Avery
“Avery Grace, I know there’s something you’re not telling me, and I want to know what it is right this instant,” my mother demanded.
I knew I would eventually have to tell her, but I was putting it off until I absolutely had to.
I sighed. “Hi, Mom. Yes, I’m doing better today; thanks for asking.”
“Don’t try to distract me. I know you’re doing better today because you’re not the color of your grandmother’s couch. Now, spill it. What in the hell is going on with you?”
I cupped my hands over my face and cried. My mom was by my side instantly, wrapping her arms around me. “Oh, baby, just tell me. Please. Is it cancer? We’ll fight it. You’re one of the strongest women I know. I’ll be with you through it all.”
I shook my head and cried harder. “It’s not cancer,” I managed to say through my sobs.
“Well, what else could it be that has you so upset?”
“I’m pregnant,” I wailed.
“You’re fucking what?” a male voice roared from behind my mother, startling both of us.
I gasped when my eyes landed on Savior. “What are you doing here?”
“Answer my question first,” he fumed.
“Young man, I think you need to leave. Avery, do you want me to call security?”
“No, Mom, don’t do that. Um, I need to talk to him, privately,” I said with a grimace. I knew it would only take seconds for her to put the pieces together.
“Oh,” she said. “I see. Well, yes, I’ll just be in the visitor’s area.” She whirled around and pointed her finger at Savior. “But you keep your voice down and don’t you dare upset her. She’s been sick as hell, and this is the first day she’s looked human in weeks.”
Once she was gone, he stepped closer to the bed and crossed his arms over his chest while he glared at me. “You’re pregnant?”
I cleared my throat and picked at the sheets on the bed. “That’s what they tell me.”
“Is it mine?”
I wanted to be offended by his question, but he had every right to ask it. We’d barely exchanged names before we fucked, and he had no way of knowing what kind of person I really was.
“It is.”
“Were you going to tell me?” he snapped.
And that question did offend me. “Listen, I just found out a few weeks ago, and I’ve been in and out of the hospital ever since. I wasn’t intentionally keeping it from you, but it’s not like I had any way of contacting you.”
“You could’ve gone to the bar.”
“Did you hear me say I’ve been sick since I found out? This is the third time I’ve been admitted to the hospital.”
His face softened just a touch. “Why have you been so sick?”
“They said I have hyperemesis gravidarum, which basically means I have morning sickness on steroids. I can’t keep anything down and end up with severe dehydration and a kidney infection,” I explained.
“Is the baby okay?”
“Yeah, so far everything’s fine.”
“Did you get sick like this with your other kids?”
My entire body stiffened at his question. “How do you know about my kids?”
