Chapter 28
“It’s over,” Zoe said again.
“Uh-huh,” Trevor said, not really paying attention to her as the stubborn man carefully placed a tray on her lap. “My aunt dropped some food off last night, but you were asleep and my uncles and cousins were here to help out and everyone got kind of hungry,” he said with a shrug.
“They dropped off more food, but unfortunately, you slept all day and I got hungry. Then you made me nervous because you slept so damn much,” Trevor said accusingly like she’d slept all day and night on purpose.
At first, she’d been a little confused to find herself in Trevor’s bed, but the dull pain in her head and the memory of what happened in the emergency room helped her wake up pretty damn quickly. Although she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do, she knew that she wanted to figure things out privately, in her own apartment where she could freak out and this was definitely a moment to freak out.
What was she going to do now? Zoe wondered, worrying her bottom lip. Her nonexistent relationship was over and she’d probably have to move out soon. That would definitely take up a chunk of the money she’d saved. Thank God she hadn’t gone through with her vacation plans because then she’d really be screwed.
At least she had a good-paying job and health insurance for a little while longer. Once the babies came, she couldn’t really expect Jared to hold her job for her, especially since she’d probably be out of commission for quite some time.
Twins.
When she messed up, she really messed up. Instead of just getting knocked up, she really got knocked up. She was either going to end up living in her car, which was barely running these days or be stuck on welfare and she refused to go down that dead-end road. She wasn’t going to end up like her mother and her kids weren’t going to end up in foster care.
No matter what, she would not be losing her babies, Zoe decided as she pressed a hand to her stomach, wishing that she could feel some sort of proof that they were really there. It would be nice to feel some kind of connection to her babies so that she could draw strength from them to do what she needed to do. She’d tell Trevor about them, but she wasn’t expecting much from him as far as she was concerned.
Oh, she knew that he’d take care of the babies. They’d never want for anything, but she wasn’t so sure that she’d survive being forced to see him every time he came to see the babies and she knew damn well the man wouldn’t be able to stay away from his children. She would never stop him, but when he started to date again or decided to get married, it would kill her.
There were a lot of horrible things that she knew that she could force herself to survive but seeing Trevor with another woman wasn’t going to be one of them. It would be a constant reminder that she wasn’t good enough for him. To him, she’d always be the plain woman that he’d slummed with and got pregnant.
“But I did find a can of chicken noodle soup in the kitchen, so we’re in luck,” Trevor said, oblivious to her pathetic musings as he raised the cover off the tray he’d placed on her lap.
Zoe opened her mouth to tell him that she wasn’t hungry and that she needed to leave when the aroma of chicken broth hit her hard. Gagging, she covered her mouth with both hands as she struggled to get away from the tray.
Thankfully, Trevor had the good sense to grab the tray and rush it out of the room so that she could run to the bathroom. She stumbled towards the bathroom, praying that she wouldn’t have a repeat of the other day, and quickly made it to the toilet where she dry heaved for a minute before her stomach finally gave up.
After using the bathroom and brushing her teeth because she felt pretty gross, she decided that it was time to go home.
“I’m sorry, baby. I should have given you your pill before you tried to eat,” Trevor said, walking into the bathroom, carrying a glass in one hand and a small collection of pills in the other.
He handed the pills over to her. “The small one is your nausea pill. The doctor said that should take care of it, but if it doesn’t, your doctor can give you a stronger prescription when you see him on Monday.”
She didn’t need to ask him what the other pills were for since she remembered the doctor telling her that he was sending her home with some low-dose painkillers that were safe for the babies and some prenatal vitamins. Needing a moment, she took the pills and swallowed them.
“Thank you,” Zoe said, feeling a little nervous as she handed him the glass.
The silence that followed was a bit awkward and telling. Worrying her bottom lip, she looked up and met his eyes. “You know, don’t you?”
“That you’re carrying my love child?” he asked, smiling softly. “Yes.”
“Oh,” Zoe said, wishing that they didn’t have to have this conversation right now, but there really was no point in putting it off. “Then you know that this doesn’t change anything, don’t you?”
“I know,” Trevor said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal and gently ushering her to the side of the large bathroom.
Weren’t guys usually more upset about this kind of thing? Zoe wondered as she watched him start the shower.
“You’re not upset?” she asked, wondering if maybe she’d imagined the whole thing. The idea upset her. She may not have known about the babies for very long, but she still wanted them. It would be nice to finally have someone of her own.
“Upset?” Trevor asked, throwing her a frown over his shoulder. “Why would I be upset?”
“Because we’re having a baby,” she said slowly, wondering if maybe he’d suffered a head injury while she’d been out. It was possible. There was a lot of ice on the ground, after all. Maybe while he was walking outside with the dogs, he-
“I’m hoping for a girl,” Trevor announced the same way he’d ask her for extra snacks in his lunch.
“A girl?” Zoe asked, not because she didn’t love the idea of having a little baby girl to buy pretty pink things for, but because she was actually getting a little nervous here. Never in a million years would she have imagined the man who didn’t want a real relationship with her being happy about having a child with her, a child that would bind them for life.
