"Juliette!"

I opened my eyes to find Easton hovering above me.

What?

I looked around and realized that I was lying on my back on the kitchen floor.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice coming out confused and disoriented.

"You passed out." Easton took my hands in his and helped me to a sitting position, so I could lean my back against the kitchen island.

"I passed out?" I scrunched up my face, trying to remember what had happened, but there was nothing. Just a blank space in time that didn't exist anymore.

He leaned back on his haunches. "One minute you were talking, and then the next you collapsed to the ground before I could catch you."

I rubbed the back of my head where I must have hit it on something. "How long was I out?"

"Only a few seconds."

So weird. I’d never done anything like that before. The last thing I remembered was... I closed my eyes and groaned. The last thing I remembered was Easton finding out that the baby was his.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, unnerved by my groaning.

I dug my fingers into my hair. "I'm just remembering what was going on before I passed out." Maybe it was another one of those fight-or-flight reflexes. Instead of facing Easton when he found out the truth, my body had decided that it was better to blank out on him.

Well, at least it had seemed to calm us both down.

He cleared his throat, breaking me out of my thoughts. "So, I know this is bad timing and everything, but I'm going crazy here." He inhaled through his nose and released a breath through his lips. "Is that baby really mine?" He pointed to my stomach.

Instinctively, my hands went to my belly as if it could help protect me somehow. "Yes."

It was his turn to collapse now. But instead of fainting like I had, he simply dropped from his haunches on to his butt in the middle of my kitchen.

He was silent for a moment, probably processing this information. But then he looked sideways at me with an almost hopeful expression. "You're not just trying to find a guy to help you since Paris guy is impossible to find?"

I tried to force my feelings of frustration down because I knew I had brought this upon myself. "It's yours. I'm farther along than I told you originally, and you're the only one I ever..." I let my voice drift off, raising my eyebrows so he'd get the hint that I hadn't had sex with anyone besides him.

He lay all the way back on the tile floor, placing his arm across his eyes, like he was trying to block everything out.

"Sorry," I said when he didn't say anything for a long time. "This was the last thing I wanted to tell you."

We didn't talk for a long while. He just stayed on his back, looking up at the light on the ceiling, seeming to process everything. Was he scared?

Worried about what his dad would say? Did he officially hate me?

I looked down at my stomach, rubbing it gently with my hand. And then I realized I hadn't felt the baby move for a while. Had my fall hurt him?

Easton turned his head to the side again and watched me.

"What?" he asked.

"I haven't felt the baby move since getting home."

He sat up faster than I'd ever seen him move. "Do you think he got hurt when you fell?" His voice sounded urgent.

I frowned and touched different spots on my belly to try to find the baby, but there was nothing. "I can't feel him." I looked up at Easton, feeling scared. "What if I just killed him?"

Easton scrambled to his feet. "We better get you to the hospital."

I nodded and let him help me to my feet. Everything needed to be okay. Easton already found out about the baby. This drama would all be pointless if the baby just died in the end.

We didn't talk on the way to the hospital. Easton just drove as fast as he could, skipping stop signs and looking over at me every few seconds.

His expression became increasingly worried with each shake of my head that told him I still hadn't felt the baby move.

The lady at the emergency room told us to go straight to the labor and delivery wing, and before long, the nurses had a room ready for me.

"Any movement yet?" Easton scooted his chair to the edge of my bed.

I shook my head. "No."

The nurse came in a second later, wheeling an ultrasound machine behind her.

"How long has it been since you felt the baby kick?" she asked as she got the machine set up to use.

I tried to remember.

"You felt it on the car ride home from Ithaca, right?" Easton leaned closer and gripped my arm with his hand.

I nodded.

"Did you feel anything after?" he asked.

I tried to remember what had happened afterward. Easton had walked me to the door. We'd gone in the garage. He'd kissed me.

I felt my cheeks burn at the memory of the short kiss.

And then I'd remembered the baby and my secret, and I’d gone into the house.

"I don't remember feeling it after that," I whispered, nervous to know that was the last time the baby had ever moved.

The nurse looked slightly worried at my answer.

Did that mean she already knew? Was that something that always happened when pregnant ladies fell?

"How far along are you?" she asked.

"Twenty-four weeks."

"And you just fell to the ground, without tripping or getting pushed?" She eyed Easton.

Did she think he was abusive or something?

She totally did.

I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice when I spoke. "Yes, I just passed out without any warning." Did she seriously think that just because I was a pregnant teen that it must mean Easton and I were horrible people?

Hello, sometimes people just make mistakes, lady!

I had to work hard to keep from growling at her for passing judgement.

The nurse nodded and had me lift my dress, so she could do the ultrasound. Thankfully there was a blanket covering my lower half so Easton didn’t get too big of an eyeful.

A few seconds later, the familiar black-and-white image was on the ultrasound machine's screen.

I held my breath as I waited for the verdict.

She turned the volume up on the machine, and a moment later, I heard the most beautiful whooshing sound ever. The baby had a heartbeat.

Tears pricked at my eyes as relief washed over me.

"He's okay," I whispered, looking at Easton.

But Easton didn't look as relieved as I felt. Instead, he stared at the screen with a strange look on his face. And I realized what this moment probably felt like to him. Until earlier this evening, he had no idea that the baby was his, and now he was looking at his baby for the first time.

I reached over to take his hand, hoping to offer comfort in what had to be a super confusing and overwhelming moment.

The baby was more developed than he'd been the last time I'd had an ultrasound. His hands were bigger, legs were stronger—everything about him was just more like a real baby than it had been before.

The nurse seemed to check a few more things before wiping the goo off my stomach and putting the ultrasound transducer back.

"I can't see anything wrong, but it would be a good idea to contact your doctor on Monday to talk about any concerns you may have."

"Thanks," I said. Then I looked warily at Easton, still not sure how he felt about this whole thing. He was just staring blankly ahead at a painting on the wall.

The nurse eyed him curiously. She'd seemed suspicious of my fall earlier; was she thinking he was disappointed that the baby seemed fine?

I couldn't keep my brain from being so paranoid about what she might be thinking now.

But she said nothing; instead, she turned her attention back to me. "If you have any worries about not feeling the baby move, you can always try the orange juice trick before coming in next time."

"The orange juice trick?"

"Yes. If your baby is being less active, you can drink a glass of orange juice and then lie down on your left side so you can do your kick counts. The juice usually excites the baby and will get him moving around a little bit more."

Okay, the juice trick. I would try to remember that for next time.

There were so many things to worry about.

I made ready to leave, glancing back at Easton to see how he was doing. He didn't look like a zombie anymore, but he still didn't look too good.

The nurse walked us to the door and down the hall toward the nurse’s station. "I do recommend that you take it easy for the next few days. Try and stay down as much as you can. And if you notice any spotting, be sure to call your doctor immediately."

I nodded. "Thank you."

She went behind the counter and typed something on the computer. I was about to leave when I recognized another couple standing at the nurses' station. It was the woman I'd seen at my first appointment, Nadia. And she looked extremely distressed. Much different from how she'd been at the doctor's office that day.

"I think I'm having contractions," Nadia said to someone at the desk.

"How far along are you?" the nurse with curly blonde hair asked.

"Only thirty-two weeks." Nadia's face was pale and contorted in pain as she touched her stomach.

My nurse must have noticed that I was staring at Nadia and her husband because she stepped from behind the counter and gestured at the doors. "The exit is that way. Have a good night."

Not missing the blatant hint, I tore my gaze away from the worried couple and let Easton lead me down the hall. I looked back for one last glance at Nadia, only to find her doubled over in pain again.

Her baby was trying to come much too early. She was only thirty-two weeks along.

What if that happened to me?

I really hoped everything would be okay.