Page 28 of Call Sign: King
“You have as much chance of going into outer space as you do Ryder Helms deserting you.”
His analogy didn’t help. “Didn’t you hear? They sell trips on rockets now. I’m rich. I could be in outer space any time if I wanted.”
“It isn’t going to happen. It may take some time for things to get back to normal, but it will happen.”
“Promise?” she asked, hoping Trevor wouldn’t lie to her.
“I promise. Now, it’s been hours since you’ve eaten. I’m going to have Ricky call in an order from that great Italian place you love, and I’ll have Arrow and MacGyver pick it up after they finish their rounds downstairs.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Khloe, you need to…”
She cut him off. “I don’t feel good. My stomach is upset.”
A look of worry clouded his gaze, so she tacked on, “I just want to lay down for a bit before we eat.”
Her suggestion appeased him. Helping her back to her feet, he said, “Get some rest. I’ll wake you when the food gets here.”
“Oh goodie,” she retorted, drawing a chuckle from her long-time guard.
The relief of finally having a moment alone was clouded with the realization that she really wasn’t feeling well. Making her way through the bedroom to her private bathroom, Khloe found herself walking faster and faster until she barely made it to the toilet in time.
Kneeling in front of a porcelain basin was unfortunately familiar territory for the recovering bulimic, yet nothing about today’s puking session felt normal. Her stomach cramped just as the next wave of nausea hit, and for the briefest of seconds, she wondered if she’d been poisoned.
But it was after she’d finished throwing up and was rinsing her mouth at the sink that another possible cause for her illness took hold and refused to let go.
When did she start her last period? She reached to the pocket of her dress slacks, prepared to check the health app, only then remembering her phone was still out with Ricky.
Khloe went out to the bed, lying down on top of the duvet and pulling the throw blanket over her as the air conditioning made the room chilly. She spent several long minutes willing her brain to stop spinning on all the chaos happening in her life, but after ten minutes of spiraling, she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest without getting answers.
As quietly as she could, she went to the divider door between her bedroom and the large open space of the suite. It took a few minutes, but when Ricky finally glanced up in her direction, she waved him over. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching him before heading in her direction.
When he got to the door, Khloe pulled him into her room, quietly closing the divider again to give them as much privacy as she could muster.
“I need you to do me a huge favor,” she said.
“I’m not sneaking you out of here,” he said bravely.
She was proud of her assistant. He may be a tiny twink who, she was pretty sure, weighed even less than she did, but Ricky was as protective of her as any of the other guys on her protection detail.
“I don’t want to sneak out… well, not exactly. I need you to buy me something though that we need to keep a secret from everyone else.”
“I’m not buying you those damn diet pills, either.”
“I don’t need diet pills. I need… “ Khloe paused, unsure if she should say the next words out loud. Putting them out into the universe with her life in total chaos felt dangerous, yet she knew with a rare certainty that she wouldn’t rest until she knew the truth.
“I need you to go buy me a pregnancy test.”
“What?!” Ricky shouted, prompting Khloe to throw her palm over his mouth to shut him up.
He grabbed her hand to push it away so he could add a more quiet, “Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I were,” she said nervously.
The excitement dancing in Ricky’s eyes helped her more than anything he could possibly say.
“This is awesome! OMG, like this is the best news ever,” Ricky whispered excitedly.
