“Thanks.” My shoulders sagged.
Even though Abby now knew the truth about vampires and witches, I really didn’t want to drag her into the middle of this mess. Besides, if she knew I was back home, she’d probably tell Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean, and how on earth was I supposed to explain that I’d returned from my honeymoon without my husband?
“I know now isn’t the best time, but some things happened while you were gone,” she said, her tone cautious.
“What kinds of things?” I asked hesitantly. Wasn’t losing my husband enough? What more was I expected to deal with?
“Well, for starters, Karina and Colt broke up,” she said.
My eyebrows shot up, and I blinked with disbelief. “Why? How? I mean, he claimed her. I thought that meant forever.”
“It’s complicated.” Whitney twisted her hands in front of her. “When he bit her, he made her and Dante believe he was claiming her, but he didn’t. That was never his true intention.”
I rubbed at my throbbing temples. “Why would he do that?”
“He was trying to protect her. He does care for her, but she’s not his soulmate. The night of your wedding, he told her the truth, and she was pretty upset. She took off, and no one’s seen her since.”
I groaned, which caused my head to ache even worse. “So, no one knows if she’s okay?”
Whitney frowned and shook her head.
“Great, so we have two missing people now?”
“Not exactly,” she said and stood. “She was very clear that she didn’t want Colt, or anyone else, coming after her.”
“Wonderful,” I said, my voice flat. “Is that all?”
“No, but I think you’ve had enough for now. Get up.” Whitney pried the pillow from my arms. She set it on the bed. “You need to shower, and then we need to figure out a way to rescue Trent.”
I sank onto the mattress. “I just want to lay here,” I mumbled.
“I know you do, but when Ivy kidnapped you, Trent didn’t mope around feeling sorry for himself. He spent every second of every day looking for you, and now you’re going to do the same for him.” Whitney yanked the blankets off me.
She was right. I couldn’t give up on Trent simply because I was too sad to get out of bed. I needed to help find him. I climbed out of bed, and the second my feet hit the floor, I swayed. Whitney was quick to steady me. I clutched her arm and took a few deep breaths until the dizziness passed.
“You okay?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Everything aches. My head won’t stop pounding, and I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
“You’ve probably got a concussion,” she said. “That lump on your head is pretty nasty.”
I’d almost forgotten about that, but now that she mentioned it, pain radiated from the lump. Ugh. I released Whitney, and when I was positive I could stand on my own without toppling over, I took a few steps.
“Can you shower on your own?” she asked, her expression serious.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, mortified at the thought of Whitney climbing in the shower to help me. “I’m fine.”
“Good. You get cleaned up, and I’m going to call Doctor Mattias to check you out.”
I froze. The tips of my ears burned, and my skin prickled. Trent and I were going to call Doctor Mattias when we got home to find out if… I swallowed the lump in my throat, and my hand instinctively went to my stomach.
What if I was already pregnant?
The bitter taste of bile filled my mouth, and I ran to the bathroom. There wasn’t anything left in my stomach, but that didn’t stop me from dry heaving for what felt like ages.
“Chloe? Are you okay?” Whitney asked through the closed door.
“Yeah. I’m fine, but I think you might be right about me having a concussion,” I said, my voice shaky.
Letting her and everyone else believe I was suffering from a concussion was better than telling them I might be pregnant. I needed their focus to be on finding Trent, not worrying about me.
“I called Doctor Mattias. She’ll be here in a couple hours,” Whitney said.
“Thanks.” I stood. “I’m gonna shower.”
I stripped out of my clothes and shoved them into the trash can—I never wanted to see that outfit again—and then I stepped into the shower, turning the water on as hot as I could stand it.
And then I cried. Again.
Trent and I had showered together the morning we left for our honeymoon. He’d stood behind me, kissing my neck and shoulders as his hands explored my body, and then he’d spun me around, lifted me off my feet, and…
“Stop it,” I scolded myself.
Spending every moment remembering the things Trent and I had done wasn’t helping. It only made the hole in my heart larger and made me miss him even more. I needed to focus on finding him. Nothing else mattered.
I scrubbed my body and washed my hair, and by the time I stepped out of the shower, I felt a little better. When I returned to my room, Whitney was gone, but she’d set clothes out on the bed for me.
I dressed, braided my hair, and then headed downstairs. Sean, Jax, Colt, Wyatt, Isach, and Whitney were in the living room. When I descended the last step, Jax glanced up, his gaze colliding with mine.
“So, what’s the plan?” I asked.
Isach embraced me in a hug. “I’m sorry, Chloe,” he whispered.
Hugging him back, I nodded. “Thanks,” I said.
“How’re you feeling?” Jax asked.
I shrugged. “I’m fine.”
Jax frowned.
Constantly being asked how I was doing or how I felt was much too reminiscent of being asked those same questions after Mom died. What was I supposed to say? That I was barely holding it together? That I was seconds away from shattering into a million pieces? That there was a hole in my chest that I couldn’t heal?
No one wanted to hear that—they wanted to know I was okay, so that’s what I’d
