Page 116 of Please Open Me
“I’m so embarrassed.” Mason scrubbed her face with her palms before hiding in them.
For the first time since hell broke loose, a genuine smile tugged at my lips.
“Ain’t no reason to be embarrassed, Sweetpea.” I rummaged through the bag and pulled out a pint of soup.
I couldn’t remember what type it was, but it had chunks of tofu and seaweed in it. Actually, thinking about it, the soup looked more like dishwater than something I should feed Mason.
I hesitated on giving it to her, but Mason reached over and grabbed the plastic container. Without as much as a stir, she sipped the broth. Her face scrunched, leaving me to wonder if theyhadgiven us dishwater instead of soup.
“Something wrong?” I asked, setting a few more things on the nightstand.
“It tastesdifferent.”
The way Mason said different made it sound like an insult, so I wasn’t at all surprised when she put it down in favor of a small bowl of rice.
She opened the top and dumped a few containers of eel sauce and spicy mayo on the top before mixing it the best she could. Once she was done, she took a big bite and seemed happy enough, so I sat down by her feet.
Creases formed along her eyes as she winced.
“How'd you end up at the hospital?” I asked, almost fearing the answer.
Her spoon clinked against the bowl, and for a long moment she didn’t answer me.
“Is the baby okay?” I pressed, keeping my voice low.
“Yeah,” she whispered, though her voice was so soft I nearly missed it. “Strong heartbeat. Doctor said rest and take it easy for the next few days…. After Lucian left, I started cramping more, and spotting and—”
Mason cut herself off with a pained squeak.
“Mae,” I leaned forward, resting my hand on her knee. “You said the baby's okay, right? That’s what matters, right?”
She drew in a soft, whimpery breath. The kind of sound that strangled your heart and rips your soul in two. Her fingers tightened around the bowl, knuckles paling, before she set it aside altogether.
Slowly, Mason pulled her knees to her chest before hugging herself tight.
“The baby’s fine. Good heart beat,” she repeated. “The doctors even did an ultrasound and—“
“I missed it?” It was hard not to sound hurt, although I realized this wasn’t planned.
I’d willingly missed so much with Rosie because I’d been scared to get attached, afraid that Dale would pull the rug out from under my feet and send me tumbling into the dark unknown of a new life, with a new name, and just a little more grief than I’d carried before.
Rosie and Mason had brought me a light I wasn’t sure I deserved. But man, did I want to keep basking in that glow.
“Sorry,” Mason mumbled, picking at her fingers.
“What? No. Don't be.” My hands flew to hers, and I guided her to pick at a loose string on my flannel instead of her skin. “I just–do you have pictures?”
That sounded crazy, but when Mason was pregnant with Rosie, her doctor would email videos and photos from the ultrasound.
Mason froze and slowly shook her head.
“Oh.” I guessed that made sense, with this being an emergency visit and all.
“I mean, they did, I just… I don’twantto show you.”
Her hands moved away from my shirt, and it took everything in me not to grab her to keep her in place. That hurt more than I cared to admit.
“Is it because of the fight last night?” Part of me feared she’d given a bit more thought to forgiving me for the entire Calvin Waters thing.
