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Trenton answered the door. “Hey, Mal,” he said, stepping back.
Malcolm shut the door behind him. “Is she resting?”
Trenton hesitated. “On the couch.” He turned, leading the way.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Malcolm asked. Celia still looked pale, like she had the day before.
“Don’t start,” Celia said with a sigh. “I knew you’d stop by, and I also want my smoothie.”
Trenton paused halfway lowered to the couch. “I’ll go make it.”
Celia grabbed his hand, pulling him down beside her. “It can wait. You still haven’t sat at all, and you didn’t sleep in the hospital last night.”
“I’m fine,” Trenton said, though his eyes looked bloodshot.
“Saying so won’t convince us.” Malcolm took the chair across from them. “Your unease in hospitals is understandable.”
Trenton linked his fingers with Celia’s, and their hands rested on the couch together. “Today isn’t about me.”
“Well, it is, a little.” Celia squeezed his hand before turning her gaze to Malcolm. “How’s Jami?”
Malcolm knew a delaying tactic when he saw one. “I’ve got her stashed at my place for now. First I want to hear about you.”
Celia took a breath before letting it out in a rush. “Turns out I’m pregnant.”
The stony look in her eyes wasn’t necessary for Malcolm to know ‘congratulations’ wasn’t the proper response. While the news confirmed his suspicions, his chest felt tight at the anxiety his cousin could never hide from him.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Trenton said quickly. “If I had—”
“No birth control besides abstinence is one hundred percent, Trenton,” Celia said. Her lips curved. “And neither of us wanted that.”
Trenton’s lips pressed together as he fiddled with her engagement ring. “We’d just talked about this when you said ‘yes,’ and I—” He squeezed his eyes shut and stopped talking.
Celia looked at him worriedly.
Malcolm cleared his throat. “How at risk are you, Celia?” She looked over at him in surprise. He lifted an eyebrow. “Most pregnancies don’t result in the woman collapsing.”
Celia swallowed. “The doctor said my blood pressure likely dipped too low yesterday when I passed out. They monitored it in the hospital and only released me when it stayed stable. I’ll need to have it monitored regularly with whatever OB I see. But I was told bed rest will be likely before the second trimester is over.”
Malcolm took in the words. Celia was sure to go stir crazy if she was stuck in bed. “I guess you’re finally going to listen to my nagging to eat better,” he said and watched his friend stiffen.
“That’s if she keeps the baby,” Trenton said. He turned toward Celia. “You didn’t want this. Maybe adoption way in the future, but not this, not with the struggles you and your mother have had. It’s your choice, and I support whatever decision you make. If I lost you—” He choked on the words.
Anything Malcolm could say sounded pathetic in his head. He tried anyway. “Medicine has come a long way. Did they give you any numbers?” He looked at his cousin, his friend’s grief too raw when he had his own panic to tamp down. “How at risk are you?”
Celia shook her head. “Nothing specific yet, or at least nothing I could grasp. I’m still kind of processing, and I want to talk to the OB.” Her fingers were tracing over Trenton’s hand, though she didn’t seem aware of it. “But with bed rest not prescribed immediately, I’ve got time to think about things.”
The tension in Trenton only increased with her words. “I’m going to make that smoothie.” He stood and took off for the kitchen.
Celia stared down at her hand where it rested alone on the couch. Silence fell between them, though it was soon filled by the distant whirl of the blender.
Malcolm switched to sit beside her, but knew better than to take her hand. “It’s just you and me, Celia. What are you thinking?”
Her eyes lifted to glare at him. “The same thing that I just said with Trenton here. I’m not hiding anything from him.”
Malcolm blinked at her. “I didn’t say you were. But sometimes there can be too much noise to hear your own thoughts.” He reached out, brushing her hair behind her ear. “You can’t tell me the past didn’t rear its head when you found out.”
“I mean, the thought of passing on the crazy gene to my child has always been my main issue.” Celia frowned, her eyes glittering as she likely remembered the worst moments of her life. “But you know what? That initial fear was brief and instead…” She trailed off, the hand Trenton had held moving to her stomach. Her lips trembled as she smiled. “Is it crazy that I’m sort of okay at the idea that a piece of Trenton is growing inside me?”
