I debate looking at the test, but not for long. I want to know if my wife is pregnant. Everyone knows two lines means pregnant. One line means not pregnant but I want to be sure, so I get the box out of the trash and verify what I’m seeing.

Two lines. Laurelyn is pregnant. “We did it, baby.”

I once told Laurelyn she is the only angel in my life. Now I’ll have two.

17

I go into the house and straight to the shower. I turn the water to full hot but I can’t feel the heat beating down against my skin. I’m cold—inside and out.

How did my life turn to this overnight? Jack Henry and I had everything. We were on top of the world one minute and cast into hell the next. I know I need time to absorb this shock, but I’m not sure I’ll get over this one, especially if he’s had a baby with another woman.

It all happened so fast but that’s generally how a kick to the gut feels. I was so giddy to read that fucking pee stick with him but instead I find out he had a baby with one of the twelve. Maybe.

“Laurie?” I’m startled when I hear Addison’s voice. I forgot she stayed last night.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m alone. I left Jack Henry at the hotel. Addie, something bad happened this morning. I mean, really bad.” I want to throw up just thinking about saying the words. Another woman had my husband’s baby. I’m not sure I can force that to roll from my tongue.

“Laurie, I’m bleeding.” I wipe the water from my eyes and open the shower door. “How much?” She doesn’t have to tell me. I can see the stream running down her legs.

“It’s a lot.”

I attempt to appear calm. “It’s okay. Go lie down on my bed and I’ll get dressed.”

I’m trembling as I dry off and pull on clothes. I tie my wet hair into a bun. “Hey, girl, how you doing in there?”

“Not good. I can feel blood gushing when I move.”

“Then stay really still. I’m almost ready.” I put my shoes on and go into the bedroom, following the trail of blood on the floor. Holy shit. My bedroom looks like a crime scene.

“I’m sorry, Laurie,” Addison cries when she sees the look on my face. “I think I’ve ruined your bedding.”

“No worries about the linens.” She needs a pad—a huge one—but I only have small pantyliners. “You can’t go to the hospital in this so hold up. I’m going to grab you something to put on.” I fetch a pair of Jack Henry’s sleep pants and a towel from the bathroom. “Take your panties off and put this between your legs.” I spread his pants on the floor for her to step into. “Foot in. Foot in.” I pull them up and pull the tie so they fit her snuggly in the waist. “Can you walk?”

“Yeah, but I think blood is gonna gush out with every step I take.”

“It’s okay.” But is it? I’m scared shitless. I’ve never seen so much blood.

We begin the walk from my bedroom to the car. It isn’t a long distance but I swear it’s never felt so far.

She’s crying. “I’m losing this baby, Laurie.”

“You don’t know that for sure.” I want to be reassuring but she’s probably right. I don’t know how she could bleed that much and not be having a miscarriage.

“I still haven’t told Zac. I guess that won’t be a problem now.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“I’m being realistic,” she argues.

“Mothers are optimists, not realists.”

We get into my SUV and I’m driving much faster than I should. “I need them to tell me everything is okay because I really want this baby, Laurie. Even if Zac doesn’t. I’ve already decided I’m keeping it and raising it alone if I have to.”

I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. “Pray, Addie. Ask God to protect your baby.”

“You know I don’t do that.” Like right now is the time to be stubborn and think you don’t need the help of a higher power.

“Well, maybe you should.”

Addison is taken into the emergency room and they begin her assessment quickly since anyone could see that she’s bleeding way too much. “Any idea when your last period was, Miss Donavon?”

“The last normal one was on October seventeenth. I spotted in November but I don’t know if it qualifies as a period.”

The woman types the date into the ultrasound machine. “Okay. We’ll use the one in October since November doesn’t sound like a period. That gives you a due date of July twenty-fourth, which makes you … fifteen weeks. Looks like you probably conceived on or around October thirty-first.” The woman grins. “I guess you had a fun Halloween.”

“Yeah, it was a good one.”

“Addison! You didn’t tell me you were so far along. You should’ve already seen a doctor.” How could she be so irresponsible?

“I didn’t know I was that pregnant. I thought I was two, maybe going on three months at the most since I spotted in November.”

“You’re almost four months. Shit, it’s almost half over.”

“Let’s do a scan and see what’s going on here.” The woman squeezes a bottle and clear jelly squirts onto Addison’s stomach. She places a probe in the wetness and makes swirling motions, spreading it across her belly. All of us are silent, staring intently at the screen. The difference is she knows what she’s looking at. Addison and I have no idea.

She points at a white flashing on the screen. “This is your baby’s heartbeat. Can you see it?”

“I do.” She stares at the screen, tears streaming down her face. “I haven’t lost my baby?”

“He or she is hanging in there. I think I see what’s causing all this bleeding but I need some better scans for the radiologist to read. Take a breath and relax while I get the pictures I need.”

We stare at the screen because it’s so amazing. “Omigod, Addie. Look. It already has arms and legs and I can see them moving.”

“I prayed to God, Laurie. I begged Him to not take my baby and He didn’t.” Addison squeezes my hand. “Will you call Zac and ask him to come to the hospital? He should be here with me.”

I hate that it took something so catastrophic to bring her to her senses, but thank goodness she’s finally going to tell him. “Of course—but what do you want me to say? He’s going to panic when I tell him you’re in the hospital.”