Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 76000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“I don’t like to be touched,” I mutter between bouts of vomiting, but they don’t stop.
When I’ve lost everything I’ve ever eaten in my life, I sit back on my heels and take the wet cloth, rub it over my face, and then turn to rest my head on Sarah’s shoulder.
“What am I going to do?”
“You’re going to come back into your bedroom and eat a cracker,” Luna responds.
“I’ll go heat up some water for tea,” Sarah says when we reach my room. She hurries off, and I sit on the side of the bed.
“At least this explains all the throwing up and being so tired.”
“Yeah, well, I think I’d rather have the flu.”
“I know.” She sits beside me and wraps her arm around my shoulders. “If you don’t want this baby, you have options.”
That brings tears to my eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want this baby, it’s that I didn’t think I wanted any babies at all. I thought you and Sarah would have a dozen kids between you, and I’d be the cool aunt who gives out gum and ice cream like it’s going out of style.”
“I’ll invest in a good dentist,” Luna says dryly.
“I have hot water,” Sarah announces, carrying a tray with a steaming mug and a plastic bear holding honey. “Annabelle says that she’ll check in on you in a little while.”
“Did you tell her?”
She looks at me like I’m crazy and slowly shakes her head. “No, she only knows that you don’t feel well. Jesus, June, this is your news to tell, not mine.”
“I’m sorry.” I gratefully accept the mug and blow on the hot steam. “I know you wouldn’t tell her. I’m panicking and don’t know how Apollo will react to this. Maybe I shouldn’t tell him.”
They stare at me and then burst into laughter.
“This isn’t funny.”
“You’ll have to tell my brother sooner or later because, at some point, you won’t be able to hide it. Besides, he helped create this little bundle of joy. He should know.”
“What if he gets mad and, like, punches holes in the walls or throws a fit and then he leaves and I never see him again?”
I’m met with silence.
“Who did that to you?” Luna wants to know.
“My mom.” I shrug and sip the still-hot tea. “Guys, in my experience, children aren’t a great thing to have around. They don’t bring joy. They bring stress and inconvenience. Even after my mom left us with Grandma, that’s what we were for her, as well. Sure, she wasn’t a jerk about it, but I knew that it wasn’t fun for her. I don’t want to bring a kid into that.”
“I’m so sorry.”
We all turn toward the doorway, finding my sweet little grandma standing there with tears in her eyes and her hands clasped at her waist.
“Oh, shit, you weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“I beg to differ,” she says as she steps into the room. “I’m sorry that you felt that way as a child. You three did overwhelm me, but I never meant for you to feel as if you were an inconvenience. It’s just that I raised my girl, but I didn’t expect to have to raise my grandbabies, as well. I don’t mean that as horribly as it sounds.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“You three brought me so much joy, Juniper Snow. You make me laugh, and you make me proud. Sometimes, you make me want to twist your ear off because you frustrate me, which is entirely normal, but I feel that way because I love you, not instead of. Someday, you’ll feel the same way about your own children.”
So, she didn’t hear the part about my being pregnant.
That’s a relief.
“I’m sure I will, Grandma. I’m fine, honest.”
She kisses my forehead and then walks out of the room, closing the door behind her.
“Your mom sounds as lovely as my parents were.” Sarah’s voice is as dry as paper. “At the end of the day, you have to remember that you aren’t her any more than I am the assholes who don’t deserve to be called my parents. You’ll make your family the way you want it to be, and I personally think that you’ll be a great mom.”
“It’s too soon,” I whisper. “We haven’t even used the L word.”
“The way you wrinkle your nose at the idea is inspiring,” Luna says with a laugh.
“I know you,” Sarah adds, pointing her perfectly manicured finger at me. “And I know that if you didn’t love Apollo, you wouldn’t be sleeping with him. You wouldn’t be spending so much time with him because you don’t waste your time on people who don’t matter to you.”
“Yeah, well, it’s the early days. Sure, I care about him, and he admitted last night that he loves the sexy time, but that’s not necessarily a declaration of love.”