“It is. You should have restarted it.”
“It hasn’t been that easy,” I argue.
My stomach knots as anger and disappointment flood through my veins.
I hate myself for the stupid decisions I made. I thought I was being offered the opportunity of a lifetime, but it was nothing but lies.
I nearly lost everything I’ve worked so hard for. I’ve put everything I’ve had into my salon. Not just cash, but blood, sweat, and tears. We all have. The thought of losing it because I believed some stupid scammer will keep me up at night for years to come. I’m pretty sure I’ll be paying for it for that long as well.
But while the business might be stable now, my personal life is an entirely different story. But I’ve managed to keep that under wraps. If Sienna knew, she’d try to help. But I don’t want help. I was the one who put us all at risk.
“We’re gonna fix this,” Sienna states, pulling her cell from her pocket. “We’re going to get you signed back up, and then it’ll all be okay.”
“Put that away. Now isn’t the time,” I urge.
“But you need to be checked over. You need your early pregnancy ultrasound. And then in a few weeks, you’ll need another, and then another.” Suddenly, she gasps and sits up taller.
“What?” I ask hesitantly.
“He’ll have killer insurance. He’ll get you the very best medical care money can buy.”
“Sienna, no. That’s not the reason he needs to know.”
“No, I know that. I just…he did this too, Bea. He should at least help to look after you.”
Emotion burns my eyes again. The picture she paints is perfect: both of us going to an ultrasound, seeing our baby on a screen. But none of it is real.
And really, I don’t want anything from him.
I don’t care how many millions he earns hitting a bit of rubber around an ice rink. The only reason he needs to know is so he can make an informed decision. If there is a chance that my child can have both their parents, then I’m going to do everything I can to ensure that for them.
10
BEATRICE
As predicted, Everett didn’t know we were at the game. Hell, we could hardly tell he was there, we were sitting so far away.
But that didn’t stop my heart from skipping a beat the second his name was called at the beginning of the game, before he shot out onto the ice to thunderous applause.
I sat there silently, my stomach rolling as memories of the last time I was here played on repeat in my head.
Sienna reached for my hand in a show of silent support, and she kept hold of it throughout the entire first period.
At the bar, she’d tried to convince me not to come. I refused. She wanted to see the game, and really, it wasn’t going to change anything. I wasn’t going to see him, and when I walked out, I’d still be pregnant. The damage has already been done.
Sienna offered for me to stay at her place, but again, I refused. As much as I appreciate her support, I needed space. I needed…a fucking miracle.
But instead of finding one of those, I went home, crawled into bed, and accidentally typed “Everett Donnelly” into Google and spent way too long reading an article about the man whose baby I’m growing.
When I showed up at work the next morning with sore, swollen eyes from lack of sleep, Sienna ambushed me with her own research. Hers was much more useful. She’d looked up my somewhat limited options for healthcare, and then she opened her laptop to an online application form for Medicaid that she’d already half-filled in. She forced me to sit down and do the rest, assuring me that she’d take care of everything while I did it.
It isn’t going to help in the short term. I’m still going to have to pay for appointments and ultrasounds, but at least I’ll get it back at some point.
Once the application was in, she forced me to book a doctor’s appointment and tried to get me to book an early ultrasound.
While I was happy to get checked over by a doctor, it felt wrong to go for an ultrasound when the father of my baby was walking around clueless that he had a hand in making another person.
Before anyone puts one of those wands to my belly, he needs to know. He has to at least have the option to be there. And that’s exactly why I find myself inside the Crown Arena for a third time. Only this time, I’m alone. Sienna would hate me if she knew, but I need to do this by myself.
