4. Chapter 4 #2
It was real as soon as the sticks revealed two pink lines. At that moment, life as I knew it was changing. Staring at the envelope sitting in my lap, I use my thumb to trace my name written on the front. I could have this opened in seconds and find out if I’m having a son or a daughter.
So why can’t I open it?
The low rumble of thunder shakes my building as my phone rings, startling me. My aunt’s name flashes across the screen. She might be my aunt, but in so many ways, she became the mother figure I needed.
“Hi, Aunt Bethany.”
“Hey, sweets. How are you and the little one?”
Scooching lower in my couch cushions, I make myself comfortable for a long conversation with my aunt.
“We’re doing good. Sitting here and watching it storm.”
“I’ve been watching the weather. Looks pretty nasty.” Her voice softens, and I hear a clinking sound in the background. Knowing she’s an hour ahead of me, I’m sure she’s settling down for her nightcap…of Sleepytime tea.
“It is, but nothing I can’t handle.” Silence fills the line, and I know she’s gearing up to switch roles from Aunt to Mom in three…two…one…
“You had your thirty-week appointment today,” she muses. “How did everything go?”
I sigh and press my hand to my belly. The baby rolls and arches its back, following the path of my hand.
I can’t help the smile that breaks free.
Even with all the unknowns and insecurities, I’m ready to meet my little one.
“Everything’s good. The baby’s growing right on track, and my health’s normal. I'll go back in two weeks.”
“That’s great, sweets.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “So…am I buying pink or blue clothes?”
My hand pauses on my belly. “I haven’t opened the envelope.”
I know she’s disappointed that I haven’t opened the letter.
Not only that, but she’s been concerned about my well-being since I told her I was pregnant.
She didn’t want me to come back to Texas, but there was no way I was moving back in with her.
She took care of me when I needed her most, even though this wasn’t her problem.
I was following in the same footsteps as her and my mom—and no one wanted that.
“Still?”
“I know,” I rush to say, hoping to avoid the concerned parent lecture. “I don’t know what I’m waiting for. Maybe I’m scared that if I open it, this all becomes too real.”
“Sweets, I hate to break it to you, but this is all very real.”
“I’m aware.”
“I wasn’t calling to give you a hard time.
I was hoping to start shopping and send you some clothes for the little bean.
But instead of me sending clothes, what if I came down, and we had a little gender reveal party?
We don’t have to do anything big, maybe get some of those cupcakes with the icing in the middle. ”
A lightness takes over my body, and for the first time today, some of the stress melts away. “That sounds nice. I think I’ve been too scared to open it alone,” I quietly admit.
“Savannah, you’re not alone in this. You have me and Ridge. We’re your family, and we’ll always be there for you.”
“Ridge doesn’t know I don’t know the gender.”
My aunt chuckles. “Sweets, it’s Ridge. He knows you don’t know, even if you don’t admit it. I swear that boy has some sort of sixth sense.”
I groan, my heart kicking a little. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.
I want him to stop worrying about me so much.
Maybe I’ll feign ignorance and pretend he doesn’t know I’ve been sitting on the envelope for so long.
If he knew for sure, there’s no doubt he wouldn’t show up with balloons and a giant lecture. ”
Bethany lets out a soft laugh. “That’s my boy. He’s overprotective and cares about the ones he loves.”
I blink hard, willing the tears not to fall. “And we love him for it…but that’s the problem.”
Ridge is fiercely protective. He plays the badass who doesn’t care, but he loves hard.
When his mom moved states to marry her new husband, Ridge packed up to be by her side.
Much like me and my mom, it’s always been Ridge and his mom.
Our fathers never stuck around, and our moms—sisters—never gave us their names. We’re the Holycrosses.
Aunt Bethany and I talk for a few more minutes. She shares how things are in her new town, how she’s staying busy while her new husband runs for re-election as the town’s mayor, and everything in between. When we hang up, my brain has calmed, and my heart feels lighter.
After moving through my nighttime routine on autopilot—cleanse my face, rub my mama belly butter on my bump, brush my teeth, and fill my giant water bottle—I pad barefoot into my room.
Lightning continues to streak across the sky as thunder rumbles through the walls.
Slipping into a silk nightgown, I slide into bed, adjusting my mountain of pillows until I’m comfortable beneath the covers.
Flipping on the TV, I scroll through the channels until something piques my interest. House Hunters International , it is.
The wind howls outside, and I sink deeper into the sheets. My phone lights from my bedside table, and as much as I want to ignore it and figure out which flat the couple on TV chooses, I reach over for the device.
Ridge .
“What’s up?”
“Just checking on you,” he says without greeting. “Mom told me you had an appointment today.”
“You mean, she didn’t tell you everything already?”
“Nope.” He pops the p . “I think she’s finally learned how to keep a secret. But I’ve been thinking about you. You doing okay?”
“Yeah,” I lie. “Baby’s good. I’m good. Life is good.”
“You’re so full of shit.” He calls me out so easily.
With a sigh, I tell him the baby’s growing well and that I’ll go back in two weeks for another appointment.
My heart still skips a beat every time I hear that whooshing sound of the heartbeat—it’s the best sound in the world.
I’m about to tell him I still haven’t found out the gender when a light crash echoes through the walls.
“What the fuck was that?” Ridge’s protectiveness snaps into focus.
I crawl to the edge of the bed, peering through my bedroom doorway toward the dark hallway.
My skin prickles, and I don’t know why. Nothing seems amiss in my apartment, but that doesn’t keep the nerves at bay.
Another loud crash sounds, and my breath catches in my throat.
I know that sound. It’s the sound of glass shattering.
“Savannah.” His voice takes on a dark edge, but he tries to keep calm while bringing my attention back to our phone call.
“I–I think someone just broke into the restaurant downstairs.” Shouts sound from below me, and terror fills my veins.
“Lock your bedroom door.”
Uneasy, I start to interject, but Ridge’s voice cuts me off. “Now, Savannah.”
I rush to the door as fast as I can at seven months pregnant. With shaky fingers, I flip the lock and stumble back, sinking onto the floor in the corner of the room. “Ridge…”
“You’re okay.” I don’t know which of us he’s trying to convince more. “I’m going to take care of this, alright? Stay on the phone with me.”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “How? You’re eighteen hours away.”
“I know,” he grits out, as if it pains him to be so far away. His words become muffled as he begins shouting to someone. “My buddy called 9-1-1 and told them what’s going on. Cops are on their way. You’re going to be fine, Savvy.”
I nod again, knowing he can’t see me, which worries him. “Sav, you’re not alone. Do you hear me?” His voice breaks slightly. “You are not alone.”
My throat tightens and my body trembles as I curl in the corner, phone cradled against my ear like it’s the only thing tethering me to the ground. “Tell me something,” I whisper. “I need you to distract me.”
I absentmindedly rub circles on my belly as I fight off the panic rising as Ridge tells me a story.
He’s recounting the time I made him sit through a cheer competition in high school when all his friends were having a party in the woods.
He tells me that even though his friends were giving him endless hell for going to a cheer performance, he didn’t care.
There was nowhere else he’d rather be than supporting me.
Then Missy Locke saw him in the crowd and thought he was there for her, so she gave him a blowjob in the supply closet at school the next day. I shake my head and can’t help the chuckle that escapes. Of course, that happened to him. Ridge is nothing if not a ladies' man.
Ridge continues, telling me how he’s adjusting to the new town and how he’s met a group of people that he can’t wait to introduce me to.
That he’s finally doing something with his talent— hacking —in a helpful way.
Even though he won’t fill me in on the full story, I know he’s doing something that makes him happy, and that’s good enough for me.
He promises he’ll be here as soon as he can, even if I object.
The sound of clicking comes through the speaker, and I know he’s texting. A swift kick to the ribs has me grunting. “You okay, Sav?”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “Just a kick to the ribs.”
“We going to have a little fighter on our hands?”
“It is a Holycross.”
“Damn right.” He pauses. “It?”
Shit. My secret has been revealed. “We aren’t doing this right now.
He grunts but doesn’t argue. “My buddy has a guy coming over to watch your place until I can get down there.”
Another loud noise comes from downstairs, and I let out a small squeak.
Ridge lowers his voice to a near whisper. “I’m right here, Savvy. I’m not going anywhere.”
Minutes stretch into what feels like hours before I hear the faint wail of sirens in the distance. Then, finally, lights glow through the windows—red and blue slicing through the darkness and breaking the flashes of lightning.
“Thank god,” I mutter.
“What?”
“The police are finally here.” I crawl toward the window, enough to peer through the curtains without being noticed.
More time goes by, and the police have created a barricade around the restaurant as they assess the situation. It’s like a real-life crime show happening outside my window. Maybe my days of watching Criminal Minds reruns should come to an end.
“My buddy is there. He’s waiting for the all-clear from the police, and then he’ll be sitting in your hallway all night until I get there.”
I shake my head. “He doesn’t have to sit outside. He can crash on my couch.”
“No.” Ridge’s voice takes on a sharp edge. “He’ll be fine. He’s on the lookout until I get there.”
I exhale for the first time in forever. My body sags, exhaustion threatening to pull me under from the terror that was coursing through my system.
“Ridge,” I whisper.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
A long sigh filters through the line. “Don’t thank me. Keep breathing. You’re safe, Savvy. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
And somehow, even from eighteen hours away, I believe him.