“Surprisingly well. I think we’re both scared. With things as they are right now, it’s hard to think too far into the future, but… Autumn, he’s going to be amazing.” I glanced up at her and smiled tearfully. “It’s the only thing in all of this that doesn’t terrify me.”
“A baby,” she said quietly, squeezing me tightly.
“It doesn’t feel real. I was on that porch, a gun to my head, figuring I was going to be saying goodbye to Drew, trying to make my peace with leaving Tate and y’all. Suddenly, the baby was just a thought in my head, like,oh, I guess that could turn out badly. I need to rethink this. I just… I knew, Autumn.”
“Intuition.”
“It’s not like I sat there counting down to my last period. How could I possibly have known?”
Autumn rested a hand over my heart, and I looked down at it. “I know I’m an old hippie with unconventional thoughts, but whatever it was, head, heart, or sixth sense, I’m glad it helped you to fight for survival when you were ready to say goodbye.”
“Oh, I wasn’t ready.” I huffed out on a forced laugh. “I was ready to fight and knew that it might not turn out well, but I wasn’t about to just roll over and die.”
“That’s my girl.”
I thought back to that night, and how fast it had all gone down. Every punch, slap, and piece of manhandling Owen had served only adding minutes of pain to his life. I’d felt the fight rise in me. I’d been so tired and full of pain and exhaustion, but when I’d caught Drew’s eyes, I’d known. I would not accept death, and neither would he.
When he’d pulled me out of Owen’s reach, and our eyes had met, it had been a light bulb going on over my head.
I shuddered almost violently as the memories of that night flooded me again. It felt like a hundred years had passed since then.
“You still with me?” Autumn asked gently.
“Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about it all.”
“Would you like a distraction?” Pulling back, she flashed me a bright smile and raised her eyebrows in a challenge. She pulled her braid over her shoulder and stroked it like a wicked genius.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Movies,” she said proudly, dropping her hair with a game show hostess flourish. “Great movies with junk food and tissues.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d sat down and watched a movie from beginning to end without any explosions or auto chases involved. When you were outnumbered ten to one by men, you didn’t really have much say in the matter.
“What kind of movies?”
“Baby Boom?”
I groaned. I’d walked straight into that one.
“She’s Having a Baby?”
I started laughing while Autumn continued to name moviesfrom the ‘80s that involved pregnancies and babies. Finally, I agreed and gave her final choice while I went to pop some popcorn.
At least it would kill some time until Drew got back.
