“Where is she?” she questions, entering the house and removing her leather jacket.
“Upstairs,” I reply, closing the door. “She hasn’t left the bed.”
I watch as she throws the jacket on the back of the couch and turns to me.
“Does Jack know you’re here?”
Placing her hands on her hips, she cocks her head to the side and raises an eyebrow.
“If Jack knew I was here, he’d be here too. He thinks I’m at a PTA meeting.”
“You go to those things?”
“Hell, no. Every mother at the school can’t stand me. If I ever walked into one of those meetings, they’d likely stone me. I’m going to go check on her,” she says, motioning towards the stairs.
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I nod. She makes it halfway up the stairs before I call her name.
“Thanks for this,” I tell her when she turns to look at me.
“You don’t have to thank me,” she replies before disappearing up the stairs. I hear her feet pad across the floorboards, and I start to pace the living room. Ten minutes later she comes into the living room and drops down on the couch.
“Well?”
“Why did you call me here?” she questions, leaning her back against the cushions. Perplexed, I narrow my eyes.
“I told you, she’s been depressed for days. Today was the first day she was able to get out of bed and when she went to work, she got laid off. Reina, she called me to pick her up. She never does that. When we got home, she told me she threw up at the office and had a panic attack afterward.”
“And you think this is all happening because her meds aren’t working,” Reina supplies.
“I don’t fucking know,” I exasperate, pushing my fingers roughly through my hair. “I don’t think it’s the fucking flu that’s for sure and with everything going on with Jack, I got worried—”
“Blackie, Lacey isn’t Jack,” she interjects softly. “Just because his meds are failing doesn’t mean hers are. It doesn’t mean they ever will.”
Dropping my hands to my sides, I stare at her. I suppose she’s right. Lacey doesn’t compare me to every addict she comes in contact with. It’s wrong to assume she’s going to end up like her old man. Still, it’s always the first thought that runs through my mind when something like this happens and I don’t know how to turn that off. I don’t know how to look at her and not see every fight Jack’s ever fought. I don’t know how to be anything other than what I am and before I was ever Lacey’s husband, I was the man who stood in front, behind and on the side of her father. All his battles became mine. My first instinct will always be to stand between her and her mind.
“I’m not a doctor,” Reina continues. “But I agree with you…she doesn’t have the flu.”
Before I can ask her what she thinks I should do, she turns and grabs her purse. Reaching inside, she pulls out a CVS bag.
“Heads up,” she warns before flinging the bag at me.
Catching the bag against my chest, I keep my eyes on her as she stands from the couch and shrugs her jacket on.
“Wait. What’s this? Where are you going?”
“I’m going home,” she says, slinging her purse over her shoulder. “And that…” she pauses, turning to face me. She points to the bag in my hand. “That’s a pregnancy test.”
I don’t know why that makes my palms sweat or my heart hammer inside my chest. I also don’t know why I didn’t think Lacey might be pregnant. Maybe it’s because we’ve only been trying for a couple of weeks and I assumed it would take a lot longer…you know like at least a couple of months.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” Reina chastises.
I’m not sure how I’m looking at her.
I can’t feel my fucking face.
“She might be depressed over losing her job, but everything else…the exhaustion and the vomiting…well, those are signs of pregnancy, Blackie. Do you know when her last period was?”
“Am I supposed to know that?” I volley.
She rolls her eyes before turning for the door.
“Have her take the test when she wakes up.”
“Wait!” I call as she pulls open the door. “What if she’s pregnant?”
Stopping in her tracks, she turns her head.
“What do you mean?”
Reina stares at me expectantly as my fist closes around the bag and a million questions race through my mind. My voice gets lost as I get swept away by a sea of emotions.
“If she’s pregnant, you take a day to enjoy that. Forget everything else—the club, her losing her job, forget everything and just enjoy it. We don’t get too many blessings, Blackie, and a baby is the biggest one of all,” she says as she reaches for the door. “Besides, life is too short to worry about all the things that might go wrong.”
Before she steps out into the night, she gives me one last look. The corners of her mouth lift as she stares at me thoughtfully. I don’t get to ask her what’s got her smiling because she quickly turns and walks out the door, leaving me alone with a pregnancy test in my hand. Pulling it out of the bag, I look down at the box. My eyes scan over the directions and I draw in a deep breath before shoving the box into my back pocket. Combing my fingers through my hair, I divert my eyes to the stairs. For the most accurate reading, it recommends taking the test first thing in the morning, but I’m not sure I can wait until then. Fuck that, I know I can’t wait. If Lacey is pregnant…
God.
“Pregnant,” I say out loud, my tone disbelieving. Without thinking twice, I take to the stairs, climbing them two at a time until I reach the top. Entering our bedroom, I find Lacey sound asleep on her side, wearing a pair of my boxer shorts and a fitted tank top. Her toned legs are twisted around the sheets and her wavy hair hangs over her shoulder. She looks so peaceful…so fucking content. You would never know she’s been struggling most of the day. In this moment, she’s just Lace and me, I’m the moth drawn to her fucking flame. Tossing the pregnancy test onto the nightstand, I reach behind me and pull my shirt over my head. Flinging it onto the chair in the corner, I unbuckle my jeans next and slide them down my legs. Stepping out of them, I peel the sheet away from my side of the bed and slide in next to Lacey.
Rolling onto my side, I gather her hair away from her shoulder and bend my head. My open mouth finds the spot right behind her ear. I know I should let her rest, that the times when she’s at peace are few and far between, but there’s no stopping me once my tongue tastes her skin. Releasing her hair, I loop my finger under the strap of her tank top and push it down her shoulder, revealing more of her creamy skin to my hungry mouth.
I suck, lick and tease her with my teeth until she stirs in my arms. My fingers slide down her arm, landing on her hip. I pull her closer and slide my hand under the hem of her top as a soft mewl sounds from her lips. Instead of letting my hand travel up her body to her tits that are no doubt waiting for my touch, I let my fingertips graze over her stomach. The idea of her pregnant stirs something inside me and I growl, sucking her sweet skin between my teeth. It’s ridiculous really. No mark I leave on her body will match the one I may have planted inside her.