Grace
"You okay?" Cole sat across from me at DeLuca, his expression kind.
"No." I glanced down at my coffee and forced my feelings back deep inside of me. "I miss him so much. You're sure he's okay?"
"Yeah. He got his ass beat pretty good, but Lucien loves him, Grace. It's just a different kind of relationship."
She shook her head. "And you know this because your father was a monster that beat you too?"
"No. I was an orphan growing up." He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "You know why Erik wanted you there that night, right?"
"Tell me why." My hands shook, and the world seemed off, wrong.
"He planned on killing Thomas as he was requested to, but he hoped that you'd watch and hate him because of it, truly sealing the deal between the two of you." He glanced down. "He didn't think he was in love with you, or at least not to the extent he was. He woke up that night."
"How are you not furious with him?" I moved closer to the table. "He knocked you out. Used you to get me there."
He smiled. "My little brother would have done the same shit for a woman he loves. Erik is no different."
"Why are you wrapped up in them?"
"Because I have a debt I can't pay, Grace. Lucien paid it off for me, but for that, I'm indebted to him."
"What kind of debt?" I wanted to dig because not pushing forward in the conversation meant returning to our previous one - Erik.
"Erik is going to be fine. He's a strong mother fucker. Scary as hell too. "He chuckled. "I can't tell you the number of times over the last two weeks I had to hold my own against him, and I thought I might shit myself."
The smell of garlic wafted through the air, and I glanced back to see a small boy walking in with his family. He had a small pizza box in his hands. My stomach flipped upside down.
"Oh shit. I'm going to be sick." I got up and ran full speed to the bathroom, barely making it before I hit my knee and lost my breakfast in the toilet.
"Grace?" Jenna's voice calmed me a little. "You okay?"
I groaned and threw up again as she moved up and held my hair back. I finally got myself together enough to sit back on my heels. She handed me a cup of water, and I glanced back to see Cole standing in the doorway.
"I'm okay. Just ate something bad, I guess." I reached for Jenna and stood up.
"Let me take you home." Cole reached for me, but I pulled back.
"No. Please. I appreciate you being kind, but just take care of Erik for me? Let me know how he's doing and keep him safe? Please? I have no one who can help me with that." I brushed my hand across the back of my mouth and leaned against the wall. "Please?"
"Alright. I'll be around if you need me." He lingered in the bathroom doorway a little longer and turned to leave.
Jenna shut the door and put her hand on her hip. "What the fuck was that?"
"Cole? Nothing. He's just a friend."
"You barfing at the smell of garlic."
I shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't felt good for weeks now. Maybe I picked up a bug."
She reached out and pushed on one of my breasts.
I screamed and swatted at her. "That hurt!"
"Oh shit." She turned and opened the door. "I'm clocking out. We're going to the drug store."
"What? Why? I have a family doctor. Let's just go see him."
"Grace." She glanced back as we walked down the hallway. "When was the last time you had your period?"
"I don't know. A little while ago." I stood by the door as she scurried off. My mind went crazy trying to calculate exactly when I had my last period. Six weeks before.
"Six weeks!" I reached for her as horror rolled through me. "No. I can't be pregnant. You don't understand."
"Outside." She moved us outside and wrapped her arm around my shoulders as she half-pulled me toward the drug store down the street. "It's going to be fine. I'm sure we're overreacting."
I pressed on my breasts and cried out at the tenderness of both of them. "Oh my God. This is horrible. What am I going to do?"
"We don't know anything yet. We'll get the test and go back to my house. It's going to be fine. No freaking out until we know what we're dealing with. Okay?" She stopped in front of the store and stuck out her pinkie. "Pinkie swear."
"We're in our twenties." I snorted and for a moment felt some semblance of normalcy.
"Do it," she barked, looking more freaked out than I felt.
I wrapped my finger around hers. "Fine, but you go buy it. I need fresh air."
"Okay. Don't go anywhere." She gave me a stern look as if I was going to jump in the next windowless van that approached. She walked into the store, and I paced the sidewalk in front of it, going through the what ifs.
What if I was pregnant? There was no way in hell I was telling Erik, and yet to raise a baby without him seemed so insanely fucked up. He didn't deserve my honesty or my affection. He'd forced Cole to bring me to my brother's execution.
And he'd walked away without hurting Thomas.
Tears burned my eyes as Jenna walked back out and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Hey. It's okay."
I pressed my face to her shoulder and cried while she held me. It wasn't okay. None of it was. I'd be devastated if I was pregnant and destroyed if I wasn't.
A baby sounded like a horrible idea, and yet it sparked something inside of me. If Erik found out... he'd come back to me. No matter what it cost him.