Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Mercedes.” Lois knocks on my door, drawing my attention to her. “Solana is here. Would you like me to send her up?”
“Oh, yes, thank you. That would be perfect.”
She nods and retreats, and I use the few moments I have to check my makeup and try to cover up the dark circles beneath my eyes with some powder. But it doesn’t work, and that much is obvious as soon as Solana enters and sees me.
“You look tired.” She frowns.
“That’s because I am.” I laugh hollowly. “I hear that’s a side effect of a tiny life force growing inside you.”
She walks over and gives me a tight squeeze before pulling her messenger bag off her shoulder and setting it on the bed.
“Well, I brought what you needed.” She hands me the pregnancy test and then retrieves a bottle with her shop label on it. “And these aren’t really calming tablets. I just put the label over some prenatal vitamins.”
“You think of everything.” I offer her a watery smile.
“I know.” She returns my smile, but her concern is evident. “Are you okay?”
“I will be,” I answer. “It’s just… a lot.”
“Well, let’s take things one step at a time, shall we?” She grabs my hand and tugs me toward the bathroom. “First step, peeing on a stick.”
Five minutes later, I’m sitting on the edge of the porcelain tub while Solana peers down at the stick resting on the sink.
“Good news or bad news?” she asks.
“Both,” I answer in amusement.
“The good news is I’m going to be the best freaking godmother this kid could ever ask for,” she says proudly. “And the bad news is anyone who ever even thinks of hurting him or her will have to reckon with me.”
I can’t help laughing even as a few tears spill free, and I press my hands to my belly. I already knew it was real, but this confirms it.
“She’s not lying,” I whisper to the baby growing inside me. “But I think you’ll love your crazy aunt Solana.”
“Damn straight they will.” Solana comes to kneel before me, wiping my tears away. “It’s going to be okay. You know that, don’t you? You’ve got me, and you’ve got Georgie, no matter what, always. We are your motherfucking family.”
“I know you are.” I pull her in for a hug, and she squeezes me for a long time.
Finally, after a prolonged pause to let the official news sink in, she comes to sit beside me on the tub. “Are you going to tell him?”
“No.” I shake my head quickly. “He doesn’t want kids. This was my decision, not his. He won’t be happy when he finds out, but I want nothing from him. I won’t ask him for anything. I just want this baby, and he can go on with his life, forgetting either of us exist.”
By the tense silence next to me, I probably shouldn’t have been so honest. Because Solana really will cut a motherfucker for me or anyone else she loves. I know and love this about her. But I don’t want her protection. I just want her friendship. I want to tell her everything about my life because I’m so fucking tired of shouldering it on my own.
“You want me to poison him?” she asks, her voice dead serious.
Again, I can’t help laughing. “No. But thank you.” I turn to her and take her hands in mine. “What I want is to tell you about my world, Solana. I think it’s time I finally did.”
She releases a breath, nods, and listens to all of it. Every single secret that spills from my lips.
After spilling all the details of my life to Solana, she and Georgie have been making frequent visits. As in, almost every day. I was nervous about telling Georgie my secrets too, given that he’s even more protective than Solana, but I didn’t want to keep lying to them or giving them half-truths. So after getting him up to speed on all need-to-know things related to The Society and my pregnancy, everything is out in the open. I thought I’d be more relieved, but I’m questioning if I did the right thing because they’re both convinced I might just up and disappear at any moment in this crazy world they still don’t fully understand.
I’ve tried to quell their fears, but honestly, they aren’t too far off the mark. I was raised in this world, so I never really realized before how insane it sounds to normal people on the outside. People do disappear in The Society. They get murdered and tossed into Tribunal prison cells that nobody knows anything about. They get poisoned, betrayed, and double-crossed, and that’s just a small taste of any given week. But even so, I had no reason to be concerned for my safety. That was until I noticed Georgie and Solana exchanging looks like they know something I don’t. When I demanded they tell me, they finally relented.