11. Theo
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THEO
I step up to the counter that runs along the back wall, with a small window to the kitchen, where they store the food.
One of the waitresses comes through the kitchen door with a plate in her hand.
“I’ll be right with you,” she tells me, and I smile at her as I sit on one of the stools to wait.
I pull up the text thread I have going with Collins.
I sent her a couple of texts today, and she has yet to get back to me at all.
I know I have to tread lightly with her.
I know this entire situation is probably a lot for her to deal with right now.
“What can I get for you?” the waitress asks me, and I look up from my phone.
“I’ll have two cheeseburgers with bacon, and then can I have fries and a side of onion rings?”
“Sure thing.” She turns to put the order ticket onto the counter at the window.
The bell over the door rings, and I look over, spotting the guy who worked with Collins the other day.
My eyes go straight over his shoulder as he holds open the door for the person behind him.
My heart speeds up, and I smile, but instead of Collins, someone else comes in.
They share a quick laugh as he walks up to the counter and nods at me.
“Hey,” I say to him, “you were the one who helped my cousin’s fiancée.”
“Sierra, right?” I nod. “How is she doing?”
“Going home tomorrow.” He smiles. “You switched partners.” I try not to make my interest too obvious.
“Yeah, Collins is sick today.” The minute he says the words, it feels like the blood has been drained from my body.
The back of my neck gets hot, and I lift my hand to cup it.
I don’t ask him another question because the waitress comes out and they place their order and go to sit in a booth to wait.
Both of them take out their phones, and I open my own.
Me:
Hey, are you okay?
I wait. It says it was delivered, but there’s no response.
Me:
Just ran into your partner, said you called in sick. I’m coming that way. I’ll pick up food.
I tap the phone, willing her to answer me, but nothing happens. The ding of the bell on the counter rings, and I see the brown takeout bag. I stand up as the waitress comes back to hand me the bag and give me my total. I pay and head to my truck.
As soon as I start it up, I dial her number and put it on speakerphone. My heart is thumping in my chest so hard and strong that I can hardly see straight. It rings four times before it goes to voicemail.
“Hi, you’ve reached Collins. Leave me a message.” I wait for the beep and then actually leave a message.
“Hey, I just picked up some burgers. I’m on my way over.
I just have to make a quick stop before I get there,” I tell her.
“If you get this before I get there, call me and let me know if you need anything.” I disconnect before heading to the pharmacy, not knowing what I’m going to get.
I don’t know what she’s sick with. I walk down aisle by aisle, grabbing random things and putting them in the basket.
I don’t even know if she can take half of these since she’s pregnant.
If I ask the pharmacist, five people would know I’m having a kid by the time I get to her house.
Grabbing some Gatorade and then some chips and a couple of snacks, I head to the cash register.
“Did you find everything you were looking for?” the lady asks me. I place the basket on the counter. “I guess so,” she jokes. “It looks like you have one of everything.” She starts to scan the items. “You know if you talk to the pharmacist, he can maybe guide you to a specific thing.”
“I’m good.” I tap my credit card when she tells me the total.
Once I pull out of the parking lot, I call her again. I expect her not to answer, but after the third ring, she picks up. “Hello.” Her voice is low.
“Collins,” I say her name as if it’s the only thing in my vocabulary. I don’t even know why I let out a sigh of relief from just hearing her fucking voice. “I—” I start as I pull up to a stop sign, and wait a second before moving ahead. “You’re sick.”
“I’m fine.” Her tone sounds like she’s tired and something else I can’t put my finger on. “I’m going to go back to bed.”
“Did you eat anything?”
“Um, no,” she admits. “I’m going to eat something now and then go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Not going to happen. I’ll be there in thirty minutes, maybe less. I have something for you to eat, and I got you a couple of things.”
She sighs. “I’m exhausted and I don’t have the energy to argue with you.”
“So stop arguing,” I retort. “See you soon.”
It takes me fourteen minutes to get to her house, and when I pull up, there is light coming from the inside.
I grab the bags and feel the second step pop up a bit on my way to the front door.
I make a mental note to fix it, then debate whether I should knock or just walk in.
Reluctantly, I rap on the door, put down the bags, and go back to get the groceries from the truck.
She pulls open the door and watches me walk back up the steps.
Her hair is wrapped in a towel, and I can see the droplets of water on her neck.
“Hi,” I say, walking past her. She takes a second to look outside before following me to the kitchen. “Don’t close the door, I’m not done.”
She stares at me with a confused look on her face.
I head back to the truck four more times.
Each time she watches from the doorway, wringing her hands nervously.
Her eyes dart around, as if she’s expecting someone to jump out.
When I finally finish emptying my truck, she searches the darkness one time before shutting the door and locking it as I start unpacking the groceries.
“Are you still not feeling good?”
“I’m feeling a bit better.” Her face is pale, and her eyes are a darker shade of gray than I’ve ever seen. “But I still don’t have the energy.” She looks out the kitchen window, then over my shoulder toward the door.
“What’s wrong?” I start emptying the next bag.
“Just regular pregnancy things,” she deflects. “What is all this?”
“Do me a favor, since I don’t know what regular pregnancy things are, just tell me what’s wrong.”
“I woke up and started throwing up,” she says softly, “and it didn’t stop for a while.” My breath hitches. “I’m fine now, I think. I took some electrolytes to help me not dehydrate.”
“Did you call the doctor?” I wonder if we should maybe go to the emergency room.
“I did, and I have to go and see them tomorrow.” She hesitates. “The appointment is at eight in the morning. It’s the earliest I could get, and it’ll give me a chance to relax before I have to go in for my shift.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven, and then we can go have breakfast before.”
“You don’t need to do that.” Her voice is soft.
“I got you a burger.” I point to the brown bag that now has grease stains forming at the base. “But now I don’t think you should eat it.”
“What’s in the red bag?”
“Oh.” I start digging through that bag. “I stopped by the pharmacy and got you a couple of things. But I don’t know if I have anything in here that will help with your vomiting.”
She frowns. “Did you tell anyone?” I shake my head. She holds on to the back of the chair as her head hangs.
“I just got all the things.”
“Good, that’s good.”
“Do you want to try to eat? You can sit, and I can maybe make you something. I went to the grocery store and picked up a couple of things for you.”
“A couple of things?” Her eyebrows go up. “I count about ten bags.”
“Okay, maybe more than a couple.” I laugh nervously.
This morning, when I opened her fridge to make her breakfast, I noticed it wasn’t as full as I thought it should be.
Her freezer was even more dire. Sure, she works a lot, but she should still have food in her fridge in case she wants to eat something.
“You bought me groceries,” she almost whispers, her eyes moving from one bag to the other.
“Just some fresh fruit and . . . a bit of pretty much everything really.” I shrug. “I mean, I also bought them for the baby,” I add, finding a bag of frozen veggies. “Do you want me to make you something? Or do you want to try and eat the burger?”
“I can try to eat,” she says.
A rustling sound comes from the side of the house. Her head whips to the window, and she moves over to close the small shades.
An uneasy feeling runs through me. She looks like she’s about to jump at any movement. She’s holding her hands to her side, but I can see they’re shaking as she walks back to the table. I know I should tread lightly, but my mouth has other plans. “Are you seeing someone?”
She stops mid-step. “What?” she asks, a confused look on her face.
“It’s just that”—I pull out a chair and sit down—“you’ve been looking outside since I got here, so I was wondering if you were seeing someone?”
She pulls out the opposite chair and sits down. “I’m not seeing anyone, Theo,” she replies softly. “Are you?”
“No,” I answer right away.
“I somehow . . .” she trails off as she reaches into the bag and pulls out a French fry. She hands me one of the burgers. “I somehow don’t believe that.”
My thumb taps the table. “I’ve never lied to you, Collins. Not once.” My eyes stare into hers. “And I’m not about to start now. I haven’t been in a relationship for the last year.”
“Not a man who wants to be tied down, then.”
“I didn’t say that.” I unwrap my burger. “I just said I haven’t had a relationship in a while.”
“I find that hard to believe.” She takes a small bite of her burger.
“Why aren’t you with anyone?”
She folds her arms on the table. “Because this is a very small town”—her voice is tight—“and everyone knows everyone.” I tilt my head to the side, not sure about what she is saying. “Not everyone wants their child to date someone from the wrong side of town.”
“The fuck?”
“With that being said, I don’t want the town to know about my pregnancy just yet.”
Something inside me squeezes, and I have so many fucking questions, but I know she’ll hold on to the information like Fort Knox. “We can keep it between us, for now,” I assure her, “but I’m going to want to tell my cousin.”
“I don’t know.”
I reach across the table and place my hand on top of hers. “I trust him with my life. And once you get to know him, you’ll see how trustworthy he is.”
She thinks about it for a second before she nods her head. “It’s good you have someone who will have your back like that.” The sadness in her voice makes me feel things I don’t think I’ve ever felt before. It’s pushing me out of my own comfort zone.
We eat the meal in silence and, once we finish, she helps put the groceries away. “You bought me so much food,” she remarks, shaking her head and trying to hide a yawn.
“I’ll get out of your hair so you can get some sleep. Can you do me a huge favor?”
“I think you are out of favors,” she jokes.
I must say, I really like this side of her. I got a glimpse of it when I fixed her tire, but I haven’t seen it since. I laugh and fold my arms over my chest.
“What is it?”
“Can you text me in the mornings, or when you get up and stuff? I just want to make sure you’re okay.” She looks down at her feet, blinking away tears. “When I found out you were sick, I sort of had a minor”—I hold my fingers together—“panic attack.”
She puts her hand flat on her stomach, and I ache to do the same.
“It doesn’t have to be a long text, just a ‘Woke up, feeling good’ kind of thing.”
She smiles, and the corners of her eyes crinkle. “Sort of the ‘I’m alive’?”
“Sort of.” I laugh. “So will you do it?”
“Yes.” She nods her head, and I nod.
I walk to the front door. When I open it, I turn to see her standing there. “Sweet dreams, Collins,” I say softly, my hand itching to reach up and cup her face before kissing her lips.
“Sweet dreams, Theo.” Her voice is sweet, and makes my cock stir in my pants.
“Lock up,” I urge, and pull the door closed behind me, wishing I wasn’t going home but staying with her.
By the time I pull into the driveway, I feel like I’ve been awake for twenty-four hours.
I’m so tired that my eyes feel like they have sand in them.
Boots heavy on the steps, I get in and head straight for the shower.
When I collapse in bed, the last thought I have is of her, wishing she were here so I could take better care of both of them.
I know I have to bide my time and earn her trust before she does that, so I’ll take my being able to escort her to the doctor as a win.