Before I can speak, Lucas does. “She won’t be doing anything.” He cuts his eyes to me. “I tried to tell her to wait in the car.”
Dr. Kelly shakes his head. “You need to listen to him from now on. Next time this happens, you might not be so lucky.” Small black-and-white pictures print from a slot on the machine, showing me the little human inside of me.
I nod again and lower my head, completely ashamed. The thought of losing the baby almost killed me, but what I have I done to prevent it? I’m still trying to stand my ground, hold my place as queen, all while putting my child’s life on the back burner. How fucking selfish.
“I’ll stay on bed rest” is all I manage to get out without chastising myself.
Dr. Kelly nods, then pulls a syringe from his bag. “Good.” After he sticks it into my hip and injects the medicine, he removes it and puts the cap back on, then places it back in his back. “The medicine shouldn’t affect you in anyway, but I’m only a phone call away.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Lucas mumbles as Dr. Kelly walks out, dragging the machine behind him.
When the door closes, his eyes shoot to mine. The hardness melts away when it’s just us, and the sweet, worried expression comes back. “That scared the fuck out of me,” he sighs.
“Me too,” I admit, trying to bottle all the wayward emotions back up.
He rubs his temples, then walks over to me and extends his hand. “Come on.”
I grab his hand and stand, letting him lead me into the bathroom. He turns the shower on and lets the water get warm, filling the room with steam. He pulls my shirt over my head slowly, then throws it to the floor with his clothes.
I go to step in, but he grabs my hips, stopping me. He drops to his knees in front of me and hugs my center. He lets his head rest on my stomach for a moment before lifting it again and placing a soft kiss right in the middle.
When he stands again, he frames my face with his hands and gets close, letting his breath fan across my lips. “I can’t lose either of you, Charlie.” My lip starts to quiver, so he runs his thumb along their seam. “We need to get out of here.”
I nod, finally agreeing. This town is no place for a baby, especially with the name and reputation we have. Maybe if Teddy were here things would be different, but he isn’t. Lucas is right—you can’t be a queen in a crumbled kingdom. You can’t be a queen without a king either.
“Let’s run away.”
His eyes flash with excitement, but he doesn’t voice it. He pushes me into the shower gently, then drops his towel and steps in behind me. Slowly he scrubs the blood from my face and in between my legs, then washes my hair. When the water runs clear, he gets out and grabs more towels from the pile on the counter. He wraps one around me, then one around himself.
When we make it back into the bedroom, he rips the sheets from the bed and grabs another set from the closet. He doesn’t bother with a top sheet once the fitted sheet is in place. “Lie down, baby.” He holds the corner of the blanket up as I crawl in. “I’m going to get you some water. Don’t move.”
I give him a soft nod.
“I’m serious. Doctor says bed rest, so let’s get that out of the way before we do anything else. I’ll update everyone and make sure you’re taken care of.”
As he turns to walk away, I call out the three words I’ve refused to say since Teddy. “Lucas!” He turns back to face me. “I love you.” The words come out weak, the complete opposite of how they make me feel.
He smiles. Genuinely smiles. “I love you too, baby.”
After I let everyone know Charlie is okay, I slip away to the gym. She needs rest, so I don’t want to bug her, but I’m still too worked up to be still.
I walk in and flip the light switch on the wall. The fluorescent lights hum to life, illuminating the shiny floor and all of the equipment. Walking straight to the punching bag, I waste no time. I dive my fists into it over and over. It’s better I get all of this out now or else it will just consume me again and we will have a repeat of tonight.
The face of Emil’s right hand flashes in and out of my mind. Over and over it’s him, then nothing. Then Teddy’s face starts to come to life. I’d like to think I’m over all of the shit he did considering he’s dead, but I’m not. He was someone I looked up to. Kind of like the father I never had, so to see him spiral out of control and turn into the very thing I hate the most fucking hurt.
Normally, I’m good at hiding my feelings, not letting them get the best of me, but I’ve been so on edge. I finally have a chance to have Charlie, and I’m so scared to fuck it up. She’s broken and hurt, all because of Teddy.
He always said love was a dangerous thing. That people would use what you love against you, and he was right. That’s the only reason why the shit tonight happened the way it did. Sure, I’ve always cared for Charlie in a way, but things are different now. I’m not sure when they changed or when things progressed, but they did. When I saw that guy hit her—in her stomach of all places—it made something in my head snap. I know Hale isn’t mine, and maybe sometimes I am jealous because of it, but that doesn’t change the fact I feel this animalistic
