Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Irocked Gray carefully, humming in his ear long past the time he’d fallen asleep. I couldn’t get over how much I loved feeling his little chest rise and fall against mine.
I could’ve lain there all day. No place to go.
Nothing to do. I could’ve lain still and held my child until he outgrew my arms. I glanced at the clock as a familiar dull ache grew in my lower stomach.
It was past the time for me to take my medicine, but Ben had been in the bathroom for quite a while.
I sat still, trying to think of something else.
He’d be out soon. I could wait. When a second wave of achiness came on a few minutes later, I winced, shifting my weight carefully.
I lifted Gray away from me and laid him down, careful to keep his face away from the back of the couch.
I patted his tummy as he tightened his arms and legs, aware of my absence, but quickly calmed down.
I grasped my own stomach as I moved to stand, putting pressure on my scar to keep the pain at bay. I moved slowly across the apartment, every move met with a bolt of pain. When I reached the counter, I picked up the bottle and twisted it open, taking my pill without water.
I couldn’t hear the shower still running from the bathroom.
What is he up to? “Ben?” I whisper-yelled, praying I wouldn’t need to walk that far.
The nurses had told me not to miss a dose; it was harder to get back out of pain once you were in it, and better to stay on top of it.
Until that moment, we’d been incredibly diligent with my regimen.
When he didn’t answer, I sucked in a shallow breath and pushed off from the counter, easing my way down the hall, my hands on both sides to keep me from falling.
I made it to the bedroom door and pushed it open carefully. His back was to the door, already fully dressed, though his hair was wet.
“Aww, well, thank you,” he said, both hands cradling the phone.
I stepped in further, my brows drawn down. He spun in a circle slowly, pacing the floor, and when his eyes met mine, his expression grew serious.
“Hey, listen, I’ve got to go,” he said, lowering his phone without warning.
“Who were you talking to?” I asked, my voice powerless. The look on his face—the shame, the denial, it was all too familiar.
“Sorry. Just Jason, from the hardware store. He called to wish us congratulations.”
“Why were you hiding out in here?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.
He shoved the phone into his pocket with a scoff. “I wasn’t hiding out. I didn’t want to wake Gray. Was I being too loud?”
I shook my head. “No, I was just worried about you. I couldn’t hear the shower anymore.”
He grabbed a comb from the top of his dresser and ran it through his hair. “You shouldn’t be worried about me, sweetheart. You should be on the couch, resting.” He placed the comb back down and slid an arm under mine. “Let me help you. It should be about time for your medicine, isn’t it?”
I winced as he pulled us forward, then he realized he was moving too fast and slowed down. “Sorry.”
“I already took it,” I told him, not bothering to mention it was late.
“I’m sorry it took me so long,” he said, helping me to sit down once we arrived at the couch. “Do you want some lunch?”
I nodded halfheartedly, my mind still on the phone call. “I didn’t know you and Jason were close.” He pulled the table closer to me so I could prop up my swollen feet and walked into the kitchen, glancing back.
“Huh? Oh, we’re not. I think he was hoping I’d say I was coming back to work, honestly. They’re short-staffed. I didn’t take the bait.” He didn’t look me in the eye as he said it—too busy digging through drawers—and eventually pulled out the cutting board.
“Well, it was nice of him to call, anyway.”
“Mhm,” he said, opening the fridge. I couldn’t help wondering what he was hiding and whether or not I was overreacting.
Ben had never been one to hide things from me.
He knew about my history with Nate, but now I had the inclination that he was hiding his phone calls, and though I tried to brush it off, the tiniest voice in my head was screaming the loudest.
Something is not right.