“What?” I raised a brow.
“I love you. Duh.”
I shook my head.
“But you do, don’t you?”
I thought for a moment, chewing the inside of my cheek. It was something I had been thinking about since he told me, even through all of the chaos, I kept coming back to that same question. Did I or didn’t I? As if it mattered now…
“Gabs…” she pried softly. I knew she already knew my answer. I just hadn’t admitted it yet. Not to Chandler. Not to her. Not to myself. But deep down I knew.
I nodded, blinking back the tears that stung the backs of my eyes.
“Then what’s the problem?” she asked.
I went on to tell her all about the accounting firm, the fraud, and the SEC investigation. It felt like any time Chandler and I were about to get close to something good, something real, then something would happen to tear us apart, if we ourselves didn’t do it first.
“You don’t think he had anything to do with it now, do you?” asked Juliet, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear as she looked at me thoughtfully.
“I don’t know. No. I feel like he wouldn’t be inserting himself in this mess if he had…”
“So, why did you storm off?” She tilted her head.
“I don’t know.” I threw my hands up exasperatedly. “Because as much as I love him, he’s stubborn. And volatile. And… and…”
“An asshole?” Juliet finished my sentence.
“Exactly!” I let out the breath I had been holding as I tried to find the word.
“But a loveable asshole.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’s wrong with me?” I groaned, running my hands over my face.
“Nothing. Relationships are just complicated…” assured Juliet.
I was about to agree with her, but suddenly had the overwhelming feeling to sit down. I closed my eyes to ground myself as the sidewalk felt like it was swaying beneath me.
“Gabs? Are you okay?” asked Juliet, turning and grabbing my arms firmly.
“I-I don’t know,” I stammered. I opened my eyes, looking for a place to sit. “I think I need to sit down.”
Juliet hurried me over to a nearby bench and sat me down, kneeling on her knees before me. She grabbed my cheeks and forced me to look at her.
“Gabs! Look at me. I’m right here. I’m right here, okay?”
It felt like my eyes couldn’t focus on the face I knew so well. Everything was spinning around me. I had to close my eyes again.
“I’m getting a cab right now! Okay?” she said frantically. I heard her footsteps quickly hurrying away and the squeal of tires right after. I wondered if she had thrown herself into the street to get a cab at this hour. Knowing her, she would.
A minute later, she was helping me into the cab and shouting at the driver to get us to the nearest hospital. The entire ride, I swallowed down the bile that was rising in my throat, not wanting to puke all over the cab. I kept my eyes shut the whole way because the blur of the buildings wasn’t helping.
When we arrived at the hospital, Juliet wrapped her arm around me and practically dragged me into the emergency room.
“We need some help over here!” she said loudly. “She’s pregnant. Please, we need help!”
It felt like everything was moving in slow motion as a nurse rushed over with a wheelchair. She carefully sat me down and began walking quickly toward two double doors nearby. Juliet gripped my hand tightly as the nurse asked her questions about my pregnancy. Questions I couldn’t answer because it felt like nothing was working properly. Juliet answered them urgently, and I was so thankful I had her there.
