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His footsteps seem to slam against the floor as he moves to the window, and the squeak of the blinds as he draws them together makes my head pound even more.
The nurse comes in, bringing me pills before disappearing again. Tyler remains surprisingly quiet at my bedside. After about fifteen minutes, the pounding hasn’t disappeared, but it’s lessened enough that I can finally open my eyes. But I’m not sure I want to take such a radical step.
“You were restless as you slept. Normally, you don’t move a muscle, but for the past couple of hours, you tossed a lot.”
“What are you doing here, Tyler?” I croak. “Nothing’s changed from last night.” I push the buttons on my bed, raise it to a sitting position, and reach for the water glass on my hospital table.
“I told you I’d be back so we could talk,” he replies. I wait for him to add something, but he just sits next to my bed, his expression showing nothing. Why in the world am I expecting anything different?
Tyler Astor’s still the boy who abandoned me as a child and then took my virginity and walked away when I was nineteen. I’m nothing more than property to him, and now he has a perfect excuse to break ties with me. I’m not going to be a sex goddess while sporting a huge baby bump.
With a sigh of frustration, I throw off my covers and slowly edge myself out of the bed. It takes several moments, and though my ankle hurts, I manage to stand.
“What are you doing?”
“Using the facilities,” I say, before staggering slowly into the bathroom and firmly shutting the door. My first glimpse in the mirror makes me wince. I look like hell in a handbasket. My hair’s a mess, with pieces sticking out in every direction, probably from running my fingers through it five thousand times, and my face is colorless and sickly. Damn. I hoped when our relationship ended, I’d at least look great. It figures!
When I come out of the bathroom, Tyler’s right here, offering his arm. “I’ve got this,” I tell him, terrified of feeling his fingers on me right now. I need to stay strong. If he touches me, that isn’t going to be possible.
My progress is slow. And once I manage to climb back into bed, a nurse comes in with my breakfast and checks my vitals. I don’t mind the interruption.
“The doctor will be making rounds in the next hour, but your blood pressure has gone down significantly. I don’t see a problem with him releasing you today.” The woman breezes back out.
“Olivia, it’s time we talk.”
“Fine. What exactly do you need to know?” I ask, pushing aside my breakfast. Nothing looks appetizing.
“I think you know the answer to that,” he quietly says.
“You know I’m pregnant, Tyler. So do you want me to say it out loud? Yes, the child is yours, though I’m insulted I even have to tell you that.” He studies me the way a child with a magnifying glass might look at an insect.
“I don’t believe you.” I stare at him in shock. After a few heartbreaking moments, I compose my features and wait to reply until I’m sure my voice will come out clear.
“Why don’t you believe me, Tyler?”
He pauses as he gives me another once-over. “I think it’s a ploy to gain a wealthy husband.” I fight tears. How in the world could I have fallen in love with this pitiful excuse of a man?
“Why don’t you tell me exactly how you feel?” I say, not trying to hide my sarcasm.
“I’m just calling it as I see it. Do you have a better explanation for what’s going on?”
“No. I don’t. I guess you figured me out, Tyler.” I turn away, unable to look at the man I gave my heart to.
“Dammit, Olivia. I’m trying to understand. If you give me even a small reason to trust you, then maybe...” He trails off. I might as well tell him everything. What does it matter anymore?
But it isn’t easy to speak with a lump in my throat the size of a softball. “You used to be my best friend, Tyler. Years ago.” He was about to say something, but my remark stops him in his tracks. He gazes at me with mistrusting eyes and waits for me to say more. I stay silent; I want my words to have time to truly sink in.
“Explain now!”
“Do you think that yelling at me or trying to intimidate me is the way to get me to talk, Tyler? Seriously?”
“I’m frustrated. Tell me how we know each other.”
“You called me Vivi. You dumped me when I was ten because I didn’t apparently kiss you the way a real girl does. I went by my dad’s last name then too, Smith. I got it legally changed when I was an adult. I wanted nothing to do with the man.” Wow, so much bitterness. Maybe I wouldn’t be feeling it now if he wasn’t rigidly standing here with hostility shooting from his eyes.
“Vivi?” he finally asks, his brow wrinkled as he thinks back to his childhood. When he says my old nickname, it tortures me, and a few tears slip from my eyes.
“I think I’ve made a mistake,” I choke out. “You aren’t that boy I once knew, and I’m not Vivi anymore. That little girl faded a long time ago.”
