by Vivian Wood
“Yeah.” The idea of proposing to Olivia, of being able to tell her how I feel without worrying that Grayson will flip out, surfaces in my mind again.
Mine. Olivia would be mine forever.
Carter puts his letter back in his envelope, pursing his lips as he looks around the room. “It’s going to take some time to adjust to the idea of having a brother.”
I nod. “Yeah. I… I’ll admit, when I found out, I didn't react as smoothly as you are.”
He squints, thinking. “Well… I’m pretty sure I haven’t really absorbed that info. But since I’m here… do you want some help packing?”
My lips tip up at the corners. “Sure.”
“Good.” He blows out a breath. “Where should I start?”
I smile again and shift the conversation onto a more neutral topic. But there, in the back of my head, the idea of proposing to Olivia is taking root and thriving.
There’s just one person standing in the way of that… and he is going to be coming back to pick me up soon.
38
Olivia
One.
Two.
Three.
Breathe.
My heart pounds.
Dr. Burke blinks owlishly at me from behind her enormous glasses as she draws my blood. “Almost done. Between this and the urine we got from you earlier, we’ll soon know what is wrong. Nobody should have such constant nosebleeds.”
I don’t answer. I just stare at the pink walls of the doctor’s office. I won’t faint. I refuse.
She finishes filling the last tube, then quickly pulls the needle from my arm. One piece of fluffy cotton and a Band-Aid later, she is all done.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asks kindly.
I shake my head, but my heart is making a racket in my ears. Having my blood drawn is the worst.
Dr. Burke smiles, patting my arm. “Just a few questions. Let’s see…” She looks through my chart. “Any genetic predispositions I should know about? Any family that had cancer or clotting disorders?”
I shake my head as my heart quiets. “No. Well… not that I know about. I don’t actually know who my father was…”
“Mmmhm,” Dr. Burke murmurs. “You listed Altavera in your medications, which is I think a progestin-only birth control. Have you taken it regularly?”
“Religiously,” I say with a little smile.
“Any medications that you didn’t list?”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
“Are you sexually active?” she asks, looking at the forms.
My cheeks turn pink. “Yes. Well… until this week, I was.”
That earns me a look from Dr. Burke, but thankfully she doesn’t press me.
“All right. I have to go check a couple of things, and then we can get started with the physical exam. If you would, just change into the gown there. I should only be a minute or two.”
The doctor smiles reassuringly and then steps out of the room, closing the door. I fumble with getting undressed and into the thin gown, already freezing my tail off as I sit on the exam table and wait.
When the doctor comes back, there is a knowing look on her face. “Olivia, we did a test for pregnancy, just to rule it out. It came back positive.”
My mouth falls open. A low buzzing sound starts in my ears. “What?” I practically shout. “No… no, that’s not possible.”
Dr. Burke smiles. “You just said that you’ve been sexually active, so… I’m afraid it is.”
My eyes immediately tear up. “No, I meant… I mean, I have taken my birth control every day without fail. I— I can't be pregnant!”
“Shanice dipped your urine twice. I’m absolutely sure.”
I burst into tears, burying my face behind my hands. My mind races.
Pregnant?
Me?
Oh god, how disappointed will Grayson be? He is going to freak out.
Then my shoulders stiffen. Grayson will flip, especially when he finds out who the father is. Because it can only be one person…
Aiden.
Oh my god.
I can't exactly tell Aiden, “Hey sorry we just broke up, by the way I’m having your baby.”
But the other options are… well, unthinkable. Either I just don’t tell anybody, which is only feasible until I start to show. And even then, what would people say if I just showed up with a newborn?
No.
Dr. Burke clears her throat. “I see that you are upset. If it makes you feel any better, the nose bleeds are likely a symptom of pregnancy. Some of the hormones make your blood vessels dilate…”
It doesn’t in fact make me feel any better. It just makes me sob. Dr. Burke sucks in a breath. “Would you like to talk about your options? Assuming that you’re not very far along, you will have plenty…”
I wipe at my eyes, shivering. “What do you mean?”
The doctor grabs a box of tissues and offers the whole box to me. I take it, pulling a tissue free and clutching at the corners of the box. Dabbing at my eyes, I feel a little more in control.
As long as I don’t actually think about… my condition…
That thought brings the tears back to my eyes.
“Well…. if you are keeping this baby, we need to get you started on prenatal vitamins… but if you aren’t, we can schedule a DNC here in our clinic.”
For the second time in as many minutes, I’m beyond startled. “Is that… are you talking about an abortion?”
“I’m just presenting all the options,” the doctor says, pushing her glasses up her nose. “I like my patients to be armed with the facts. For instance, there is also adoption—”
“It isn’t—” I cut in, my words echoing loudly in the little room. I catch myself, shaking my head. “No. I… I don’t need to know about my options. I just… just give me the prenatal vitamins, please.”
Dr. Burke smiles. “Very well then. I’m going to have Shanice come in here after I do my exam and see about getting you scheduled in with an OBGYN. You’re in luck, because we have some of the best doctors here, ready to take care of you. And I’ll still run your blood, just to make sure there is nothing that’s amiss. Okay?”
“Okay,” I agree softly, still gripping the box of tissues.
“Alright. Now how about you lie back on the exam table and let me check you over?”
Wincing as I lie down, I listen as Dr. Burke talks cheerfully about how she’s excited for the fall. But really, I’m a million miles away.
I’m thinking about how the hell I’m supposed to tell Aiden. And Grayson… he’s going to be so upset.
Don’t think about that right now, I tell myself. Just focus on what you can actually do right now.
Sighing silently, I let the doctor finish her exam and try not to think of what Aiden’s face will look like when I tell him that everything in his life is about to change.
39
Olivia
Grayson checks the time on his watch, sighing as he sits across from me at the table. We snagged a spot at a table that’s behind the mess hall; I can smell something good cooking, something… meaty.
Sausage, maybe? Either way, it is something that I normally am not interested in.
But the baby that’s growing inside me? It is very interested.
I blow out a breath, trying to grapple with the fact that there is an actual person growing inside me, even though I’m not anywhere near showing yet.
It’s ten in the morning here at Whiskey Bend, and the base camp is humming with activity. Grayson’s eyes are watching some point far behind me; Rachel is due to return from her hike with a group of women at any moment.
Which is why I need to stop screwing around and tell him that I’m pregnant. Then he can scream at me for a good while until he gets it out of his system. Then I can formulate how exactly I’m going to casually tell Aiden that I’m going to have his baby.
I suck in a deep breath, feeling a new wave of anxiety wash over me.
“Liv,”
Grayson says, snapping his fingers to get my attention. “Hey, earth to Olivia. What’s going on with you? You look like you’re about to fidget into an early grave.”
I look at him, biting the fullness of my bottom lip. “I have to tell you something.”
His brows hunch. “So tell me.”
“Well, you’re not going to like it.”
Now he looks seriously skeptical. “Spit it out, Liv.”
God, I wish I could meet his eyes. But as soon as I start speaking, my gaze slips downward. “I’m pregnant, Gray.”
I peek up at his face. He looks like someone just nailed him right between the eyes with a two by four. He shakes his head and chuckles.
“I’m sorry. I must’ve heard you wrong. Because I think that you said you’re fucking knocked up, which we both know can't be right.” His smile turns tight. “I did hear you wrong, didn't I?”
I suck in a breath, shaking my head. Already my eyes are misty. “No.”
Grayson slams his hands down on the table and shoots straight up. “Olivia Sellwood! What the fuck? Who is the fucking father?”
Wincing, I shake my head. “I haven’t told him yet. I think he has the right to hear the news from me first.”
Though how I’m going to tell Aiden, I don’t know. The fact that I basically begged Aiden to take my virginity and that led to this situation… well, that hasn’t escaped me at all.
Grayson glares are me. “It’s that guy Carter, isn’t it? I knew that guy was trouble when I saw he was at the same hospital as…” He goes still, his eyes pinning me in place. “Please tell me it’s not Aiden.”
My face crumbles. I’ve never been much of a liar, especially with Grayson. He takes one look at me crying and his face just hardens.
“That son of a bitch,” he says. “Motherfucking Aiden, Olivia? He’s the biggest player I know. He’s slept with everyone! And you… you should know better…” His fists clench. “Even so, he shouldn’t have ever touched you. He’s a dead man, Liv.”
I can see Grayson growing redder as he gets angrier. “Grayson,” I plead with him. “Will you look at me?” He does, his eyes slitted. He grits his teeth but says nothing. “I’m keeping it, Gray. But I will need a lot of help—”
“Fuck,” he interrupts, turning away and walking around for a second. “For fuck’s sake, Liv. What are you going to do with a kid? Huh?”
He’s only repeating the same worries that are already thundering around inside my head, but for some reason I collapse onto the table, sobbing. He’s totally right, but…
“The other options aren’t even worth considering,” I blubber. “Adoption… and abortion… those are options for people in much harder positions than the one I’m in.”
“Ah, fuck,” Grayson breathes. “Don’t cry, Olivia.”
He comes around and awkwardly pats my shoulder, which makes me sob harder.
Which makes it the most perfect moment for Aiden to come around the side of the mess hall. “Hey, Grayson—”
He stops still when he sees me sobbing. “What’s going on? Are you okay, Olive?”
Just the way he says my name makes me realize how miserable I am.
Grayson faces him, stabbing a finger in the direction of Aiden’s face. “You are a fucking dead man, Moreland.”
Aiden’s hands go up, his gaze sliding from Grayson back to me. “I think you want to let me explain—”
Grayson cracks his knuckles and runs at Aiden. There is a dull smack as they collide. Grayson is already swinging at Aiden, landing a solid punch to Aiden’s nose. Bone crunches and blood squirts everywhere. Aiden shakes his head, wiping his nose on his sleeve and then squaring up again.
“I knew it would come to blows,” he says, rolling his eyes. “I was going to talk to you—”
“Fuck you, you fucking traitor!” Grayson snarls. Taking another swing at Aiden. “The only rule I set out, you had to go and break.”
Aiden ducks, grappling with him again. “I’m sorry, man. Really I am.”
I suck in a breath. Aiden is sorry that he slept with me? Fresh tears roll down my face as I stand up from the table anxiously.
“Your apologies don’t mean shit,” Grayson fires back. He throws an elbow, catching Aiden in the face. Aiden grunts but doesn’t retaliate. He just wipes away the blood still streaming from his nose and squares up again.
Grayson grabs him and wrestles him to the ground, his expression intent on causing pain. For a minute, nothing is said; there are only groans and grunts as the two land blows to each other’s torsos. After receiving one particularly nasty punch to the gut, Grayson sucks in a breath.
“I’m never going to forgive you,” he swears. He knees Aiden, who is only able to block part of the blow. Aiden draws inward, gasping.
“Fuck, man!” he swears. Sweat gleams on his brow. He fends off Grayson’s blows with words. “Sleeping with Olivia was unintentional, but it went deep. We have a relationship.”
“Fuck you,” Grayson says, breathing hard and wiping away a little sweat from his cheek. “Don’t you fucking dare. I know how you treat women.”
Aiden manages to grab Grayson’s hands and pin him in place. His eyes scan Grayson’s face for a second.
“I love her. Do you hear me? I fucking love her, man.”
My heart stops.
Did he just say—
Surely not.
Grayson goes still for a heartbeat, then shakes off Aiden’s grip. “Let me go,” he says, disgusted. Then he climbs to his feet and turns toward me. Sucking in ragged breaths, he accuses me. “You are awfully quiet. Isn’t there something that you want to tell this piece of human garbage?”
I start crying again. “Grayson, don't.”
Aiden gets to his feet, looking between Grayson and me warily. “What?”
For a moment, Grayson actually looks gleeful. “She’s pregnant, you fucking idiot. Not only have you fucked my little sister, but she’s fucking knocked up. Isn’t that just great?”
Aiden freezes, his gaze pinning me. “Is he serious?”
I bite my bottom lip, trying not to sob, and nod my head slowly. He wipes the blood from his nose again, coming toward me slowly.
“You’re pregnant?” he asks.
Though I nod again, I can’t help but break down sobbing as he reaches me.
He’s going to tell me that he doesn’t want it.
Our baby.
He’s going to reject it. Reject me.
But Aiden doesn’t do any of that. Instead he reaches down and draws me close, pressing me into his body. Then he raises my chin with two fingers, quietly shushing me. I can barely look at him, I am so miserable.
He surprises me by leaning down to kiss my lips, then he steps back. I close my eyes.
This is it.
This is the moment that I will remember forever, the moment when he casts me aside.
“Olivia,” he says, his voice rough.
Fluttering my eyes open, I find him kneeling before me, holding a huge pink diamond ring. For a second I don't understand what is happening. My brow creases.
“Will you marry me, Olivia?” he asks.
I’m so startled that I let out a watery laugh. “What? No!”
It’s his turned to look shocked. “What?”
“No!” I say emphatically. “I love you, Aiden. And I think I want the pregnancy. But… marriage??” Shaking my head, I dash away my tears. “I’m sorry, but no. I thought that you were about to reject me. I definitely don't think we are ready for all that yet.”
He stares back at me, openmouthed.
“Olivia, are you fucking crazy?” Grayson asks, exasperated. “He’s willing to marry you, for god’s sake. You got yourself into this position… now you can only say yes.”
I look back at Aiden, who is scowling. “Would it make a difference if I just said… not now?”
Aiden shoots me a look as he climbs to his feet. “What do you mean?”
Stepping closer, I take his hand and look up
into his eyes. “I mean… let’s see if this is real. Let’s do what normal people do. Let’s… I don't know. Date. And leave the rest for… you know, the future.”
“Are you serious?” His eyes bore into me, trying to read my face.
I take a deep breath. “As serious as I can be.”
He puts the ring away in his pocket, then grabs me by the hips. He pulls me close again, kissing me fiercely. Grayson growls a little, but I ignore him, pressing up onto my tiptoes and twining my arms around his neck.
Against my lips, Aiden murmurs to me. “I fucking love you, Olivia.”
I can't help the smile that breaks across my face. “I love you too.”
He waits a beat. “I do want to marry you.”
I just kiss him again. There isn’t any need to rush into things. We rushed into bed together, and look at us now. Three months later, I’m pregnant.
Grayson clears his throat. “Do you guys mind? You’re turning my fucking stomach here.”
Blushing, I drop down to the flats of my feet. Aiden doesn’t let me go, though. He just looks at Grayson and shrugs.
“Deal with it.”
Rachel appears from out of nowhere, still sweaty from her exertions. She looks around at the three of us, her expression one of puzzlement. “What’d I miss?”
Grayson reaches out a hand to her and she takes it. “A lot. Aiden can't keep it in his pants and my sister can't accept a good thing when she sees it.”
Aiden clears his throat. “There’s also a lot you haven’t been in the loop on, Grayson.”
“Like what?” Grayson asks. “We already covered how you knocked up my sister, what more can there be?”
Aiden blows out a breath. “So much. I found out that my dad was not my biological dad. And while my biological dad has passed, I have a fucking brother, man.”
Grayson couldn’t look more surprised if he tried. “Here? Your brother is here?”
Aiden bobs his head. “Yeah, man. Looking at him is like looking in the mirror.”
“Huh.” That’s all Grayson has to say, which I am guessing means he’s as blown away as I was.
