39. Emma
39
EMMA
“ T his is gonna cost a fortune,” I murmur, toying with the edge of the blanket. It’s the only thought I have. This impending doom rising from being unable to work out how I’m going to pay for these hospital bills.
It’s hardly the most pressing matter and yet it’s all I can think about. Paying my parents my tuition fees back, on top of finding a new apartment, and now multiple hospital bills.
I’m going to be in debt for decades.
“Don’t you worry about that right now,” Caspian says. He sits to my left, holding my hand and gently stroking my knuckles. “You just focus on getting better, okay? Everything else can wait.”
“Medical bills can’t,” I point out, glancing at him. “They don’t care if you’re dying . You still gotta pay.”
“When he says don’t worry,” pipes up Asher from the foot of my bed. “He means we’re taking care of it.”
“I can’t ask you all to do that.”
“Who's asking?” Finn sits on my right and he scoffs lightly. “We’re paying and there’s nothing you can say that will change that.”
“What about your own bills?” I’m not sure why I’m pushing this. Maybe because in the past twenty-four hours, they haven’t left my side. They’ve shown me love, care, and dedication, and all I can think about is how much of a liability I’ve been. And will continue to be once they find out I’m pregnant.
“Mine are okay,” Finn says, glancing down at himself. “Some cracked ribs and a busted nose don’t cost as much as the burns you suffered,” Finn says, reaching one hand onto my bed. “Plus we shared an ambulance. Money saver.”
I almost laugh but the door to my room suddenly bursts open, making me jump. Ana and Meghan stumble inside, making a beeline for me on the bed.
“Emma, oh my God!” Ana screeches, grasping my free hand. “Are you okay? Are you okay?!”
“I can’t believe this,” Meghan gasps. “I’m sorry I was sleeping or we would have been here sooner.”
Seeing my two best friends after such a traumatic event warms my heart and I manage a smile for them.
“I’m okay,” I assure them. “Just a few burns around my ankles and calves, a couple of broken ribs, and the rest are just flesh wounds.”
“Oh God!” Ana pales considerably. “I’m so sorry! Mike did this? That little weasel fucker. When I see him, I’m going to cut his balls off with razor wire!”
“Get in line,” Asher snorts.
“Fortunately, he’s dead,” Finn adds. “But trust me, there would be a line.
“Fucking hell,” Meghan breathes and it’s slightly jarring to hear her swear so much in quick succession. “I’m so glad you’re alive and I—” Suddenly, her eyes flood with tears and she clutches my forearm. “I’m so sorry I blamed your sleepwalking!”
Meghan starts to wail and sob, pouring out her apologies, and no matter how often I assure her, it doesn’t help. She cries openly until the police arrive and the room is emptied.
Partially emptied since Finn, Asher, and Caspian refuse to leave.
“Miss Pierce.” Detective Anderson stands before me with his partner, Mosse, hovering over his shoulder. They both look like they’ve eaten gigantic slices of humble pie.
After all, Meghan wasn’t the only one to blame this on my sleepwalking.
“What did you find?” Finn demands, and his tone is not kind at all.
“First, I want to see how you are,” Anderson says, lifting a brow toward me. “Are you feeling up to answering a few questions?”
“Sure.” I nod quickly, though my mind still lingers on my hospital bills. It’s a distraction, I know, but it’s one I can’t shake.
“I know you gave your statement to the officers on scene, but I just wanted to clarify a few things.” Anderson’s eyes drop to the notepad in his hand. “You were alone with Mike in your apartment, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Did he say anything to you in regard to why he decided to target you?”
Caspian’s hand tightens around mine, and I grip back gratefully.
“He told me I’d rejected him so he wanted to create hell, so I’d turn to him for comfort. I guess in his fucked-up mind, he thought he was actually on my list of friends.”
“And you weren’t friends with him? Did nothing to lead him on?” Anderson asks.
Finn is on his feet immediately, hunching slightly from his cracked ribs. “You can’t be fucking serious. How much more evidence do you need that he was a psychopath? She just breathed in his direction and he became obsessed!”
“I understand that, sir,” Anderson says tightly, “but we have to explore all avenues?—”
He’s cut off as his partner shoves him out of the way with a sigh. Mosse looks at me and her thin lips twitch slightly.
“It’s a terrible question but all it attempts to do is evaluate how likely this was to be a psychotic break or a calculated targeting. Given the female underwear we found in his apartment, the hundreds of pictures of you, and multiple explicit works of fantasy that feature a woman of your description, I’m inclined to believe this was targeted.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Asher grumbles. “You gotta be insane to walk in here after he tries to kill her, and ask if she did anything to deserve it.”
“That’s not what I was asking,” Detective Anderson replies.
Caspian stands up and points toward the door. “Get the fuck out. You never believed her from the start. I don’t give a shit what you need, get the fuck out and send someone else in to question her. She’s the victim, in case you forgot.”
“It’s protocol?—”
“Fuck your protocol,” Finn snarls. “Get out!”
Mosse flashes me what might be a sympathetic smile, then she escorts her partner out and the door closes.
Caspian heaves out a sigh and slumps back down in his chair. Finn sits slower but mirrors the others’ irritation.
Watching them defend me so completely through it all, their line of questioning brought a strange thought to my mind.
Maybe they ask questions like that to soften the blow to Mike’s parents. Maybe it’s better for them to hear that it wasn’t all their son.
A pang of sympathy shoots through my chest and tears sting at the back of my eyes. “Thank you.”
All eyes slide to me. “Don’t you mention it,” Finn says, grasping my forearm. “It’s second nature.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Asher sighs deeply. “I’m just sorry we didn’t get there sooner.”
“No,” I murmur, thinking back to Mike’s words as the sight of him surrounded by flames flashes into my mind. “I’m sorry.”
“Emma—” Caspian starts but I hold up one hand.
“No. I am sorry. Everything that’s happened has happened because of me. Your studio is ruined, Caspian. Asher, you’ve lost a friend in my father, and Finn? Those pictures threaten your livelihood, and you also nearly died. All of that happened because of me and I’m just…I’m sorry because you’ve all shown me nothing but love and compassion. And I—” Emotion swells like a balloon in my chest, forcing a deep, shuddering breath. Tears slip down my cheeks and I hastily wipe them away.
“What I’m trying to say is that I don’t deserve your kindness because what I offer in return is not nearly worth what you’ve all given me.”
“Bullshit,” Finn replies immediately. “I don’t know if it’s escaped your notice, Emma, and maybe it has because of everything that’s happened, but we’re here for you.”
“Because we care about you,” Asher says.
“Because we love you.” Caspian threads our fingers together. “Those minutes where we were stuck outside watching that place go up in flames with no way of knowing where you were or if you were alive? The scariest moments of my life.”
“All I could think about was how often I nearly told you that I’d fallen in love with you but chickened out,” Asher says. “I kept telling myself that I couldn’t ruin a good, fun fling with my emotions. That I had to keep them locked down because losing you wasn’t worth it.”
“But now?” Finn reaches up and cups my cheek. His thumb slides over my damp cheek. “Now we’re not scared to tell you we love you because we nearly lost you. And that’s one hell of a wake-up call. What we have? What we’ve developed? You don’t ever find that. It’s so fucking special and we love you and?—”
“I’m pregnant.” I blurt it out like some final statement. As if it will make all their love for me evaporate. A defense mechanism so that they will realize their mistake before confessing all their love.
Because I don’t deserve it.
And I don’t deserve them.
There’s a long moment of silence. All three of them simply stare at me.
“Are you serious?” Asher asks, sliding further up the bed. His gaze drops to my belly hidden under the sheets.
“Yes,” I reply and my throat tightens. “I found out a couple of days ago and I…well honestly, I don’t have a plan but before you all start fooling yourself into thinking you want to be with me then?—”
Finn’s mouth collides with my own and he kisses me so hard that my bruised lip flares up hot and powerful. Around me, Caspian’s laughter fills the air and there’s a slap of flesh as Caspian and Asher high-five one another behind Finn’s head.
“Emma.” Finn pulls back, holding my face as I stare back at him completely stunned. “This is fantastic news!”
Wait, what ?
“I…” I can’t think. My mind just stops at the kiss and nothing else appears past it.
“We’re gonna be dads!” Caspian roars. He clasps the back of my head and kisses my forehead, then moves away and punches the air.
They’re…happy? Not running for the hills? Not blaming me for not being more careful?
“I don’t understand,” I whisper. “It was an accident. The stress fucked with my pill.”
“A happy accident,” Asher chuckles, rolling onto the foot of my bed. Then he pauses and props himself up on one elbow. “Unless you don’t want the baby.”
That sobers the excitement a little. Finn glances at the other two, then he takes my hand once more.
“Whatever you want to do, however you want to proceed, we will support you. But I promise you that you being pregnant does not change how we feel,” he says.
“If you said that to scare us away,” Caspian grins, settling down next to me. “You are wrong. Plus, you’ve met my mother. You know she’d love to be a grandmother.”
“For you?” Asher leans down and kisses my clothed knee. “I’ll be whatever you need me to be.”
“Fuck,” I sob, emotions bubbling up faster than I can process them. “I thought you would all hate me because we’d never talked about a future and this was supposed to be fun.”
“If you’d asked us,” Finn says gently. “You would have learned a lot sooner how much we love you.”
“I love you too,” I weep, clutching at his shoulders. “All of you!”
The tears come, made worse by the repetitive promises to love and support me. Each man swears to stay by my side, and nothing will hurt me ever again.
A promise they all put their hearts and souls into.