Page 24 of Shattered Hearts

BLONDIE: Sawyer is coming to town.

“How is next Saturday night? Sawyer will be home.”

Macie beams brightly, her cheery self blooming as she bounces up and down on her heels. “Oh, yes. We haven’t seen Sawyer in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, it’s been a minute,” is all I say with a smirk pulling in my lips.

“We should bring Delly and Sadie, too. The more the merrier, especially if they bring out the board games. You know how the Lawsons love to cheat.”

I scoff loud enough to draw the attention of the older lady further down the aisle. I give her a brief apologetic look. “Yeah, we’ll need all the help we can get. It’s rough when they gang up on us girls.”

“Hazel sometimes makes a comeback for us, though.”

That brings a smile to my face as Macie turns back to look through the titles. Holding the book in my grip, my gaze floats down to the cotton ball taped to the inside of my elbow. It’s the real reason we came to Rafter’s Falls. Not to look at books, but to get my blood test done to confirm my pregnancy, even though I have no doubt that I’m positive. I’m nine weeks late at this point...

The pain of the needle has passed, but the nurse at the doctor’s office this morning spent more time wriggling the point around to find a vein than she did extracting my blood.

I have a feeling that tomorrow I’m going to have a bruise on my arm.

My mind wanders back to my conversation with Dr Stevens. Despite the three positive tests I took at home, she still wanted to confirm my pregnancy with a blood test for a more accurate reading and timeframe—hence why I now have a blooming bruise and cotton ball stuck to me.

I held onto Macie’s hand the entire time. I thought her fingers would fall off with how tightly I was squeezing them, but not once did she complain. The little firecracker she is. I couldn’t let go of her, though. Mainly because needles are the worst, and don’t even get me started on the sight of blood.

“Do you think you’re ready to tell Grayson now?” Macie asks, pulling me from the memory that will forever stain my mind like the tattoo on my right hipbone.

“Umm, I don’t know,” I say quietly. “I don’t think it’s the right time with everything going on.”

Macie’s emerald eyes soften like flowers drooping, and I blink away, unable to see the pity staining them. I know I shouldn’t keep anything from Grayson. He hates secrets. I mean, I saw the way he acted when he discovered Reid and Macie were seeing each other behind his back. This shouldn’t be a secret I hold on to, but I don’t think I could handle it if Grayson suddenly saw me as used or, worse, fell out of love with me.

I guess he’d have to be in love with me first, and I have no idea if he is.

Gosh, is it hot in here?

Sucking in a deep breath, my lungs feel constricted to the point of stinging. My pulse spikes, like the high notes of a melody, the electrical current flowing too quickly as I take a step backwards, bumping into the bookshelf.

“Laynie?” I hear Macie beside me, but her voice is distant as my mind reels about the fact that this is all real. I didn’t think I would be pregnant this early in my life.

Let alone to a man I barely know.

Who still hasn’t contacted me.

“Laynie, what’s wrong?” Macie’s tone is sharper, concerned.

Peering into her eyes, mine have widened like dinner plates, my chest moving faster than a drum that can’t seem to be controlled. “I—” The words stop at the tip of my tongue like they’re clinging to my mouth and I can’t let them go. “I—just need to call someone.”

Before she can question me further, I take off out of the store. A sharp beeping sounds in my ears as I reach the fresh air. Closing my eyes, I try inhaling, sucking anything into my burning lungs that are screaming with panic.

Someone grabs onto my arm. “Miss, you can’t take that out.”

I spin, my thoughts clouded with a greying trepidation. I wasn’t expecting to find a store worker holding onto me.

“What?” I squeeze out. My breathing is so tight I can hardly push out any oxygen as my fingers tremble.

Her brown eyes soften a fraction, clearly realising that this was a mistake. She takes the book from under my arm. “You can’t take this ou—”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Her mouth tightens, and she doesn’t let go of me. I want to fight her, and tell her to leave me alone, when she asks, “Can I get someone for you? Do you need some water or something?”