AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Seven
Marigold was vaguelyaware of someone brushing her hair away from her face, and that woke her up very sharply. There wasn’t meant to be anyone in her apartment. So who the hell was touching her?
She rolled away, almost falling off the couch, only to be caught by strong arms that eased her up and back into the cushions.
“Take it easy, Marigold. It’s me.”
Marigold’s mouth felt dry. When had he come in? She swallowed.
“Darren?”
“Hey, sweetheart.” His fingers stroked at her hair, his expression softening. “How are you feeling?”
“I...” Yeah, it was hurting to talk. Marigold licked her lips. “Water.”
Darren reached for her water bottle and held her to sit up. Marigold gingerly sipped at it. She didn’t want another trip to the bathroom; she was lucky she could keep anything down now her stomach had settled. She lowered the bottle and laid her head back with a groan.
“Why can’t morning sickness stick to just the mornings? It’s hell.”
“It’ll get better soon.”
“When?”
Darren watched her, his eyes drifting over her face. It was good to see him, but Marigold was confused as to how he was there. Then she saw the key on the coffee table. It wasn’t hers.
“Did Allison give that to you?”
“Yeah. She didn’t want you to move too much.”
“She could have told me.”
“She meant well.” Darren cupped the side of her neck, his thumb on her pulse. “She’s worried about you as well.”
“It’s just a baby. They screw up everyone’s insides.”
“You’ve not been well for a while, Marigold. It might explain why you’ve been sick, but with the way you were going I was expecting you to be in hospital with an IV in your arm.”
The doctor at the hospital had said that as well. He was concerned that Marigold would end up losing weight due to the lack of nutrients. That scared Marigold the most; she didn’t want to end up like that.
“You’re crying.” Darren brushed at her cheeks. “What’s wrong?”
“What? I’m not crying.”
“Don’t lie to me, love. You’re crying.”
Love. If Marigold hadn’t been crying a moment ago, she was now.
“I...I’m scared, Darren.” Marigold gulped back the lump in her throat, but it was still there. “I’m really scared.”
Darren didn’t say anything for a second. He just drew her into his arms and held her, rubbing her back as Marigold hugged him.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed her head. “None of us are.”
“None of you?”
“We’ll explain later. Jake and Nathan will be by soon. Then we’ll discuss this.” Nathan tilted her face up to him and kissed her softly. “I’m going to look after you while we wait. Whatever you need, you can have. Within reason, of course.”
Within reason. Marigold almost smiled at that. If her stomach hadn’t been churning as much and she wasn’t worried about needing to puke, she would have been on him and ripping his clothes off. But being held by him as he stroked her hair, cuddled into his side, was a good compromise.
