Page 13 of Unbound

Her blush deepens, goose bumps prickling her arm. The thought enters my mind that I’d really enjoy kissing her right now, but after what she’s been through and the still-visible bruises on her neck, I don’t want her to think that’s why I asked her to stay.

It’s not why. I want to help her, even if she has no interest in me.

My eyes drift over her lips. She inhales, her body completely still. Finally, I pull back from her, walking around to the refrigerator.

“I bet there’s some chicken in the freezer we could have with this bread.”

After a few silent moments, she speaks, slightly breathless. “There was. I thawed it out. It’s marinating. You had a can of green beans too.”

I see the chicken in a bowl inside the fridge. “I’ll grill it.”

After we eat dinner, I collapse on the sofa, my legs screaming for a break after all the miles I sprinted today.

Eden joins me after piddling around in the kitchen we cleaned together. I couldn’t stop complimenting the bread. I have no idea how she pulled it off with so few ingredients.

She sits in the middle, leaving two feet of space between us. I hate to admit it to myself, but I thought about her for most of the day. I wondered what she was doing, worrying that she was feeling sick and trying to do something crazy, like mow my lawn. I reach into my pocket and pull out the cheap phone I stopped to get on my way home.

“I got you this today. I just figured if there was some kind of an emergency while I was gone, you’d need a phone. I programmed my number in.”

She stares at it for a few long seconds before tentatively reaching out to take it. “Thank you.” Her voice is hoarse.

I had a lot of time to think today while doing pull-ups and obstacle courses, questioning all my life choices.

“Have you seen a doctor yet? When my sister-in-law Rosie was pregnant, she had to go all the time.”

She shakes her head. “No, I haven’t.” Her hand is resting on her flat belly, the other clasping the phone tightly.

“Well, you should probably go. We could find you someone here.” I pull out my phone, typing in the search bar for local ob-gyns.

“I need to find a job first, hopefully something with insurance.”

I blink at her, another wild thought entering my brain.

You’re gonna scare the shit out of her if you suggest that right now. You met her three days ago.

I flip through the movie options on the screen. “What do you want to watch? I might fall asleep.”

“I liked that Star Wars movie.”

“Really? Okay, we need to go back and start at number one.”

I flip through until I find it and press play.

“I haven’t seen many movies. We weren’t allowed to have a TV, so unless it was playing in the grocery store, I wouldn’t have seen it.”

“Well, we’ll have to start catching you up. Were you sick at all today?” I left before she woke up.

“Only a little bit.”

An ad for diapers pops up on the screen. The woman is lying in a hospital bed, smiling, as her husband changes the baby’s diaper.

I clear my throat, turning toward her. “Look, Eden, I know we just met, and you don’t know me that well, but I think you should be realistic about what it’s going to look like when you have this baby. Even if you are able to find a job soon with great insurance, there will be a co-pay. Then you’ll have to take time off to give birth, and you’ll need to find childcare.”

She blinks at me, her eyes growing watery. Her full lower lip quivers. “I know that. It’s … it’s a lot. I never planned on being in this position. I’ve never even applied for a job before. Maybe you should just drop me off at the local women’s shelter. I’m sure they could help me.”

Her green eyes are pooling with tears, jerking on my heartstrings. I reach out, taking her small hand in mine.

Drop her off at a women’s shelter? No way.