Page 21 of Stick Around
Grace:Not bad. Pretty busy. Just on a quick break here. You?
Billy:I can’t focus on anything here. Still thinking about holding you, naked and fucking beautiful, under a sleeping bag beside the lake. Thinking about how it felt to have no one in the world besides you and me.
Grace:It was perfect.
Grace:Can I stop by after work? I want to talk to you about something.
Billy:Yeah, of course. I’ll be home.
9
Grace
“Everything okay?”Billy studied Grace as she pulled off her jacket.
She managed a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah, everything’s okay.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re here.” He smiled and slid his hands around her waist, pulling her in for a kiss. When Grace responded with a quick peck, he leaned back.
“We need to talk,” Grace said.
“Yeah?” Billy released his hands from her waist and scraped his hand through his hair. Grace’s stomach tightened at the sight of his gritted jaw. She followed him to the living room and sat down at the opposite end of the couch.
He stood back up. “Sorry. Do you want something to drink? I’ve got—”
“No,” she interrupted. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”
He sat back down and cleared his throat. “Look, I know things haven’t been ideal with us sneaking around. It’s not what I want either. Let me go talk to Noah. Explain it all to him. I know he’ll be mad at first, but I think—” Grace raised her hand and Billy clipped his sentence short. His shoulders slumped.
She took a slow, trembling breath before lifting her eyes to his and blurting it out. “Billy, I’m pregnant, and I’m keeping it.”
Snap.
The words were out of her mouth and she had stepped into a new reality. She was no longer Gracie Campbell, good girl with a bright future. Now she was Grace Campbell, stupid woman who got knocked up and ruined her life.
She held her breath, waiting for his response.
She’d spent the entire night before, laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, and playing out each possible reaction in her mind.Will he get mad? Will he question if the baby is his?No. Billy wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t an asshole.
Will he ask me for an abortion?Grace had decided this was the most likely option. After all, they weren’t dating; they’d only slept together a few times. And neither one of them was in a good place to be half-time single parents. Billy was about to buy Avery Autos, and she had barely started her career. How can you be a single mom and work night shifts at the hospital? Impossible. It made no sense to follow through with this pregnancy. Exactly like it hadn’t made sense to throw out the emergency contraceptive pills the doctor had prescribed.
Billy’s face was expressionless, but she searched it anyway. Hoping for a clue to what he was thinking. She noticed pain in her palms and looked down to find she was clenching her hands into fists so hard her fingernails had left sharp, crescent moon indentations. She opened and closed her hands quickly, cracked her knuckles, and then shook them out. When she looked back up, Billy was smiling at her.
A warm, wide smile that spread across his full face. His eyes shone and crinkled at the corners, and the very slight dimple on his left cheek was peeking out behind his beard. His dark eyebrows arched high on his forehead.
Grace tilted her head. “You aren’t upset?” Her throat was so tight the words squeaked out like a whistle.
“Upset?” Billy chuckled. “No. Why would I be upset?” Grace scoffed and tilted her head. He scooted closer on the couch and took her hands in his. “I know we didn’t plan this, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy about it.”
What?
“Gracie, we’re going to make the cutest baby ever.”
Grace dropped his hands and sprung to her feet, shaking her head. “Okay, wait. You’re seriously happy about this?” She paced across the room.
Billy stood up and followed her. “Yes,” he said. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “I am seriously happy about this. Aren’t you?”
She broke free of his arms. “I’m worried. I’m worried about how I’m going to raise a baby while I’m working twelve-hour shifts. At all hours of the day and night, no less. I’m worried about taking maternity leave when I’ve just started my job. I’m worried my parents are going to be so angry they’ll kick me out.” She threw her arms in the air and stomped away from him again.
