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I had no doubt Jacob would be a wonderful daddy. He’d always want our baby. But he probably wouldn’t always want me. And I didn’t want my kid to have to see me crumble into a million pieces when that time came. Watch us separate one day, him packing his bags and moving out the way I’d watched my daddy do once.

I had to make choices now to protect her later.

I blinked into the room, staring through tears at the dark spots on the walls where posters used to be.

I couldn’t explain the intense, panicked flight response I was feeling. The need to run. Push him away before he hurt me, like all the other important men in my life had. Get myself to safety before it was too late, insulate myself before history repeated itself.

I put my face to my knees again.

I was desperate for him to tell me I hadn’t made a horrible mistake. I wanted Jacob to make me all the promises and tell me it was going to be okay, that I was safe and loved and he wanted this and he wanted me. I wanted him to tell me we were different, and I wished to God that I was the kind of undamaged person who could believe something like that.

But I wasn’t. And I probably never would be.

Chapter 46

Jacob

Briana called out of work on Monday and the day after. Those were the last two shifts we had until the time off for the surgery.

She had called me the night she left. She’d apologized in tears for snapping at me and told me she just needed some space. She’d asked if I could come over on Wednesday to talk. And so I waited for Wednesday. That was all I could do.

This change in her felt deeper than just the shock of seeing her ex with his new wife. There was something else going on, and I couldn’t figure out what it was.

I missed her so much. I didn’t know what to do. I was living somewhere between anxiety and a dull panic attack, constantly. My heart felt like it was grasping around in the dark, searching for hers because it used to be there and now it wasn’t.

I couldn’t sleep without her. I lay in bed at night, my mind racing. I’d poured myself into my journal because my feelings had nowhere else to go.

Nothing was okay. Nothing.

When Wednesday mercifully rolled around, I had to get bloodwork done before going to see her. The transplant was the day after tomorrow. I’d be driving down to the Mayo Clinic at five a.m. on Friday to be checked in for pre-op at seven.

I picked up some pita bread and soup she liked and headed over to her house. Rosa let in Lieutenant Dan and me. She hugged me and looked about as worried as I felt.

“I’m glad she’s seeing you,” she said, her voice low.

“Rosa, what’s wrong?” I asked quietly. “She’s not talking to me. I don’t know what I did.”

She looked sorry for me. “You didn’t do anything. Just tell her you love her. Okay? Make sure she knows.”

I studied her face like I might be able to glean more information from it. But the older woman just patted me on the shoulder and sent me down the hallway.

When I came up to the room and saw Briana, I wanted to run to her the way my dog did. The urge was so strong I had to put a hand on the door frame to keep from sprinting the distance between us.

She was sitting up in bed, wearing a baggy T-shirt. Her long hair was in a braid. She was pale, and even though she was smiling and petting Lieutenant Dan, she looked sad. I set the food I brought on the dresser and came around the bed, sat down, and gathered her into me. She surrendered like she was just as relieved as I was to have her in my arms.

“I missed you,” I breathed into her hair.

It was a long moment, but she said it back. I had to squeeze my eyes shut to keep myself from crying from the relief.

I climbed into the bed and pulled her down onto my chest and just hugged her. She started weeping softly and I kissed the top of her head and smoothed her hair. “What is it?” I whispered. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

When she finally did, she did it with her cheek pressed to my heart. “I’m pregnant, Jacob.”

I froze. “You’re pregnant?”

I pulled away to look at her. “Briana, that’s…that’s wonderful,” I said, beaming. “That’s…”

But she wasn’t smiling. Her chin quivered. “I don’t know if I can carry it. I couldn’t carry the last one.”