Page 38 of Blood
He turns a computer screen toward me. It’s full of numbers that don’t make much sense. “Your parents put your name on the account, so you’ll be able to access the funds without any issues and without going through probate. In essence, this money is now yours. I’m happy to move some into a checking account if needed.”
I squint at the screen. There are alotof numbers. I look for something that tells me the total.
Thomas senses my confusion and points to one line. “The total between the three accounts is five hundred thirty-two thousand, three hundred and four dollars. Just over half a million dollars.”
Wolf squeezes my hand. I feel like I might throw up again.
A knock sounds at the door. I’ve been sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor to come back with my test results. Even after stopping the pain pills, I’ve still felt nauseated almost every day. After I threw up for a fourth time, Wolf insisted that I go see someone and make sure Asher hadn’t caused more damage when he hit me.
In addition to the bank account, my parents also had a life insurance policy. Apparently, I was the sole beneficiary, so the entire three hundred thousand dollars will come to me. My head is reeling with the amount of money that’s suddenly available. With this, I’ll be able to afford to rent a new apartment. Abetterapartment. I could even go back to school and finish my degree.
All of a sudden, my life is opening back up, other than whatever has been causing this nausea. Wolf keeps talking about concussions and brain bleeds, which is what scared me enough to let him bring me to the doctor. At least I convinced him to stay in the waiting room.
The doctor enters the room. “Good news, Miss Mason. I don’t think you need a CT scan. I believe your head is just fine. Your electrolytes are fine, and I don’t think you have an infection. I will need you to make an appointment with your regular doctor in a week or so, because the reason you’re having nausea has nothing to do with your injury. It’s because you’re pregnant.”
“Did you… um…hear me?” I stare at Wolf. I think I said it out loud, but there’s no reaction. I try again. “I’m, uh, preg—”
“I heard you, baby. I’m processing.” Wolf shakes his head. “I just…” He lets out a long sigh.
I bite my lip. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones, but I thought there was something between us. Something real. I hadn’t planned on this, but when the doctor told me the news, it was like another little piece of the future I’d hoped for was falling into place. Maybe I was wrong about us, about everything.
Tears prick my eyes. I try to swipe at them without being obvious. If Wolf doesn’t want me—doesn’t wantus—we’ll be fine on our own. We will. Maybe I won’t go back to university at first, but I’ll make a home and a life for this baby.
Wolf lifts his head and looks at me. His eyes are shining, and as I watch, a tear falls from one corner. I’m more confused than ever when he reaches out a hand and pulls me toward him to sit on the couch.
He draws in a breath. “I had a sister.”
This seems like it should mean something to me, but I’m lost.
He keeps talking. “I never knew my dad. My mom raised my sister and I, and she passed away when I was eighteen. Breast cancer.”
My heart squeezes, thinking of a young Wolf dealing with the loss of his only parent. Understanding the pain he must have gone through.
“Because I was legally an adult, they let me take custody of Jenna. My sister. She was fifteen at the time, so it wasn’t a big deal. I worked, and she went to school. But my job didn’t make us enough money, and I was going to lose the house, the one we grew up in, and I couldn’t let that happen. A friend offered me a chance to make some quick money. It was supposed to be a one-time thing.” He pauses.
I squeeze his hand, listening.
Wolf smiles bitterly. “It’s never one time, though, is it? I got deeper into running drugs. I was making good money, and it wasn’t affecting Jenna at all. That’s what I thought until I came home one evening and found her.”
I hold my breath and watch as another tear makes its way down the cheek of the man I love.
“She’d found my stash. I wasn’t using, but I was dealing, and it was too much. She overdosed. I was supposed to protect her, and I failed.”
“Wolf,” I whisper, putting my arms around him as he draws in a ragged breath. “You were a kid. You can’t change what happened.”
He’s silent for a few minutes until his breathing evens out. I unwrap myself from him and use my fingers to pull his chin upward, so he meets my gaze.
He finally cracks a soft smile. “You have the same blue eyes as Jenna. It’s why I couldn’t kill you that day. I’m so sorry, Everleigh. For everything.”
I shake my head and bring my lips to his to silence him. He kisses me back, soft at first, then more firmly as need takes over. When we finally pull apart, I bring my bruised lips to his cheek and brush them across his stubble before I whisper in his ear, “I love you.”
Wolf joins me at the doctor’s office a few days later. They draw vial after vial of blood until I’m sure there will be nothing left. I hold my breath when the ultrasound image comes up on the screen. There’s nothing there at first. The doctor moves the probe around, looking for something.
She stops moving the probe and points to something flickering on the screen. “See that? That’s your baby’s heartbeat.” She clicks a few things, freezing the image. She measures the smudge on the screen and smiles. “It’s measuring about five weeks, six days. That’s right in line with your last period six weeks ago. Congratulations, mom and dad.”
I study Wolf’s features, trying to understand how he feels about all of this. I laid all my cards out on the table that day, told him I loved him. After he told me about Jenna, it seemed like too much to push, but he didn’t say it back. Maybe he doesn’t.
But he tells me everything I need to know when he smiles, bigger than I’ve ever seen. “Baby, look. We’re having a chipmunk.”
