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She nodded sadly. “Yep. Not long after he joined the club, I overheard him saying that to Bull.” She dropped her arm and put her hands in her lap. “After that, anytime I was around him, those damn words played on repeat in my mind, and I would be mean. It wasn’t long before we just fell into a pattern of being mean to each other.” She looked across the room as if she was hearing those words while we talked. “And now he’s going to know I’m pregnant by a guy who doesn’t want me or the baby.”
I wrapped my hand around hers and squeezed. “Oh, Becs, I’m sorry.”
“Can I ask you to do me a favor?”
I nodded. Becs could ask me for anything. She’d been the only friend I’d had here, the only friend I’d ever had. Until Gunner, at least. But he didn’t feel like just a friend anymore, and I was smart enough to know the way he’d been looking at me wasn’t only friendly.
“Will you come downstairs with me?” When I widened my eyes, she hurried on. “Please. You don’t have to stay long, but just until everyone knows. It’ll be nice to have someone who is there for me.”
How could I say no? She’d done so much for me. I let my eyes scan her sad features, and I hated that she was sad. Becs was always happy and outgoing. She had almost convinced me to try to be the same. I took a deep breath, hoping I wasn’t making a mistake, and smiled softly. “Okay.”
She sprang up from her place beside me. “Really?”
I stood slowly, not as excited as she seemed. Actually, I was not excited at all. “Yes, really.”
“Okay, then let’s get you ready.”
“Ready?” I looked down at my pajama pants and hoodie. “Oh yeah, guess I can’t wear this.”
She grinned. “Maybe not.”
Becs walked across the small room to the closet and pulled it open. Over the last months, she’d brought me a lot of clothes. Most of them I’d never worn, not because they weren’t nice but because I didn’t have anywhere to wear them. She pulled a pair of jeans down from the top shelf and grabbed a fuzzy, black short-sleeved sweater before she turned and handed them to me.
“This?” I asked, staring at the folded clothes in my hand.
“Trust me,” she said. “You’ll blend in better in something like this.”
I nodded. “Okay.” I headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. Changing quickly, I only stopped to look in the mirror when I was finished, and I had to admit the outfit Becs picked out was pretty. The sweater was soft and would be warm, considering the guys kept the A/C cranked up downstairs, so no matter how warm the summer months had been outside, the inside of this place was always cold. I liked that I was gaining weight, and I noticed my pale skin was no longer dull, but recently had a new pink hue. I guess it was from eating every day and eating really good food. I grabbed my hairbrush and pulled out my ponytail. I’d noticed my hair had grown longer and was definitely shinier than it had ever been. Again, I was attributing all of it to a better diet. I ran the brush through the blond strands and decided to just let it down. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done that. After a few months with Snake, I’d started wearing it in a braid. When I wore it down, he would grab it by the handfuls. I thought if I kept it braided, he couldn’t get to it as easily. Sometimes it worked.
I walked out and smiled slowly when Becs whistled. “Look at you, girl. Gunner’s gonna have a stroke when he sees you with your hair down.”
I grinned, but somewhere deep down, I hoped he would like it. I hoped he would stand with me and maybe even hold my hand again. Becs wrapped her hand around my forearm and dragged me across the room toward the door.
“Let’s get this over with.”
I followed her from the room and down the hall, only pausing at the top of the stairs when I heard the voices, but I kept moving forward. For Becs. She needed me, and I could do this. Everyone had been nice to me. I was safe. I repeated those words as I made my way down the stairs behind Becs.
She moved to the side when we reached the bottom, and the room quieted down. “Look who I finally dragged out of her room.”
My name was called out amongst a series of whistles, and I smiled, ignoring the blush working its way up my neck. I glanced around the room until my eyes landed on Bear coming toward us and smiled when he lifted his chin and smirked at me.
“Hey, beautiful.” He spoke quietly when he stood before us.
“Hi, Bear.”
His smile grew when I answered, and he turned toward Becs. “You ready?”
She nodded. “Not really, but I guess we have to.”
“It’ll be better to just do it while everyone’s here.” He leaned in close. “For both of us.”
“I know.” She sighed, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Her eyes kept skipping around the room, and I knew she was looking for Race.
I was watching Becs so closely that I didn’t notice when Gunner came to stand beside me. Until I felt him. His arm brushed against mine, and my eyes snapped up as a flush worked its way through my body, making me feel hot. That had been happening a lot lately, especially during my driving lessons when he sat so close to me.
He moved his body until he was right in front of me and leaned down until his lips almost touched my ear. His warm breath caused a shiver to shake my body. “I’m glad you came down.”
I swallowed hard before I answered just as quietly. “Me too.”