He withdrew the wand and the screen went blank. My hand went immediately to my stomach, and my eyes met Natalie’s. The tears I had refused to shed were now streaming down her face.
“You’re going to be a mom again,” she whispered.
“Do you have any questions?” the doctor asked. “I’d like to see you back next month. On your way out, stop and see Lidia in the Family Planning office. She’ll hook you up with some goodies.”
When I didn’t have any questions, still too stunned to speak, he and the nurse left me to get dressed. I stood in front of the mirror in the small dressing area, my finger running along the scar on my lower abdomen.
Had I wanted this? No. Would I do it better this time? Yes. One thousand percent, yes.
“Congratulations,” Lidia, the Family Planner, said to me. She handed me a baggie with what looked like coupons and samples. “In your bag are some samples of prenatal vitamins. Try them and tell the doctor next time you come in which one you like, and he’ll write you a script. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to call me.”
“Thank you,” I said so softly I wondered if she heard me.
Natalie opened the door to the small office and we both stepped out. I hadn’t taken two steps before another door opened and a couple came out.
“Bex?” My head snapped up as I heard my name.
I couldn’t contain the gasp that came from my lips. It was Julia with a good-looking man who must be her husband. Her eyes went right to the bag, and her eyes widened as she realized what I was carrying. I put the bag behind my back like I could hide it from her. She was carrying the same damn bag. That must mean . . . she was pregnant? Again?
I smiled thinly, refusing to acknowledge her. I picked up the pace and Natalie walked faster, looking back at Julia. She had no idea who she was, of course.
“Bex!” It was Julia, and she was quickly gaining on me. There was no way I was getting out of here without one of us causing a scene, so I stopped.
“Yes?”
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s a doctor’s office, Julia. I’m pretty sure it’s against HIPAA rules to ask me that.”
Anger flashed across her pretty features. Her husband looked at me, confused. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I snapped. I liked Julia, I did. But I knew she’d go right back and tell Johnny she saw me here. She couldn’t tell him.
“It’s my business if this is my brother’s baby,” she hissed, pulling my arm until we walked out the door and into the hot Florida sun. “You left him, Bex. How could you do that? He’s been torn up for weeks. Do you know how hard it is for him to let someone in? He let you in. He felt something for you, and I know you did, too. Why did you desert him?”
Both Julia’s husband and Natalie’s faces registered understanding at her outburst. I had to get her off of my back and quickly. There was only one thing I could do to ensure she never told Johnny I was pregnant with his baby.
I laughed dryly. “You think Johnny is the father? That’s funny. According to the doctor, I was pregnant before I even met Johnny.” I shrugged, putting on the Bitchy Bex that was my fail-safe option. “I like to fuck. I don’t even know who the father is, but it was someone long before I took a turn with Johnny. As far as why I left? I was done with him.”
Natalie gasped. She knew I was lying, but she better keep her fucking mouth shut if she knew what was good for her.
Julia’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you for a second,” she said, leaning closer to me. “You’re not much different than him, you know. You both think hurting someone is the best way to keep them from getting too close. This is his baby I know it. I can feel it. If you don’t go tell him, I will.”
“You stay the fuck out of my business,” I seethed. “He is not the father of this baby.” Wait. She said I needed to go tell him? Did that mean he was back here, in Florida?
“You have two days,” Julia said, linking her arm with her husbands. “If you don’t tell him in two days, I’ll tell him. He’s working at The Outrigger again and you know where we live. Two days, Bex.”
I had two days to figure out how to get her off of my back.
I could do this. I was Bexley Bryant, the best bullshitter ever. I could walk into this bar and tell Johnny that not only was it over, but that I was pregnant with someone else’s baby. Then at least if Julia told him she saw me, I’d already have told him. I’d created a whole story in my head about someone before him that I’d been involved with and we’d broken it off right before I started sleeping with him. I even went as far as to say we were going to be together now and raise the baby.
I could look into his eyes and not fall at his feet. Drug dealer, remember. You do not want your child around someone like that. You can’t put them in the same position you were in as a child. Hell, for all I knew working at bars was his cover to continue to sell drugs. He’d escaped his punishment once, so what was to stop him from getting right back to it?
It had been two days since I saw Julia at the doctor’s office. I’d spent so much time staring at the small blob in the picture from the ultrasound, I’d memorized every gray spot on it. He had to believe me. I had to protect this baby with everything I had.
I flipped the mirror in my visor back up and took a deep breath. Pushing the door open, I stepped out into the humidity. It was late afternoon and I knew Johnny was in between rushes now. It wasn’t the most ideal place to have this conversation, but I wasn’t going to his house.
I took two steps before I felt someone behind me and then something cold pressed into my neck. “Try to move quickly and I’ll shoot your fucking brains out.”
Fear sent cold chills throughout my body despite the heat. I didn’t dare turn my head to figure out who it was, but I knew I didn’t know the voice. He pushed me forward towards the entrance to the bar.
“What do you want?”
“Shut the fuck up. You’ll figure it out soon enough.” He pushed me roughly, almost making me stumble. “And if you move too far in one direction, your brain will be splattered all over the place. Got it?” I didn’t bother responding because it didn’t seem he wanted one.
It was broad daylight. How in the hell did this guy think he was going to get away with this, and what the hell did he want? I didn’t have any money, certainly not any worth holding me up for. I was no one. Was he some crazy fan? Or was this just random? All I knew was, I had to get away from him. My eyes swung back and forth, looking for anything I could grab to use as a weapon. I would protect this little one inside me with everything I had, no matter what I had to do.
He moved me around the door and walked along the side of the restaurant. Smart, I guessed. No use in gathering attention by walking with a gun to someone’s head through a restaurant. As we rounded the corner, he gripped my arm harder. Why was he here at The Outrigger?
“Just who I was fucking looking for. Missing something?” His rough voice boomed through the desolate outside bar. It wasn’t until Johnny’s eyes swung around and connected to mine that I realized why this guy was here.
Johnny.
The ass with a gun knew I had a connection to Johnny, and he was here to settle a beef with him.
My stomach fell. What was the likelihood of me getting out alive? I thought of my poor innocent baby, our baby. What if something happened to him or her today? I’d never forgive Johnny if I lost this child.
Johnny