Chapter 10
Lexi
One week. I allowed myself one week to freak out about this. And in that week, I’ve decided a few things.
After I sobbed my eyes out, I had an existential crisis before I decided to go down the rabbit hole that is the internet. Bad idea.
I’m not telling my sister about my pregnancy just yet. I’ve done a lot of reading online, and for everyone's mental health, saying anything before the twelve-week mark could end in heartbreak.
That leaves me with the dilemma of telling Emmett. What if I tell him about the baby, and he’s over the moon, but then something happens, and I lose it? It would crush him. It’s a pain I would never want him to have. He’s already been through so much in his life, I don’t want to add to that.
I read some articles that say that after being on suppressants for as long as I was, it could affect pregnancies and make them high risk. What if that’s the case with me?
These are things I should be asking my doctor, but I’m too scared to know the truth.
So, I’m going to stay blissfully ignorant.
I’m going to keep this to myself until I’m mentally able to have the conversation with Emmett.
He’s going to be back in a few days, and I need to get myself under control before he notices something is wrong. He’s very in tune with my emotions, and in this situation, it’s the downside of being practically attached at the hip for years.
He came home for the weekend, and he noticed something was up. I lied and told him I came down with the flu.
It broke me that I lied because he took such good care of me, making sure I rested and even made me some homemade chicken soup.
I cried after he left, wanting to call him up and beg him to come back. But he told me that with everyone banding together, the repairs to the town were going by a lot quicker, so he’s just staying a few more days. He’ll do as much as he can, and then come back for good.
Since we got together, he’s pretty much moved in with me. He’s hardly at his place anymore. I’ve gotten used to having someone in bed with me. Without him there, I haven’t gotten much sleep.
He’s been checking in on me, and I tell him I’m fine, but I’m not. I’m a mess. A big fucking mess.
Part of me is screaming that I’m overreacting, that it’s not a big deal. So what? I’m pregnant. It’s a good thing, a thing to be celebrated. That much, Emmett deserves to know.
I know all of this, and I agree with all of this. But still, my mind and trauma want to drag me under.
I’m at the bakery, picking up my apparent pregnancy craving, maple-filled donuts.
How is it that the only thing I seem to be able to stomach is junk food?
Okay, that's a lie, Emmett’s soup hit the spot, too.
Thankfully, there's a big container in the fridge with leftovers. Everything else makes me nauseous.
I’m going to have to deal with that sooner rather than later because I know it’s not good for me or the baby to be eating like this.
The baby. Holy fuck, I still can’t believe there’s a tiny little life growing inside me.
This time, I don’t start to panic at the thought of the baby, but smile, my hand instinctively reaching for my stomach.
“Have you seen them?” a lady in line in front of me asks the woman she’s here with.
My nosy ass pretends to play on my phone while I listen in. Hey, it’s my town! I just want to make sure everything is going good, okay?
“Oh, I’ve seen them. Saw one of them at the pizza place, and a few of them were at Club 21 the other night too.”
Club 21? Wait, are they talking about the Alphas that were causing trouble, and Emmett had to kick them out?
I called off work for the night, but Emmett went in for his shift because he felt bad for missing so much work lately. Not that he should, Colton is a good bouncer. Not as good as Emmett, but maybe I’m biased.
“What do you think they want? I tried asking Syrus, but he said not to worry about it,” she huffs.
Peeking up, I see that the two women in front of me are Cindy and Gale, two of the town gossips. It doesn’t surprise me that Syrus didn’t tell them anything. They would have gone and told the whole town.
Don’t get me wrong, these two are harmless, just older Betas who moved here to be closer to their grandkids. But they sure know how to chat your ear off.
An even bigger reason why I keep my eyes on my phone and pretend I don’t see them.
I’m not completely antisocial, but I don’t go out of my way to chat with people. I smile and nod, stop and chat if they approach me first.
When I’m feeling like this, the last thing I want is to stand here and have them talk my ear off.
“I don’t like the idea of mysterious Alphas lurking around town. It makes me feel iffy,” Cindy says.
“You would think Syrus would kick them out. This town is supposed to be a safe place for Omegas. For us all. Not sure if I feel very safe with big, buff, scary-looking Alphas walking around,” Gale says.
“Although...” Cindy giggles. “They are pretty hot.”
“I know, right?” Gale joins in.
I roll my eyes. Who cares if they’re hot? Being hot doesn’t make someone any less of a bad person.
Cindy and Gale order their items and leave.
“Hi.” I smile. “Can I get–”
“Maple donut?” Emma, a young Omega who works here, asks.
“Yes,” I laugh. “Huh. I guess I have been ordering them a lot lately.”
“I made sure we had some extras made, just in case.” She winks. “How many do you need?”
“You really are too sweet. Thank you. Would half a dozen be too much?”
“Not at all. Let me box those up.” She rings up my total and gets them boxed up. I’m just done paying when I remember I wanted a hot chocolate. “Shit,” I groan. “Hey, Emma. Would it be too much of a bother to get a small hot chocolate also?”
“Not at all.” She hands me the box. “I’ll get that made for you. Want anything special added to it?”
“Caramel whipped cream?” I ask hopefully.
She laughs. “No problem.”
“Thank you. You’re the best.”
I move off to the side to wait.
My attention drifts to the window. It’s crazy that it’s already October. It feels like it was just summer. I guess it’s true what they say, time does go by in the blink of an eye.
A smile tips up my lips when I see the fallen leaves dancing around as the wind causes them to spin in a circle before drifting off. That's when I notice something out of place.
There’s a man outside, leaning against a black truck.
That itself isn’t something to worry about. It’s the fact that the man is very obviously an Alpha, his truck is very expensive looking, and, well, I know just about everyone in town, and I’ve never seen him before.
Must be one of the Alphas the ladies were talking about earlier. I really need to call Silva and see if she knows anything about this.
My eyes narrow as I look at him. Damn, Cindy. Why did she have to be right? He is hot. Tall, sandy blond hair, and well-built. He’s dressed in a white T-shirt that shows off sleeves of tattoos, jeans, and a pair of combat boots.
Hot or not, I want nothing to do with anyone who has the title of Alpha attached to them.
“Hey, Lexi.” The sound of my name has my attention shifting back on Emma. “All good to go.”
“Oh.” I laugh and take the cup she holds out to me. “Thank you so much. Have a good day.”
“You too! I’ll have more freshly baked for you tomorrow.”
“You really are the best,” I call back, pushing the door open with my back and stepping out.
I promptly ignore the man near the truck, walking in the opposite direction.
I’m halfway home when a feeling of unease settles over me. My spine straightens, and my heart starts to race. It almost feels like somebody's watching me, or... following me?
I look over my shoulder but don’t see anything. Still, I can’t seem to shake the feeling.
My pace quickens, the feeling of wanting to get home growing stronger. Why did I leave the house? I should have just had these delivered to me.
You’re being paranoid, Lexi. You’re fine. Widows Peak is safe. Syrus would never let anything happen to you. Silva would chop off his balls if he did.
“You’re fine. Everything is fine,” I mutter to myself, but decide to take a right down an alley that ends on Westman street, cutting my walk by five minutes.
I’m halfway down the alley when I hear footsteps behind me. “Hey!” a deep voice calls out. “Wait up.” The voice is closer now.
Not a fat fucking chance. Not today, Satan.
My fight or flight instinct kicks in, thank fuck, and I abandon my donuts, letting them drop to the ground and pop the cover off my hot chocolate.
“Hey, I just wanna ta–” He doesn't get the chance to finish that sentence before I’m throwing the hot liquid in his face, making him scream out in pain.
Take that fucker!