Chapter 12
“What do you think?” I ask Rocky for the twenty-third time about the way the living room looks.
“I like it!” he expresses with the biggest smile on his face.
We’ve moved the couch and loveseat so much I’m pretty sure this is the exact layout that we started with.
This is the final room to finish before we tell him in two days that he’s moving in here.
Hawk is coming over later tonight to install all the surveillance cameras and set up all the monitors in one of the spare bedrooms.
I’ve got everything but my essentials packed up and sitting in a bag in the master closet.
Tomorrow I’m planning for Beckett and me to have a nice dinner here and to tell him that I’d love to move in with him and Zane, if they’ll still have me.
I also plan to tell him how I feel about him.
I’ve wanted to tell him for the last week, but I’m hoping that over dinner I can say the words.
I’ve never felt this way about another person before, and at times it feels like my heart could beat right out of my chest when he’s around.
It’s the small things that I started to notice that he does for me.
“Your house looks great, Sutton,” Rocky says as we both plop down on the sofa.
I’m exhausted and it’s only noon. Lately I’ve been sleeping through my alarm and only waking to a very energetic three-year-old storming into the house through the back door and jumping in bed to come over and help make breakfast before he heads off to preschool.
“Wish I could move in here with you,” he comments.
“Think Mom will let me have a sleepover? Specially since I helped you with all the work?”
“I think that can be arranged,” I tell him and try to hold in my excitement of what is going to happen soon for him. I really hope he’s able to live here on his own. He’s got family and friends so close to him to make sure he’s safe.
“We can stay up alllllll night and watch movies and eat spaghetti,” he says, and it makes me giggle. I have a feeling that Zane, Beckett, and I are going to be over here a lot hanging out with Rocky.
“I’m too old to be up all night,” I tell him as I stretch out my sore muscles.
“Su-tton…” he draws out my name in a playful-annoyance voice. “You’re younger than me.”
We both laugh as his phone starts to ring.
“It’s my dad,” he says then swipes across the screen. “Hi… ugh huh…” He pulls the from his ear and looks over at me. “Are we finished here?”
“Yeah, I think the house is complete and perfect,” I say.
Rocky holds the phone back up to his ear.
“She says yes…okay…okay bye.” Rocky touches the end call button. “Dad’s here to get me. Said us men need to go get Mom a surprise.”
“That sounds like fun. Is it her birthday?” I ask as I go to stand. The room spins slightly, but I recover after a few breaths.
“No, we just love her,” he informs me.
“Then that’s the perfect reason for a surprise,” I say. “Y’all have fun, I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay, bye best friend! Love you!” Rocky calls out as he grabs his things by the front door.
“Bye, best friend! Love you too!” I say as he opens the door and ducks out. I walk over and secure the lock on the door.
I catch my reflection in the mirror on the wall and cringe.
I’m looking rough today. After snagging a bottle of water from the fridge, I walk to the master bathroom and start the shower.
I’m hoping it’ll give me an energy boost that I so desperately need.
The hot liquid feels so good as I stand there under the spray soaking up all the water until it starts to turn lukewarm.
Stepping out of the shower, the steam fills the room and fogs the mirrors.
I dry my body with my towel and scrunch up my hair with it to catch all the drops from hitting the tiled floor.
Swiping a palm over the glass, I see my naked self in the reflection.
My body is different since I left Colombia.
I’ve put on some weight now that I get to eat regularly.
I turn to the side and notice that my stomach is getting rounder.
My hand falls to it. Beckett hasn’t mentioned the change in my body, but I wonder if he’s noticed it.
The pooch in my lower abdomen is firm and not squishy.
My eyes travel upwards and I see that my breasts are much larger than they were months ago.
In the back of my mind I know I’m pregnant.
At first panic settled into my chest weighing heavy with each breath.
I didn’t have the best upbringing after my mother was shipped off, and I worry that it will influence me on how I want to raise a child.
But the more calm breaths I took the more visions of how Beckett is with Zane and how close we are calmed me.
Our little family is perfect, and this little one will be brought up in so much love that my past will never touch them.
I put on my clothes and after drying my hair, I decide to call Raegan.
I need to talk with someone and since she’s just down a few houses working from home, I can always count on her to give me a clear minded solution.
If I were to call Ivy about what I think is happening to my body, she’d have the entire state marching in the downtown square before the sun goes down.
“Hey girl, what’s going on?” Raegan says after it rings twice.
“I-I need to talk with you. Can I sneak down to your house for a bit?” I ask and know that she can hear the panic through the phone even though I do my best to stay as calm as possible.
“Of course, I’ll unlock the front door, so just come on in.”
“Thanks, Raegan.”
I end the call and grab the Dead Road MC black hoodie by the front door.
If I ever need to leave out the front, pulling up the hood to cover my face is the best shot at not being seen.
Beckett says that they almost have The Fellowship neutralized, and I’ll be able to come out of hiding soon.
I’ll be so glad when it’s over. Rocky has been such a great help keeping me busy with the house makeover, but we’re finished with all the projects and I’ll soon be back to staring at the walls as the days go by couped up in the house.
The moment I step out into the Texas heat, I can feel myself start to sweat.
It’s fall but Texas really only has two seasons instead of four: hot and freezing.
I check the street towards the cul-de-sac where Allison and Blaze live and then back up the other way where Stone and Raegan’s house is.
Taking off in a jog, I move swiftly up the sidewalk and across the street.
Three houses down and I’m pushing the front door open.
“Raegan!” I call out and stay by the door. The last thing I want is to walk in on her and Stone doing the dirty and my eyes witness it.
“Back in the office,” I hear her call out.
My feet start to move past the living room and down the side hallway to the first door on the left. At the doorway, I can see a wall of screens and a half circle desk in the middle of the room with Raegan at the helm.
“Hey,” she says once she lifts her head from the double screened monitor on her massive desk. “I think I might have some good news about your mom,” she says, standing up and coming over to give me a hug.
“Really?” I ask in disbelief.
“I think so, but I don’t want to say too much before I know for sure. The Fellowship has been very sneaky with their communication and any trace of breadcrumbs that they leave in their wake.”
“But you think you might know?”
“Not sure yet, but it’s the best lead I’ve gotten so far.
I sent over the finding to Hawk so that maybe he might see something I’m missing.
It’s still going to take some time to find her exact location, but after learning that they have dozens of Fellowship groups, I think I’ve narrowed it down to a handful. ”
“Oh Raegan, thank you so much,” I say tearing up. I do that a lot lately.
“Of course, Sutton, I’ll help you anyway I can. Is that why you needed to see me?”
I shake my head. “I think I’m pregnant but didn’t want to ask Martha to pick up a test at the store. She’d probably be so excited and blab to Beckett before I know for sure.”
Raegan sucks in a breath and gets the biggest smile on her face.
“Want to know a secret?”
“Yeah?”
“Stone and I are pregnant…” she starts squealing.
“I just got off the phone with Mom, and she’s coming over in a little bit to take some blood to make sure.
I’ve taken seven home tests and all came back positive.
” She started calling Stone’s mother, Melissa, Mom recently and from what I can tell Melissa is beyond thrilled about it.
“Oh, Raegan, I’m so happy for you and Stone,” I gush, and we embrace sharing this special moment. “How has Stone taken the news?”
“He doesn’t know yet.” She shakes her head. “After being shot in the stomach, we were worried that it might not be in the cards for us, but I think it’s going to happen.” She holds me at arm’s length. “Oh my God, we could have babies at the same time!”
“This is so crazy,” I say as this moment seems surreal. “But we don’t know yet if I’m truly pregnant or I’ve caught a bug from Zane.”
“Do you need to pee? I’ve got, like five more tests that I haven’t used yet,” she offers and snags my hand, walking me down the hall and across the house to the master bedroom and bathroom. “Here, let me get you a cup.”
“A cup?”
“Pee in the cup and then we’ll dip the sticks in the cup,” she tells me like this is common sense. “I’ll wait in the bedroom, and once you’re finished, we can dip then wait together. I’m gonna call Mom and let her know about doing a blood test for you as well.”
“Okay,” I say and carry the cup to the closed off toilet.
After I finish filling the cup, I set it down on some tissues on the counter and wash my hands. The door to the bedroom opens and Raegan bounds in.
“Mom says that she’ll be here in ten minutes. Let’s dip the sticks.”
Raegan opens the undercounter door and reaches in the far back of the cabinet, pulling out several rectangular boxes.
“So what makes you think you’re pregnant?”
“It’s weird but smells that I once loved are making me nauseous.
Every time I smell coffee it sets me off, and my stomach has a bump.
I thought that it was just a food belly or being bloated, but it never goes away.
I know that I’m eating more so it just might be weight gain, but I don’t know.
I saw a show with a pregnant girl who showed the same symptoms as I’m having. ”
“You never know,” Raegan shrugs, and we get to work opening the packages and dipping the sticks in the pee cup. “Now we wait three minutes.”
We stand next to the counter, and it seems like every second takes a year. My foot taps and I put my back to counter.
“Whoa, that didn’t take long at all,” Raegan says with a shocked gasp. “Look.”
I turn and see four out of the five results already showing, and I can’t take my eyes off the words on the indented stick.
Pregnant.
“Oh my gosh,” I say in a whisper.
“Those results come back within a minute, Sutton,” Raegan states.
“What am I going to do?” I ask in the mirror staring at myself.
“Ivy is going to feel so left out,” Raegan says, and it brings me out of my daze. We both look at each other then burst into laughter.
“Knock, knock!” we hear from the bedroom. “It’s just Mom.” Melissa comes in with a black leather bag and smiles at us. “How are my girls doing today?”
“We’re great!” Raegan says giving her a hug, and I follow suit.
“So tell me what’s going on,” she jumps right in asking us questions.
“It looks like our men knocked us up,” Raegan coyly says.
“Babies are such a blessing,” Melissa gushes.
“Here are the results of the tests. Sutton’s tests came back under a minute,” Raegan tells her and points her over to where all the tests are lined up.
“That quick?” Melissa asks. “You might be farther along than just a few weeks if the results came back that fast, but once I draw some blood and take it back to the lab to look at then we’ll know more, honey.” She gives my upper arm a squeeze of assurance.
Over the next few minutes, Melissa draws our blood and labels the tubes before putting them back in her bag.
We talk for a bit about what there is to expect, and she asks if we have any questions.
I show them my bump and how hard it’s starting to feel.
Raegan, in turn, pulls her pants down to compare and Melissa laughs as we both try to compare our stomachs.
“Okay, well, I’ll head back over to the hospital and drop these off.
We should hear back by the morning or the next day at the latest, and I’ll give you each a call or I can come by if that would be better,” Melissa says then turns to me.
“And no more painting or lifting heavy things until we know how far long you might be. Rocky tells me every night at dinner about the work y’all are doing.
I think he’s going to be so surprised in a few days. ”
After I agree, we walk her to the front door and watch her leave. Raegan’s phone buzzes and she answers.
“Hey… okay, see you soon,” she says then pockets the phone.
“Stone said he’s almost home and that Havoc is stopping by to pick something up before heading to his place.”
“Shoot, I need to get back before they know I left the house,” I say and give her a big hug.
“I can’t believe we’re going to be mamas together,” she beams.
“This day feels like a dream,” I say. “I’m afraid to lay my head down because it might not be real when I wake up.”
“Our best days are ahead of us,” she says smiling.
I open the screen door, pulling my hoodie up over my head, and look both ways up and down the street.
I take off in another jog down the sidewalk and back across the street to my house.
When I open the front door, I pull off the heavy hoodie and hang it back up on the hook.
Walking farther into the house, I notice a weird stench.
Melissa had said that I’d be super sensitive to certain smells, but this doesn’t smell normal.
I look around the room for the source but come up empty.
Heading to the kitchen I wonder if maybe I left something out that might’ve gone bad in the little time I was gone, but come up lacking.
As I’m about to head to the back rooms, I hear beeping, like a timer going off, by the back door.
“Rocky? Did you come over?” I call out. We don’t have any more projects to work on today, but maybe he finished getting Melissa’s surprise early and wanted to come over and hangout the rest of the day.
Curiosity has my feet walking in that direction, when I get close to the back door through the living room, the sound of the timer gets louder, but before I can see what is causing the beeping, a flash of heat takes over my body, and I watch in slow motion as I’m propelled forward.
I feel a burning sensation and then nothing.
Just darkness.