“Rhett! What’s going on? Where are you?”
I scrub my palm over my face and note that it smells like Abby’s soap or lotion or whatever it is that makes her smell like honey and almonds. “I’m fine. Fell asleep over at Riko’s. Sorry, babe.”
Abby’s lip curls up and then she bolts off the couch. Relief floods through me. At least now Angela won’t overhear her sister.
“I see,” Angela says, voice sharper than I’ve ever heard it. “Glad to see I’m a priority.”
Irritation churns in my gut. “You are. I just crashed. I said I’m sorry.”
She makes me wait for a long beat. “Okay. I forgive you.”
Whatever else she says gets ignored when I hear Abby retching upstairs. “I’ll come by tomorrow. Promise. I have to go now, though. Dad, uh, needs me.”
She buys the lie and then I end the call. Seconds later, I’m taking the stairs two at a time. I find Abby kneeling in front of the toilet and the room smells of stomach acid.
“You okay?” I ask, panic swelling up inside me. “It’s not morning. Why are you sick?”
She weakly raises an arm to flip me off. “I think I get more morning sickness at night than I do in the morning. Go away.”
I don’t listen and set to finding a washcloth in the cabinet. Once I have it wet with cold water and wrung out, I place it on the back of her neck just under her hair. Her skin is extra pale and another shot of worry zaps through me.
“What can I do?” I ask as I squat beside her. “Tell me how to help.”
“Riko has Sprite,” she mutters. “It helps when I feel gross.”
I make a note to have Amazon deliver her a case tomorrow. For now, I’ll go steal everything in Riko’s fridge.
“I’ll be right back.”
I’m there and back within three minutes. When I return, she’s no longer throwing up and is curled up on her bed. I take a cold Sprite bottle over to her and then disappear to put away the rest.
“Your color is returning,” I say when I make it back upstairs. “I’ll order more Sprite.” I walk over to the dresser where I’ve loaded clothes I bought in her approximate size and pull out some sleepwear. “Do you want me to run you a bath?”
Abby frowns as she watches me set the sleepwear on the end of the bed. “Why are you being so nice?”
“I don’t know,” I admit with a sigh. “I just want you to be okay.”
“Why?”
Since I don’t have the answer to that question, I leave the room to run a bath for her. Then, I slip out without even saying goodbye.
Today was weird. This whole thing with Abby is way out of my element. Now that she has a safe place to stay with foodand Sprite, I can go back to regular life.
Will my life ever be regular again?
Or is it forever split in two?
That’s a question for another day.
Chapter 6
Abby
“Do you know what that sound is, Daddy?” the doctor asks, grinning at Rhett.
His eyes are wide like saucers. He swallows and shakes his head.
“That’s your little baby’s heartbeat. Very strong.”
