Page 66 of Duke
Dead silence.
Then: “Oh, Jesus.” She lets out a breath. “Okay, Cash wasn’t supposed to find out. Wheeler was at our place taking the tests, and he just happened to walk in on us.”
I picture the scene: Wheeler crying with her face in her hands. Mollie patting her back. Cash wanting to help but not knowing what the hell to do.
I feel like I just got sucker punched in the throat.
At the same time, my stomach roils, and I feel like I’m gonna lose my lunch. “How long ago was this?”
“Um.”
“Mollie.”
“Not long. Like…two days ago.”
“Two days!” I close my eyes. Bite the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something I’ll regret. “You—she—Cash—y’all kept this from me fortwo days?Why didn’t she tell me?”
“You’ll have to ask her that. This is her news to share. I’m sorry you found out this way—”
“How is she?”
Mollie pauses.
“Please, Mollie.” I put a hand on my hip. “I’m literally worried sick here. Is she at the New House? I haven’t seen—”
“She went back home to Dallas.”
I don’t know why that information stings. Or maybe I do. She’s running, clearly afraid.
She afraid of me? I’ve never given her any reason to be on alert, have I?
Granted, this pregnancy was definitely not planned. It’s more than a surprise—it’s a fuckingshock. I gotta give Wheeler more credit for not telling me right away. Maybe she needed some time to process the news herself.
Guess I just wanna play a role in her life more like Mollie’s. I want Wheeler to trust me. I want to be the person she goes to when shit hits the fan.
But I’m not. And even though Wheeler has told me more than once that she’s not interested in any kind of deep relationship, I still want one to happen.
“Can I ask you for her address?”
“Duke…I don’t know.”
I swallow the tightness in my throat. “I gotta see her, Mollie. It’s killing me not knowing…I need to know she’s okay. Or do what I can to make this suck less for her. I imagine she’s not doing great if you won’t say a word about her.”
Another pause.
“You think Cash would sit on this news?” I press. “I know y’all had a scare too. I imagine you told him right away so he didn’t have to worry, right?”
Mollie clears her throat. “That was different.”
“I’ll owe you big time. Please, Mollie. Wheeler won’t answer my calls or texts. I don’t know when she’ll be back. I don’t know what’s going on inside her head. I care about her.”Too much, but whatever.
Mollie pauses for what feels like the hundredth time. Sweat pours down my skull and runs into my eyes.
She sighs. “Fine. But you promise you’re just going there to check on her?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
“I will stick a needle in your eye if you upset her.”
