“Are you okay?” The concern in his voice is undeniable.
“Yeah, it’s all good. Just got a text from…Glenn. Need to call him back.”
The last thing I need is for Hunter to say something to Piper, while I know nothing myself yet.
Once I’ve ended the call, I head straight to the living room. What I find breaks me. The lights are off, the only source of light Riley’s laptop on the coffee table. She sits on the couch, a throw blanket wrapped around her and a pack of tissues on the cushion beside her. Her eyes are glued to the screen, her face tearstained.
What the hell happened?
I rush to the couch, put the bouquet on the table and crouch in front of her.
“Hey, babe.”
She fixes her focus on me, her lips trembling. “Hey.”
“What happened? Are you okay? Is ourbabyokay?” The questions leave me rapidly, my mind racing. My heart is beating so fast I fear it’s ready to take off into space.
Eyebrows pinched together, she sniffles. Then she taps a key on her laptop and pauses a movie. “I’m okay. We’re okay.”
I blink, a breath gusting out of me. “Er, really? Nastya said you aren’t picking up your phone.”
Her eyes dart to the device next to the tissue box, then she focuses on me again. “I just wasn’t in the mood. I wanted to watch something that would make me cry…because I needed a good cry.” She sniffles, dabbing under her eyes with her fingertips.
I study the screen, but I don’t recognize the movie. “What were you watching?”
“Love, Rosie. It’s one of my go-to movies when I feel low, and want to bawl.”
Relief washes over me. She’s not hurt. The baby is okay. But the sensation is short-lived, because something must’ve happened for her to feel this way. And to have Nastya so worried about her?
“Yeah?” I stand and drop onto the couch beside her. “Do you have many movies on your list for a good cry?”
“Way too many, but my top three areA Walk to Remember,Love, RosieandCoco.”
“Haven’t watched any of them.” I drape an arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer. “Wanna tell me what happened?”
She ducks, fiddling with a tissue in her lap. “It’s stupid.”
“Nah-ah. That’s not how it works.” I tut. “Remember how we made a promise to tell each other everything? Especially when something bothers us?”
Nodding, she peeks up at me.
“I’m here for you, babe. Tell me what happened.”
She worries her bottom lip, eyes darting away. “Can you please let Nastya know I’m okay? I’ll call her tomorrow.”
“Sure.” I pull out my phone and send a quick voice message to Nastya. Then I lock the screen and toss the device onto the table.
“You bought me flowers.” Riley hiccups, her eyes finally back on me. They’re full of tears, but at least there’s a cute little smile playing on her lips. “They are beautiful. Thank you.”
“Anything for my girl.” I kiss her forehead, then cradle her against my chest. “Talk to me.”
She slots her head under my chin, her light caramel scent wafting over me. “I probably would’ve been fine with what I heard if it wasn’t for my mood swings. But I woke up cranky, and it only got worse once I got to the studio.” She pauses, taking a deep breath. “The girls made me feel better pretty quickly, but after my last class, Nastya came over so we could go to have lunch, and as we were leaving, we heard two moms talking about me. They were saying how disappointed they were that I’m pregnant. How they’ll need to look for another teacher once my maternity leave starts.” Her head is down again. “Trust me, I get it. It’s hard to find a teacher who’s both good with kids and knows what they’re talking about. But then they started talking about my body. About how much I’ve changed. Wondering out loud if I’d ever ‘look the same again.’”
Fiery anger ignites in my chest. What the hell? They are moms themselves, how could they be so mean to her?
“Nastya snapped at them. Said they lack respect and humandecency. They said they were sorry, that they were just worried about their girls because they love me. But I don’t know. At that point, I just didn’t have it in me to be strong about it.” She shrugs. “All I wanted was to come home and cry. So I did.”
The anger burning in me flares brighter at the defeat in her tone. Nastya was absolutely right for telling them off, and I’m so beyond grateful she was there to do it and to support Riley.
