Chapter 17 - Gina
I smiled and started down the ladder before turning and taking in the entire living room. It was light green, which looked good with the light wood throughout the house.
I felt proud. Finding the house was really coming along smoothly. The walls were put up, and now I could paint all the rooms. I had been planning out which colors I wanted, and I picked a shade of green to go through the entire main floor.
The kitchen was coming along rather well. The counters and cabinets were going to be put in soon. And the garden outside was starting to look like a garden rather than an overgrown mess. The flowers and shrubs I'd planted were thriving, and the space looked complete, which made me proud.
I chuckled, placing my brush into the paint bucket, when I heard the front door open. I turned and spotted Lucas as he came inside with some bags. His eyes took in the entryway, which I had painted first. Now that I had space upstairs, I moved my room up there while I painted the main floor.
His eyes flicked towards me, and he raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you were busy today. You said you were painting. I didn't realize you meant the entire main floor."
"I only did the living room and the entryway so far," I said, stepping off the ladder.
As his eyes landed on me, I thought back to the other night. His mouth, his hands, and the way his cock felt. It sent a shiver down my spine, and I suddenly found myself wanting more.
I'd dreamed about Lucas and me. I imagined we didn't have all these problems, that we were two normal people who were mated to each other, and that it would have been a nice relationship.
I quickly shook my head and smiled at him. "Do you like the color? I used green for both spaces since they flow together so smoothly. It's not too green, though, right?"
He nodded. "It's a nice shade." He then looked towards the dining room. "And that space?"
"I don't know yet." I had been undecided if I wanted green for the entire main floor. I looked at the mess in the dining room. There was paint, furniture, and random boxes all over. I made sure the only two spots where Lucas and I sat to eat were clear. Otherwise, the space was filled with storage and trash.
"How was work?" I asked, rubbing my hands over the overalls I was wearing and suddenly realizing I had paint all over me. I was going to need to shower, but not before food.
"It was fine," he said, walking towards the dining room. "Nothing much today."
"Oh, I got a call from the priest at the church. He said we could do it anytime on Saturday, so we just had to let him know when."
Lucas nodded his head, setting the bags on the dining table. He looked around, and then his eyes paused towards the kitchen. I moved, stepping into the dining room, and found what he was staring at. I blushed.
"You went shopping?" he asked, taking in all the plants I had purchased.
I blushed. The other day, I had been out, and they were having a sale on plants. And I couldn't resist.
"I have a bit of a plant obsession," I admitted.
He looked at me. "How much did you spend?"
"Only…" I was about to admit the total when I paused. "That's not important."
He looked back at the plants. "Is that for the entire house?"
I snorted, shaking my head. "God, no, that's for the living room and dining room."
His eyes widened. "You want to have that many plants in two rooms?"
"It brings life into a space, unlike your cold, empty apartment."
He scowled at me. "There is nothing wrong with my apartment."
I smirked. "You're honestly telling me that when people come over, they tell you it's inviting."
He smirked. "I don't have people over, and I like it that way. I like my solitude."
And yet, he had invited me into his home. He had willingly let me live there and hadn't complained when I disrupted his routine.
I couldn't even say he must have enjoyed me being gone because he had now stayed here with me. Every night, he stayed here. When he worked overnight, he called to check on me or asked Cayden to stop by and hang out for a while.
I didn't mind it, Cayden was nice, and while we didn't talk a lot, he was clearly someone I could trust. We could sit in silence, and it was fine.
"Well, this," I waved at my plants. "Makes me happy and gives an inviting aura."
"You have friends over?" he asked with a smirk, and a cold chill fell over me. And I knew he knew it, too, because he paused. I could see he instantly regretted his words.
I swallowed. "I want to. Once the house is together, I would like to."
If I were being honest, I couldn't say I had many, if any, friends. But I wanted some. I wanted people to come over and find me and my home a place they could trust, and plants made me feel that way.
"You will," he said. You could always ask Wendy and Ashley to come hang out. I know Laura would love to as well."
I knew of them, but I hardly knew them. I’d spoken with Ashley a handful of times. I’d seen Laura and Wendy from a glance, but I couldn’t say I knew what they really looked like. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they were my friends. They were people that Lucas had introduced me to and that I knew of.
I had people online that I spoke to, but I still wouldn’t count them as friends. They were just people I’d worked for, people who didn’t really know who I was, and I liked it that way.
I shrugged, suddenly tired of the conversation and thinking about how pathetic my life must seem to him. "What did you bring?" I asked instead, turning towards the bags.
He opened the bags and pulled out small containers. "Chinese, you pretty much devoured everything last time we had this. So, I figured we could have it again."
I smiled as he unboxed everything, and the smell filled the space. But suddenly, my stomach cramped up, and I felt bile build at the base of my throat.
I choked, pulling a hand up and covering my mouth, taking a step back. But the bile moved, and I turned, running for it. I hurried into the kitchen and towards the small half-bathroom. I threw the door open, barely making it to the toilet before I felt my entire stomach converse, forcing up my small banana and water from twenty minutes ago.
My entire body shook, and I clamped hard onto the toilet. I rested my forehead against the seat and took a deep breath in.
"Gina?" Lucas called from the dining room, and I could hear him coming into the kitchen. I slid my foot back, softly kicking the door shut. I closed my eyes. "Just a second…I…"
I thought of what I'd eaten and what I'd done the past few days, suddenly questioning if I caught a bug. But everything was normal. I'd done some work here and spent time with Lucas. Even the guys that came to work on the house were fine. So, it's unlikely I caught anything.
I didn’t feel hot. I placed a hand on my forehead to be sure, but it felt normal. I looked at my skin, thinking I didn’t look flushed.
I went over my meals, suddenly questioning if I had eaten something that had been sitting out too long, but I knew I hadn't. I'd finished every meal that came into this house because I was only eating two full meals a day and snacking. Even the snacks were basic things: crackers, granola, and fruit—nothing that could make me sick.
My stomach settled, but the thought of eating Chinese, the thought of the smell, made me want to hurl again. I covered my mouth, counting, trying to focus on my breathing rather than the curling that was in my stomach.
I leaned back and reached for the rag I had set on the side of the sink. I pulled, and as it came down, it fell onto the small travel bag I'd been using. I hadn't unboxed everything, and a small part of me was still worried that this lie would come to the surface and that I would have to leave this home.
I was decorating and imagining it, but I wasn't unboxing. I couldn't unbox things yet. I was still living out of bags in case I had to leave.
My bag tipped over, and I stared into it, wiping my mouth as my eyes took in the contents. Toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, tampons, my….
My hands reached out, grabbing my box of tampons, and my entire body tensed up. I blinked. I bought it when I left for here and haven't opened it yet. My stomach flipped as I realized my period was late.
I took a slow, unsettling breath in and started to count backward. Maybe I was just a few days late, but horror grabbed me. I'd been so focused and busy in my head that I'd missed a period entirely.
I thought of two weeks ago, knowing that wasn't the cause, and then my body froze, knowing it had to have been the first time with Lucas. We hadn’t used a condom; everything had happened too fast. I don’t think either of us even thought about it. I ran a hand over my hair, shaking my head. But he'd pulled out.
Jesus, I sound like a teenager. We all knew the pull-out method was not safe. Only an idiot would think that was safe sex.
I rubbed my palms into my eyes. I should have known. I should have picked up something from the store. I shouldn't have just….
Tears built up, and I felt panic creep over me. This couldn't be seriously happening to me. I couldn't be pregnant….could I? This was terrible timing. Utterly shit timing.
"Gina, if you don't come out, I'm going to come in," Lucas spoke in his neutral, normal voice, but I could tell he was worried.
"Just…let me brush my teeth, and I'll be out in a second."
I pulled myself up, grabbed everything, and slowly brushed my teeth, mulling everything over. I'd missed a period. I had indeed missed one.
I set my toothbrush down and headed out, finding Lucas leaning against the door frame. His eyes snapped up to me instantly, and he frowned. "You got a bug?"
I swallowed, shaking my head. There was no point in lying to him since it had been him. There was no one else whose child it could be.
"My period is late," I said softer, finding it hard to find my voice.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Well, that happens sometimes, I’m sure. I wouldn't be too concerned about it."
My period was always on time. Every 30 days like clockwork work this….I knew this. I knew my body.
I shook my head. "Not mine." I swallowed. "I've not just missed. My period has stopped."
Lucas froze, seeming to understand what I was saying. I could see the way his eyes were counting back, knowing what I was referring to. His face remained neutral, and he simply nodded, "I see."
I looked away towards the woods. I suddenly wished I could run into them and never look back. This was terrible timing if I was. And such a stupid mistake on my part.
"Gina, you don't know for sure. Until you take a test…"
I glanced at him, seeing a little hope in his eyes. I'm sure he was hoping I was wrong. After all, he wouldn't want to be stuck with me. We agreed to a fake marriage, but a baby…a baby was real. A baby meant he was stuck with me forever. He would be tethered to me for life.
"I can get a test tomorrow."
He simply nodded. "And you're sure? You've never missed a period before….stress can do that. Can’t say you haven’t been stressed."
I shook my head. Even with all the stress in my life and all the pain I was forced to live in. I never missed it. Not once. My body was like clockwork.
"No," I said. "My body may be small and fragile, but it's never failed me." Until now. It had failed me by getting pregnant.
I couldn't look at Lucas as I questioned my life decisions. Why hadn't I picked up plan B? Why didn't I think about the aftermath that comes with unsafe sex?
The space between us fell silent, and it seemed neither of us knew what to say. What could we say? This changed everything.