Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“I do. Especially now. I feel so much better now.”
“Good,” I said, “Come on, the water is probably getting cold.”
I helped her to her feet and took a moment to marvel at her. At some point, it was possible she would experience an incredible change in her body. A bump might appear there in her stomach and expand to create room for a baby. Our baby.
I led her to the bathroom and tested the water. It was still warm but could be warmer, so I opened the drain and turned on the hot, hoping to cycle in some new water. As I did, she disrobed behind me, tossing off the comfortable pajamas and kicking them over to the corner. I had brought the hamper out the night before and forgot to bring it back, so I made a mental note to take her clothes.
As she stood before me naked, I pulled her close and kissed her stomach. She held my head to her, and when I removed my lips, I looked up to see her smiling down at me. Then she slipped one foot into the water and sighed in delight at the warmth of the water.
I stayed with her, chatting with her and telling her stories about my childhood with my brothers as she relaxed and bathed. When she was done, I helped her out and into the bedroom to get dressed while I cleaned up. When she was ready, we made our way to the car, and I drove her to the school.
We arrived just as lunch period was ending, and she leaned over the center console to kiss me once more. For a moment we just stared into each other’s eyes, smiling, before she exited and went into the building and I drove away.
CHAPTER 29
CAMILLA
The next two weeks were nothing short of terrible. Every moment was spent on edge, wondering what was going to happen next, afraid of turning every corner. Alex wanted me to stop working so I didn’t have to be at the school or go back and forth to there from his house alone. But there was no way I could do that.
I couldn’t just withdraw myself completely from life, even if I was terrified and part of me wanted to hide away. Too much of my life was given over to Doug, and I didn’t want to give over any more of it. I wasn’t just going to hole up in the house and never see the light of day until something was resolved with him.
What happened if it didn’t? What happened if there was never a time in my life when I felt like he was really gone and I could just live? Did that mean I was supposed to just go through the rest of my days as a hermit?
That would drive me over the edge. I needed to maintain at least some sense of normalcy and have some control over my life. It was already enough of a change that Alex insisted on having me stay at his house with him so that I was by myself as little as possible. I loved being there with him and felt far more comfortable than I would have being at the apartment alone.
But there was still a sense that I was making all these changes just because of Doug, and I hated that. For those two weeks, I was bitter and angry on top of being upset and scared. Even with Alex at my side and his wonderful family behind me, I was at a level of stress I knew I couldn’t manage for long.
The one bright spot that came during that time was finding out that Gus was not just a bartender. It was just a job to sustain him while he was in law school. He was eager to be a part of everything and had some fresh insights to share with us. I knew it made Fiona feel good that he was a part of this and in it with us, and it was helpful to have another person with special knowledge to back me up.
Even still, I spent those two weeks worried out of my mind.
Three weeks after finding out about Doug’s release, things started to turn around. I finally got a chance to get clear answers about restraining orders and had meetings set up to get those orders in place. It wasn’t going to be fun. It was going to require another trip to court and more talking about all the horror I’d experienced at the hands of Doug. But I was willing to do it.
And because I felt empowered and encouraged by that willingness, I did something else I’d been feeling afraid to do. I walked right into the bathroom and took the pregnancy test.
That was why two days later, I had one hand resting on my belly while the other clutched my cell phone. That hand held the phone to my ear as I made a call and the other softly cradled the space that housed Alex’s baby. I was shaking as the phone rang.