I’d always been horrible at remembering to take my birth control pills, but I’d also always been so irregular that it made me forget about my time of the month completely until it decided to rear its ugly head when I was least expecting it. I’d gone so many months without a period that I’d honestly stopped thinking getting pregnant was even a possibility.
But that would mean… Oh God. Nate would be the father. Which, what a fucking shame.
My vision tunneled, my breaths becoming shallow, labored. I buried my face in my hands, only then realizing my cheeks were wet with tears. Oh my God. What the hell was I going to do? How far along was I?
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, blinking away the tears in my eyes as I tried to focus on my screen. I fumbled my way through the pages of apps, trying and failing at least a couple timesto click on the period tracker I hardly ever even needed to use. My heart raced as I tracked the weeks.
A broken sob escaped me.
Ten. Ten damn weeks.
I was ten weeks pregnant and didn’t even have a clue. Probably still wouldn’t have had it not been from Maverick. Speaking of—a knock sounded on the door, his deep voice accompanying it. “You okay, Chey?”
I sniffled, trying and failing to get ahold of myself as I choked out, “N-no.”
The handle turned a moment later, Maverick’s tall frame taking up the doorway. His gaze landed on me, wide-eyed and filled with worry.
“H-how?” I bit back another sob, my bottom lip trembling as I tried to keep it together enough to finish my sentence. “H-how did y-you know?”
He knelt down and picked me up like I weighed nothing more than a feather before leading me out of the bathroom and onto the private back porch. He sat in the rocking swing, holding me in his arms as we swayed back and forth. He was so quiet for so long I thought he might not have heard me, but when I opened my mouth to finally respond he managed to speak.
“You’ve been complainin’ of headaches from the first day you got here…and you’ve gotten sick a few times.” He didn’t look at me as he spoke, but out toward the little pond where a couple ducks swam around. “I’ve seen you gag at least three times this week from different smells. And well, I don’t know, maybe it’s cuz Charlie’s pregnant too. It just seemed logical.”
“Well, you were right.” I huffed, shaking my head in disbelief.
I couldn’t believe that he’d been able to tell before me.Iwas the one pregnant. How could I have not seen the signs? How could I have been that blind to it? But the symptoms had been mild, and I didn’t even really know what to expect. I hadn’t had any reason to really be looking for signs in the first place.
My eyes blurred with tears once more as sob after sob wracked me.
I was pregnant. With a capital fucking P.
Maverick cupped my face in his big hands, his callouses scraping against my skin as he wiped my tears away and forced me to meet his gaze. “What’re ya gonna do?”
I chewed on my bottom lip, lifting my shoulders up into a weak shrug. “I…I don’t know,” I murmured. “I–I really have no business raisin’ a kid. I mean, hell, I didn’t even know I was pregnant until you pointed it out.” I slipped off of his lap, the overwhelming urge to move, to walk, to…somethingtaking over.
Walking to the end of the porch, I leaned against the wooden column, aware of Maverick’s stare. How the hell had I wound up in this situation? Pregnant with some other guy’s baby while living and sleeping with Maverick.
I wondered what he thought of me. He probably thought I was a whore, and what was worse, is I couldn’t even blame him.
My heart hurt.
What all was going to change now? Would he kick me out? End things completely?
No, Maverick wouldn’t do that. He wasn’t an asshole. He was too kind to do something like that. But I couldn’t imagine this boded well for us as a…well, whatever the hell we were.
My bottom lip trembled as my eyes fluttered closed, a loud exhale escaping me as I tried to get a hold of myself. Fresh tears leaked down my face, but I didn’t have the strength to wipe them away.
Unable to ignore the weight of his stare any longer, I turned slowly to face him. My words were hushed, broken, small as I spoke. “I can’t be a mom… I’m—I’m not ready. I have no home, no job. I’m a hot fucking mess, Mav. I just…I can barely even take care of myself.”
Maverick stopped swinging, planting his feet firmly on the ground while placing his elbows onto the tops of his thighs. He rubbed his palms back and forth—the only sound for a moment. His silence was killing me. Considering we’d gone basically a week without talking but still being able to communicate, he was more closed off than ever. The look on his face, in his eyes, gave nothing away.
“You gotta do what you gotta do.”
I frowned. “I don’t knowwhatto do.”
He stood up, his boots scuffing against the wooden deck as he came to stand before me. “If you’re lookin’ for me to tell you what to do, I can’t do that for ya. This is somethin’ you gotta decide for yourself.”
A weight settled on my chest, so heavy I felt like I was drowning. “Will you think less of me if I…” I swallowed, nausea slamming into me at the thought of my next words. I blew out a breath, more tears falling from my eyes. “If I get rid of it?”
