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His ribs protruded. His abs were more prominent, and not in a good way. And I could see his hip bones.
And I’d definitely noticed how many freakin’ breaks he’d had to take yesterday as he helped his brother carry my things into his room.
Him holding that bag was a point of pride for him, I knew.
But that didn’t change the fact that I wanted to steal it from his hands and carry it myself, just to make sure he didn’t overdo it.
It was hard seeing such a big, strong man fall.
“Ready?” he asked.
I swallowed, nodded, then said, “Yeah.”
I visibly saw his shoulders relax infinitesimally.
Which caused me to feel like an even bigger dick.
His shoulders straightened when we turned, and I reached out before thinking, and took his hand.
He squeezed it back so hard that I knew in that moment he needed it—me.
I left my hand there and tried not to cry.
When we got inside, it was to find the entire room full.
But we didn’t have to wait.
We walked straight up to the counter and were immediately taken straight back.
“Do you think it’s perks of being a famous NASCAR driver? Or because my family is so big?” he asked.
I had no idea, so I made an ‘I dunno’ sound under my breath.
The woman doing the leading led us into one large room where there wasn’t a single soul.
“Is this a private suite or something?” I asked curiously.
“We have it for our clientele who need the extra privacy,” she said. “Or when we have overflow.”
Nash was already shaking his head. “I don’t need special treatment. Take me to the regular room.”
The woman blinked, then started shaking her head. “I’m sorry if you’re confused on why you’re in this room. But this is for the privacy of the patients getting treatment today. Not you. No offense, sir, but you’re well known. This is a bad situation for every patient who comes in these doors. We don’t want them to think that they’re any less important than you. But that place is one of calm. With you there, it might not be.”
That was understandable.
“Okay,” he nodded. “Then this will work fine.”
She smiled and left, but not before saying, “A nurse will be in here shortly.”
I pointed to the chair that he should be sitting in, and he sighed.
He took a seat, then I took the one on the hard plastic chair right beside it.
“So the doctor’s appointment next week…” he started.
I began to get things out of my bag, my intention to find the saltines that I needed to keep the nausea at bay, but before I could get that far, a nurse came barreling into the room.
Her eyes lit up upon seeing Nash.
“Oh, hello, handsome!” she beamed. “It’s great having you here.”
It was awful having him here.
I fucking hated that he had to be here.
Yet, she was acting like it was a treat for her that he was.
I could feel Nash’s eyes on me, as if he was echoing my thoughts privately, but I didn’t look at him.
The time trickled by as she explained absolutely everything that she was about to do.
She ended her tirade with…
“Is there a chance that you could be pregnant?” the woman who was about to administer his meds asked.
I opened my mouth, then closed it.
“Well…” I paused.
“If there’s even a slight chance, we’re going to have to ask you to step out of the room,” she said.
There wasn’t a slight chance.
There was a ‘yes’ I was pregnant. There was no more denying that fact anymore.
I looked over at Nash to see his eyes wide.
We hadn’t exactly discussed the whole pregnancy thing yet.
One, I’d been too busy not talking to him.
Two, he’d been too busy trying not to make me mad to broach the subject.
But it’d have to be broached eventually.
I had a doctor’s appointment in three days, which he heard me make in the car on the way over.
“Okay,” I said softly.
I gathered my things, my heart sinking.
I didn’t want him to be alone.
Tears started to flow, and I couldn’t stop them from spilling over.
I caught my bag, my drink, and the stupid little saltine crackers that had spilled out of my bag in the search for them.
I’d just caught up my jacket when Nash’s hand on my wrist stopped me.
“Baby,” he said, his deep voice making my heart ache even worse.
Baby.
When had I become ‘baby’ to him again?
“I’ll be right outside,” I said softly. “I won’t move a muscle. If you need me, call.”
I didn’t meet his eyes.
I hadn’t been able to do that for long since we’d had our confrontation.
I was just so freakin’ hurt still.
I was still lost.
I felt like my heart was still out of rhythm, even with him there.
“I also suggest you staying away from everyone after this appointment,” the nurse continued to ruin my day. “For seven to twelve days.” She looked at me pointedly. “I heard y’all were going to a doctor’s appointment in a few days. It’s highly suggested that he doesn’t go with you. And this isn’t something that you can just ignore. His immune system is going to be nonexistent. Any slight little bug, bacteria, hell, even a cold? That would be detrimental to him right now.”
