Amber
There is absolutelynoway that I am pregnant. I mean, I suppose that physically it’s not impossible, but I just know that I’m not. There obviously aren’t any pregnancy tests out here in the middle of the woods, and we aren’t going back into the town, but there’s just no way that I’m pregnant. I haven’t missed a period yet and it’s not like Granite and I have had sex a whole lot of times. The chances of me being pregnant are slim to none in my opinion. Still, even the thought of it being a slim possibility is enough to put both Granite and me in shock.
“I just think we should consider the fact that youmightbe,” Granite says as we sit inside the tent and look out at the beautiful morning in the woods.
The cabin we are building is coming along slowly. Since I have still been feeling sick it means that Granite is essentially building the entire thing all by himself. He’s an amazing builder and the fact that he already has the frame looking like the shape of a house, considering that he is having to cut all the wood himself and do without most of the standard tools and hardware that he would have if we were back in town, makes it extra impressive. I wish that I could help him more, but every time I stand up to try to help, a wave of nausea and dizziness cascades over me like a coming storm. It has been days now that I have been feeling like shit and I don’t understand why this sickness is lasting for so long. It’s also rather strange how it comes and goes in waves.
“I’mnotpregnant,” I insist again. “Lana is trying to trick us for some reason. I don’t trust that woman at all.”
“Why would Lana be trying to trick us about you being pregnant? What could she possibly have to gain from that?” Granite asks.
“I’m not sure, but she is up to no good. I can feel it.”
“I honestly just think you’re being a bit paranoid,” he says. “Theyarea bit strange, but I think they’re harmless. There’s literally no reason that woman would have for tricking you about being pregnant.”
“Then what do you think is more believable? That she’s some sort of witch or psychic who can magically sense that I’m pregnant?”
Granite laughs. “No, I just think that she’s a woman who has been pregnant before and that she might have recognized some of the signs of pregnancy in you.”
I shake my head at him.
“I amnotpregnant,” I say again. “I would know if I was.”
“Okay,” he concedes. “I believe you. I just hope that whatever the cause of it is, that you start feeling better soon. I don’t like seeing you unwell.”
For the next couple of days, Granite is busy with both watching over me and working on building our tiny little dwelling all by himself. When Tom, Lana, and Pete come up over the hillside one morning, we are both slightly surprised to see them all here.
“Hey!” Tom says while he waves at Granite.
Granite sets down the wooden beam that he had been holding in his hands and walks toward them.
“We thought that we would come and check on your progress,” Tom says. “And check in on how Amber is feeling.”
Tom starts talking to Granite about how the building is going and Lana walks over to the tent to sit with me. I really don’t like this woman; she just gives me a bad, paranoid vibe. Pete follows the two guys over to look at something that Granite is pointing out on the side of the house, and since I really don’t want to be left alone with Lana; I decide to get up and pretend that I am interested in whatever they are looking at too. As soon as I stand up, I start to feel lightheaded, but I ignore the warning that my body is trying to give me and walk further out toward them anyway because I want to make it over to stand next to Granite. I am almost there. I can see him standing just a few feet away as I hear Lana muttering something behind me about how I should really be sitting down and resting, but as much as I try to push my body forward to close the small distance between us, I just can’t do it. The corners of my vision start to darken and before I even have a chance to call out to him, I can feel my body start to fall toward the ground.
Fainting is such a weird phenomenon. I was sort of awake, and sort ofnot. I saw what was going on through several disjointed blinks that let me see the worried look in Granite’s eyes as he dropped what he had been holding in his hands and ran toward me to lift my head up from the ground and cradle me against him. I could hear Tom and Lana trying to convince Granite that I should come and stay with them, inside of a finished and warm home instead of a cold and damp tent that rested alongside of a halfway finished cabin. “Especially in my condition,” Lana added as if she were trying to sweeten the offer and guilt Granite into letting me go with them. I tried to protest, but my mouth didn’t seem to be cooperating with my brain and no words were coming out. I was too weak to argue and too dizzy to keep my eyes open without feeling like I was going to be sick. So, I let Granite lift me up and let my head fall against his chest as he carried me. I love being in his arms, even in this less-than-ideal condition. There is something so comforting about the way his body feels against mine and how his skin smells. He smells like a woodsy passion. I feel him walking as my legs drape over the side of his arm, and I know that he is carrying me back to Tom and Lana’s house. I don’t want to go there. I especially don’t want to be left alone there.
Somewhere along the way of our walk, my eyes open for just a moment as I wane and out of consciousness, and I catch a glimpse of Pete as he walks alongside us. He looks scared; not for himself, but for me.
