Page 95 of Protected from Torment

“No, that’s okay,” I call back. “I’m alright.” I try to pat my crazed curls down, but quickly realize it’s a lost cause. After one last glance in the mirror, I turn and open the door. On the other side, Eden’s waiting in the hallway, looking more than a little worried.

As soon as she sees me, her features twist with concern. “Oh, Melissa.”

“I’m sorry,” I reply. “I don’t know what happened. I felt fine before.” Belatedly, a thought occurs to me. “Oh, shoot. I don’t want to bring a stomach bug into your house and get everyone sick.”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about that.” Eden takes my arm and starts leading me towards the living room. “Just sit down, I’ll make you some tea. And I’ll call Tyler. I’m sure he’ll want to come get you.”

“No,” I blurt, surprising myself by the desperate pitch of my voice. “Don’t call him. I feel fine. Really.” Tugging free of Eden’s arm, I add, “I’ll just head back myself.”

“Melissa.” Eden’s voice firms. “You’re sick. You should sit.”

From the look on her face, I can tell there’s no arguing with her. So I let her drag me to the couch instead. “You don’t need to make me tea,” I tell her. “I’ll just sit for a minute. But really, I’m feeling a lot better. I don’t know what happened. I was just drinking my coffee and…” I shrug. “You didn’t notice a weird taste, did you?”

Eden stares at me. Her forehead creases. After a brief pause, she asks, “Has anything else tasted off lately?”

“No—” I stop. “Well. The cookie. But I figured it’s just stress.”

“Anything else?” she asks. “Have you been light-headed? Dizzy?”

“Just when I was throwing up.” I make an apologetic face. “I should clean up your bathroom. I’m sorry. I didn’t think⁠—”

“Melissa. I don’t care about the bathroom. I care about you.”

The way she says it, like it’s a given, makes me come close to crying again. “Thank you. I’m just… sorry I brought this… bug here. If I’d been feeling sick, I wouldn’t have come.”

Eden sinks onto the couch beside me. “Any other symptoms? Even little things.”

I think for a second. “My legs felt kind of weak when I woke up. But that’s it. And I’ve been kind of anxious lately. But I think that’s just because of everything that’s been going on.”

She nods and gives me an empathetic smile. “After what happened last week, I can understand that. But.” She pauses. “Some of the things you just described, and getting sick so quickly like that…”

A long-suppressed memory niggles at me. But I sternly tell myself to ignore it.

“It’s nothing,” I insist. “Just a bug. Or stress affecting my digestive system.”

“Or…” Eden gives me a long look. “I know this is being extremely nosy. But is it possible you’re pregnant?”

I’m already shaking my head before her question is fully out. “No. It’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because—” My voice catches. “I can’t get pregnant. I had… after Vince died. I had a miscarriage. The doctors said I can’t anymore.”

Eden’s mouth falls open on a shocked gasp. Then her eyes fill with tears. “Oh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” Another lie. It’s not okay. It just is.

After another pause, longer this time, Eden says quietly, “Please don’t be mad at me for suggesting this. But the human body; sometimes it heals itself in ways we never expect. Sometimes doctors are wrong. And sometimes… fate intervenes when we least expect it.”

“I can’t be,” I insist. “I⁠—”

I stop.

Because the nausea, the dizziness, the weak legs—that was an odd one the first time around, but after some research, I discovered I needed more protein—all feel eerily familiar.

But my period. I’ve always gotten it like clockwork. I’m never more than a day or two late, even when I’m stressed. Except…

It’s a week late. In all the chaos, I completely forgot.