No. But I’m going to live with my aunt for a bit.”

That part was true. Tomorrow, I would move to the prairie until the birth of our child. Between now and then, I had to make sure Terry and I broke up. I just didn’t know how to do that part. Lying to him was hard enough. Cutting him out of my life seemed impossible.

Chapter 1

Annette

Eric’sbedtimewentsmoothly.He was a good kid and really listened when we asked him to clean up or go to bed. I was only halfway through his picture book that pitted Apes against Lions when I noticed he had drifted off to sleep. So I quietly placed a bookmark in the book and set it down with the stack of library books.

I kissed his forehead and hoped things would continue to go well. Tonight was the night. I had to tell Luke the news. I refused to categorize it as good or bad news since it all depended on Luke’s reaction.

I went downstairs and noticed Luke’s glass was empty. “Do you want another drink?” I asked.

Instead of a response, he just stared at me. I just assumed he thought I was dumb for even asking, but sometimes he didn’t want the instant refill.

If he was in a bad mood, maybe I should hold off for a little bit. But he was in a good mood at dinner. Besides, how much longer could I hide it?

Regardless, I was afraid. The stats shared by the shelter about the risks that lay ahead scared me to death. Women were most likely to be abused by a partner when they were pregnant.

I went to the kitchen, got another beer, and poured it for him.

But his intense stare didn’t stop.

“So, I have some news about us,” I started.

Luke cocked his head as if he was curious to hear what I was going to say, but he was giving me the silent treatment.

Well, it’s too late to back out now.I sat down on the sofa next to his chair and said, “We’re pregnant.”

While the idea of happiness coming from Luke seemed like a long shot if he was giving me the silent treatment, I wasn’t expecting his switch to flip completely. Before I could blink, he was on top of me. “You fucking bitch. I never should have taken you back after you ran away.”

Then, he was punching my face and stomach.

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