“Mae, you’re looking really pale. Should I…” Gunner’s hand was gentle on her arm as he helped her sit back in her chair. “You, uh… should I get Lily? You want… support?”
What she wanted was to laugh. “Support for having a tummy ache? I think I’ll live, Gunner.”
“Alright,” he answered, still looking at her skeptically. “Are you still planning on going to see Stone?”
“Yes.” She looked up at Rhett and Sara. “But you guys should go ahead without me. I’ll drive down a little later after we figure out what we are going to do about that reporter.”
“We’ll call you if there’s any changes,” Rhett said before wrapping his arm around Sara’s back and pulling her towards the door.
Mae stared out after them, trying to wrap her mind around the bomb that just exploded in front of her. How the hell was she supposed to have Stone’s baby when her heart was hanging on by one thin thread of hope that he might just wake up one day soon and come back to her?
And never mind the fact that she’d been by his side, nonstop, since he was in surgery, but it didn’t change the fact that he still ended things between them, with no room for a misinterpretation about how he felt.
No. Nope. It was just stress. The universe wouldn’t… it couldn’t…
“Are you going to tell the guys what just happened?” Mae asked, trying to focus on something other than the dread making her body feel like it was made from lead.
“We definitely need to talk about it. But that shouldn’t stop you from going up to see him. Hawk will be out at The Trident with Nash until tonight, so there’s no sense in calling everyone here right now.” Mae placed both palms flat on the desk and waited for the tsunami of panic to wash over her. Yup. She was drowning. And there was only one thing that would help.
“Hey, you aren’t going to pass out on me, are you?” Gunner asked. The genuine panic in his voice cracked through the fear, and she smiled.
“No. I’m fine. I still plan on seeing Stone today… I just… I think I do need to see Lily.”
Gunner studied her face for another minute. “You sure you’re okay?”
“No. I’m really not sure of anything anymore.”
Seven
Mae’s stomach rolled again as soon as she walked into Lily and Gunner’s apartment. The smell of whatever her friend cooked that morning made her head swim. God, she was going to have to breathe through her mouth, which after a few seconds, weirdly helped calm her racing heart. Okay. It was okay. She could do this. Lily would know how to help…
“What’s going on with you? You’re looking a little green.” Lily noted as Mae sat back at the table. “Are you okay?”
Was she? It had to be the stress of everything. The break up. The shooting. Almost losing Stone. The fact that he still hadn’t woken… It all could just be the stress.
“Hey. I’m worried about you.”
She searched Lily’s eyes. If there was one person who would understand, someone who could help her with the sinking feeling in her stomach, it was Lily.
“I’m late,” she whispered. Saying it out loud felt like a confirmation from the universe.
Lily’s eyebrow tipped in confusion. “To see Stone? I thought you were going with Sara and Rhett?”
“No. Not to see Stone,” She slid her phone across the table towards her friend. The app she used to track her period was pulled up, and the timing was clear as day. “Although I do need to leave soon so I can get back there…”
Please don’t make me say it out loud.As if her body knew to punctuate the heaviness in the air, the throbbing in her head returned with a vengeance. Mae reached up, rubbing at her temples while she waited for Lily to catch on.
“Oh my god. You’re?—”
“No. No. I mean, I don’t know. It has to just be the stress, right? Just because I’m always regular, and accidentally forgot to take my pill for a few days when everything happened with Nash and Lacy doesn’t mean anything…“
“How late?”
“Almost three weeks.”
“Shit. And you and Stone?” Lily nodded, her eyes wide with concern.
“Pretended we were teenagers for an entire weekend after everyone was okay? Yeah.”
