“You tell himnow! He needs to know it all. Don’t use Ivy as an excuse to keep this quiet. Don’t start making plans for your death as if it is a guarantee. You are a fighter, Liv, or have you forgotten?!” Davis wasn’t kidding about this inner warrior–she was ferocious.
“I-” she couldn’t seem to get her words out. She cried silently before me as she nodded her head. “I’m a fighter.”
“That’s right, you are, so act like it! You’ll survive. You’ll have this baby and be there to raise it. Don’t kill yourself off, Liv. You’re the strongest person I know. Besides, I am sure they’ve caught it early enough, right?” She nodded her head, still letting tears stream down her face. “Good, so go tell Lucas the good and bad news. He’s ready for it.”
She wiped at her tears with her free hands, nuzzling into Abi for comfort. She headed inside, stopping at the doorway and turning to me with Abi still on her hip.
“Thank you, Lisa,” she whispered before closing the door behind her and leaving me outside with her news.
She was pregnant.
I want to be pregnant.
28: Another Stray
Davis' P.O.V.
Lisa returned from her brother's house looking somber. I was concerned that perhaps she was thinking of children again. I hated that she was worried about this. She didn’t deserve to have this happen to her, having gone through enough already.
"What's wrong?" I asked as she crossed the threshold.
"It's Liv."
My heart seized. Was the cancer worse than we thought? Was she at the hospital?
"What is it?" My voice sounded so serious, probably a little too demanding as I directed it at her. She must have understood it was due to my worry, as she didn't bite my head off for it.
"She's pregnant. They won't be able to treat her cancer until she has the baby. It's early, so hopefully it won't progress too much as she carries the baby to term."
Lisa seemed so far away, even though she was a mere two feet. She might as well have been a hundred miles away. Her brows pinched, and she nibbled at her lip as she thought.
"We'll be by her side through it all. She'll be okay. She has to be," I assured her and myself, because frankly, no one would survive her loss.
There was no way we're losing her.
"You're right." She nodded her head, but she chewed at her nail, obviously still worried.
“Come with me.” I held my hand out, only to receive an arched brow from her. “We need to go out and distract ourselves. There’s nothing that our worrying is going to do. She and Lucas will figure this out.”
She gave me a quick nod as she took my hand. I could see she was still wary, not ready to let go of this worry, but she took a step forward, anyway. She trusted me, and that alone was enough to make me feel a bit better. There was one particular place that came to mind when I needed a distraction.
“Why are we here?” she asked, looking around at the park.
“You’re going to enjoy nature with me. Let’s go for a walk as the sun sets.” I smiled at her, holding my hand for her to take again.
The ride over seemed to calm her a little, as she was no longer biting at her lip. I was determined to grace myself with that beautiful smile of hers before the sun set fully. Her smile brings such joy to my heart. I helped her off my bike, even though she didn’t need it.
“Okay, my Viking. Why the park?”
“Inwood Hill Park is where I would always go when things were getting to be too much. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m surrounded by woods, but if I am close enough, I can still see the city lights. I’ll take you to my favorite spot.”
We walked hand in hand with the sunset to our right as we talked about our wedding plans. Lisa would shop with her mother and Liv soon, but the mention of Liv’s name made her sad again. I steered the conversation away from anything that might bring Liv’s name up, being careful not to bring up children either. I ended up talking about Jared and Izzy instead. That news was still fresh in my mind.
“When do you think Jared started talking to my Izzy?”
Lisa laughed at my question, making me smile.Goal accomplished.
“I am not sure, but probably not too long after we took him to your house. He seemed to like her from the moment he met her. I think they are cute together,” she smirked, trying to tease me.
