“Yeah. What’re we lookin’ at here?” The doctor shut the door behind him, and I straightened as Bruiser posed his question.
“Well, you have two broken knuckles and a fractured finger, so we’re going to put you in a brace. You should be fine in six to eight weeks as long as you avoid using your dominant hand as much as possible. Fortunately, you can get a topical pain relief cream that’ll help since it’s all localized pain. Are you her boyfriend?” Directing the question at Bruiser, the doctor mimicked his nod, and intelligent, brown eyes met mine. “You’re pregnant. I assume you’ll want to make an appointment with your OB/GYN to figure out exactly how far along you are and what steps to take next. If you don’t have one, I can recommend a few good doctors I know.”
“What?” The silence was deafening, not even my blood drummed in my ears, and an awkward, dry giggle escaped me. “No, I have an implant. I can’t be pregnant.”
Pointing to my arm dumbly, I frowned as confusion blurred my vision. Turning to Bruiser’s surprised expression, I looked back and forth between him and the doctor, who made an excuse and walked out, but I didn’t hear what he said even as his voice washed over me. Bruiser sat down heavily on the exam bed, propping his elbows on his knees to clench and release his fists.
“Um . . . Bruiser?” My voice trembled, and I bit my bottom lip to stop it shaking when Bruiser’s eyes flew to mine. They narrowed into slits, and I ducked my head into my knees. Rubbing my head absently with my uninjured hand, I tensed when Bruiser grabbed my wrist. Dragging me into his lap, his heart beat furiously against my cheek as he cradled my head in his large, warm palm.
“Are you okay with this, Nicole?” Bruiser’s grumble rocketed down my spine, and I looked up as graveness drew deep lines in his face. “I’m not gonna force you into this? I mean, presumably, you’re on birth control because you don’t want kids, so the fact that it failed . . .”
“Why are you asking it like it’s a question? I know you won’t. And yeah, I was on it because I didn’t wanna get pregnant because I wasn’t in a relationship I thought would last. But now I am, so it’s good. Right?” He gave me an uncomfortable grimace, and my chest tightened painfully. “Right?”
“If we do this, you’ll need to take it easy for a while, and I’m serious.” Bruiser’s mumble was a death knell in my ears, and he stroked my cheek tenderly with his thumb. I barely felt it or his breath rolling down my nose or his muscles writhing from the tension. “You haven’t even been on my bike yet. I think we’re going backward, here, Nicole.”
“Th-then . . . I will. I won’t give up my craft, but I can . . . I can be a mother and still be an artist. My goal was always to live easy and do my art. That meant making money. But I’m not by myself anymore. As much as I want to be painting all the time, when this baby gets here, I know I need to take a step back, so please, Bruiser, let me paint as much as I can before our lives change, and I know . . .” I grab his hand with my uninjured one to squeeze, closing my eyes as the shock threatened to shut down my mind. “I know you were gonna be all like ‘come live with me rent-free and all you gotta do is bang on a regular basis’.”
“Shut the fuck up, I would not.” Bruiser’s smile shone in his voice, and he sighed gravelly and heavy against my crown. “Okay, so, what about your sister and your parents? And that guy, Sam, seemed cool. Nice enough to drive to your place and tell me she was gonna confront you with ‘evidence’.”
“I don’t know when I’ll tell my parents. They’ll wanna come back and stuff. I don’t wanna deal with that. They were literally just at the wedding, which I know they didn’t have a lot of money for. I may just wait. And that’s not even considering they come back on their own because who even knows what Jackie told them in the last few hours.” Bruiser was so warm and strong, I urged his arms around me and settled against his chest. “I’m tired.”
“A lot happened today. You deserve a nap.” Stroking my hair, Bruiser tensed beneath me when his phone vibrated in his pocket. I groaned when he jostled to fish the device out, and he grunted lowly. “It’s Cole. Parker just woke up.”
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