Healed by Evan Grace
Chapter Eighteen
Heidi
I make it to the toilet right before I throw up. I grip the sides of the bowl as my stomach contents empty, over and over. Once I finish, I rinse my mouth out and brush my teeth.
I look at my reflection and smile—the positive pregnancy test sits on the counter. I’m scared, but so freaking happy. I’m not sure how I’m going to tell Colton, but I want to do it in a memorable way.
I smooth a hand over my still flat stomach and look up. “Please don’t take my baby from me.” I say that quiet prayer over and over.
Maybe I won’t tell Colton until after I have everything confirmed by a doctor. I hadn’t had my appointment with the doctor yet before I lost the baby. I take the pregnancy test and wrap it in a pair of my panties before shoving it in the back of my drawer.
In the kitchen I grab a Gatorade out of the fridge and take a drink, sipping at it slowly to make sure it doesn’t come back up.
I get dressed for work, which is dark gray jeggings with rips in the knees. Up top is a pink, of course, t-shirt, with the Sugar and Spice, Ink logo in white on it, and a skull king and queen with our name in between them.
I give myself a bubble ponytail and stick my feet into a pair of black and white Vans hi-tops.
On my way to the studio, I buy some chicken noodle soup, crackers, and 7-Up. My sisters will think I have a stomach bug, which is perfect for now—at least until I tell Colton.
I pull into the parking lot and park next to Sierra’s Mercedes. I swear between Joaquin and Nick, they’re spoiling my sisters to death, but they both deserve it. Those two alpha male are all about protecting their families.
I grab my stuff and head inside. I spot Victoria, Joaquin’s cousin/best friend and Miles’ girlfriend, sitting behind the counter; she’s been helping out since Greta is on her adventure with the movie star. “Hey, girl! Thanks for coming to help out.”
“Of course. I was happy to do it.” She smiles at me as I grab her hand, squeezing it as I walk by. The office is empty as I put my purse away. I put a peppermint in my mouth and grab my phone, sending Colton a text.
Heidi: Hey, baby, I didn’t get a chance to make you something for dinner. I don’t tell him it’s because I was throwing up. I hope you had a good day. I’ll see you when I get home. Xoxoxo
I stick my phone in my purse and head out front, sitting next to Victoria. I look toward the work stations and find Sierra, Mona, and our apprentice, Lainey, all working on pieces.
As always, I’m in a state of awe at what my sisters and I have built. We’ve worked so hard to put ourselves on the map as artists to be taken seriously. Our plan is that once Lainey is doing mid-size pieces, we’ll bring on another apprentice.
The phone rings, and I answer it. “Sugar and Spice, Ink. This is Heidi; may I help you?”
“I was wondering if I could get on the cancellation list for Mona?” We go over what they’re looking for, and I look at the criteria for Mona’s list. I enter all her information into the computer and put her on the list.
After that, the rest of my night goes fast.
***
I let myself inside and find Colton sleeping on the sofa again. He does this every night I work late. I’m almost certain our baby was conceived on the sofa. Our baby. I rub a hand over my lower abdomen. I want to tell him so bad, but I don’t want to jinx it.
I head into our bedroom, quickly changing into my pink spaghetti strap nightgown. In the bathroom, I quickly wash my face and brush my teeth. I rub moisturizer into my face as I head into the living room.
Very carefully I climb onto the sofa, lying on top of him. His arms immediately wrap around me, and he rolls so I’m against the back of the sofa, wrapped around him.
I smile in the dark when I feel him press his lips to my forehead. “Hi, baby.” He slurs and then rubs his cheek against the top of my head.
Colton is silent as he climbs off the sofa and picks me up, carrying me into our room. We get settled in bed, him wrapped around me—my back snug against his chest.
His hand rests on my stomach, and I smile in the dark. I can’t wait to tell him about the baby.
It doesn’t take long before I fall asleep, dreaming of little boys and girls.
***
There’s a knock on the door. I get up from where I’m snuggled up with Colton to answer the door. A FedEx driver greets me and hands me a huge envelope. I shut the door and look at the label. “It’s from the Tigers.” I am giddy and dance toward the sofa.
He sits up, laughing at me. “Give it to me, dork.” I squeal as he pulls me down onto his lap. “Open it,” Colton tells me, and I waste no time ripping the cardboard open.
I pull out the folder and open it. Together we go through all the papers. It tells him where to get his physical. When to report for training camp, his flight, and hotel information.
I turn to look at him and hold up the folder. “Baby, it is finally happening. My man is going to be an NFL quarterback.” I throw my arms up and scream.
Colton wraps his arms around me, kissing the side of my head. “We don’t know if I’m on the team, but I appreciate your enthusiasm.”
“Baby, they’d be dumb not to want you. You’re fucking talented,” I tell him as I climb off his lap. After grabbing him a pen, I take pictures with my phone while he fills out paperwork.
Colton shakes his head as I keep asking him to look up and smile. “Hey, I’m just making memories. We’ll want these for when you’re famous, and you can remember when it happened.”
“You’re right, baby.” He humors me and smiles, posing for picture after picture. God, I want to tell him about the baby, but I can’t—not until I hear it from the doctor.
Once that’s all done, we decide to order Imperial Palace because I’m craving crab rangoon dipped in sweet and sour sauce. I order our dinner as Colton sets the packet down on the breakfast bar.
“I’ll call in the morning to arrange my physical and then I’ll talk to whoever I need to, about working out my travel information.”
While we wait for our food, we snuggle on the sofa and watch old episodes of Law and Order: SVU.
Little did we know that a month later our lives would change.