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“Nothing. I just never thought I’d be in here again. He notices the antique jewelry box on my dresser. “This is new.” He opens the lid slowly. “Is this the one you saw on the island? The one you wouldn’t let me get for you?”
“Yeah. I had it shipped to me. I don’t know. I just wanted to have it.”
“It’s full of flower petals. Are they the ones I sent?”
I nod and disappear into my bathroom. “Some.” I pull the kit out from under the sink and set it on my bathroom vanity. “Sit down on the edge of the bathtub. Do you think anything’s broken?”
“I’ve been hit harder than that in sparring sessions. No. Nothing is broken, Bella.”
“You’re going to catch hell from Julian and the makeup team.”
“I’m sure it won’t be the last time.” I put a bit of antiseptic on a gauze pad and dab it over the cut on the corner of his mouth. He winces at the sting with a hiss. “Who is that bodyguard of yours? Is he your boyfriend?” I pull the gauze back and it’s thick with bright red blood. The sight of it mixed with the clinical smell of the antiseptic starts to turn my stomach. “Bella, you’ve just gone pale. Please sit down.”
Rafael takes hold of my elbows, gently lowering me to the closed toilet to sit beside him. “Here, give me that.” He takes the soiled bandage from my hand, tossing it in the trash. “Let’s get you a sip of water.” He reaches for the glass next to my toothbrush. The next sequence of events follow in slow motion.
He notices my cell phone sitting on the other side of the vanity next to an upside down white stick with a pink cap. The water is running down the drain without a glass anywhere near it. It’s nearly like the noise of the water is too much for him, and he shuts it off. Rafael’s body turns and sags against the counter.
“Ava, are you pregnant?”
“I…I…um…I don’t know. I’m nearly ten days late. How much time is left on my phone timer?”
“One minute fifteen seconds. Bella, is he your boyfriend?”
“No. That’s Austin, my brother. He was the one who asked if I thought I could be pregnant, well, he and Sylvia did. She went and bought a test for me, along with something I would eat.”
Rafael kneels down on the rug at my feet in much the same way he did in the theater that night. “My next question is in no way reflective of how I think about you. I just need to hear you say it. Bella, is this my child?”
“If the test is positive, yes,” I tell him in a whisper.
“Mio Dio,” he exclaims as he gently wraps me in his arms. “We can do this, Ava. I have a house here now. I wanted to tell you. I bought it for us. I made a commitment to stay here for as long as it takes to earn your trust back. I need to do that. I need you. Now we’ll have a baby too. I will take care of you, if you let me. What an incredible gift.”
All of his words filter in around me. I haven’t dared to look into his eyes. Somehow the word gift hits me differently. As I find the courage to swim into his ocean blue eyes, the timer chimes on my phone. I use his shoulders as leverage to stand. His hands stay on me as long as they possibly can before his touch fades away.
After pressing the stop button on my phone, I pull the stick into my hand. “Go ahead. Turn it over,” he tells me.
I rotate it over and stare into the window that will change my future forever. I can’t even comprehend what I’m looking at. It’s so simple to someone who isn’t holding the stick. Is it one line or two?
Rafael is at my side when I don’t have words for him. He takes the stick from me with a smile on his face. I instantly turn away and watch in the mirror as his beautiful smile fades and the reality of what we’re dealing with sets in.
Negative.
One line.
“This is wrong. It has to be wrong,” he whispers.
“They’re very accurate. I can see a doctor if you want me to, just so you’re sure.”
“No. You don’t need to do that.” He slides the test back on the counter beside my phone before leaving me standing there alone. I feel this crater-sized distance without him at my side. I know he’s not far. I can still hear him breathing. It’s heavy and filled with sadness.
I drop the pregnancy test into the trash and take that drink he was going to offer before I find him. As I pop my head around the corner, Rafael’s large body is hunched over, sitting on the corner of my bed. He looks so small. “Why did you come?” I ask.
“I told you. When I heard you weren’t feeling well, I needed to check on you, to see you for myself.”
“Why did you need to?”
”Is it so hard to understand I love you?”
“You can’t love me and love her at the same time. It doesn’t work that way.”
