Chapter 37

Rowena

“I… I need help.”

Emma staggered into my office, clutching her stomach, and immediately I knew that this was serious. Without hesitating for even a moment, I rushed forward and wrapped my arm around her, letting her rest her weight on me as I led her over to the exam table.

“What happened?” I asked, helping her up onto the table.

Emma swallowed hard. “I… It’s a long story,” she managed through grit teeth.

I frowned as I looked at her. The way she was clutching her stomach could indicate many things: food poisoning, a stomach bug, maybe even appendicitis. But it was then, as I looked over her, that I saw the dark red color seeping through her jeans.

“Emma,” I said, shooting her a worried look, “is it your period?”

She gritted her teeth and shook her head, which confused me even more. “It can’t be,” she groaned.

“Why?”

“Because…” She drew in a sharp inhale. “I’m pregnant.”

My eyes widened. If Emma was pregnant, then… this was even more sinister than I thought.

Without waiting for even a second longer, I quickly rushed over to the door and shut and locked it to give us privacy. Then, handing Emma a towel, I instructed her to take off her pants. She shot me a wary look, but did it as I turned my back.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m ready.”

…

I helped Emma sit up on the exam table, handing her a spare pair of sweatpants from my gym bag. “Here,” I said softly. “You can wear these.”

Emma sniffled and took the sweatpants. I turned as she dressed herself, and felt my heart shatter for her.

“I’m so sorry,” I said over my shoulder. “About the miscarriage.”

For a few moments, Emma said nothing; and I almost expected her to simply get dressed and leave without speaking a word. But then, finally, she sighed. “It’s alright. I was planning on getting an abortion anyway, but…”

I turned to find Emma fully dressed now, leaning against the exam table. Bloodied towels and Emma’s ruined jeans were balled up in the trash can, along with tear-stained tissues. For an hour and a half, I had assisted Emma through an unexpected miscarriage of a baby she had only first learned about less than six weeks ago.

Now it was over, and something had changed. I still didn’t know why Emma had come to me instead of her sister, who was in the main combat manager’s office.

“Can I ask you something?” I said, eyeing her cautiously as she gathered her things.

“What?” she asked, her voice somewhat sharp but not as sharp as usual.

I took a deep breath. “You could have gone to the main manager’s office, where they probably could have offered you better help,” I said. “But you came here. Why?”

Emma scoffed. “I saw the way you handled that situation at the pool party,” she said. “And I saw the way that my sister… Never mind.” She paused, shaking her head. “Just… thanks.”

I was a bit taken aback by Emma’s candor in that moment, even though she hadn’t finished her statement about her sister. But I knew what she was going to say—that Heather had done nothing that day at the party.

Was that really all it was?

As I watched Emma grab her bag and go to leave, she suddenly stopped in the doorway, her shoulders trembling for a moment before she quickly whipped back around to face me. When she did, her eyes were wide.

“Swear you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone,” she growled. “And if you do, I’ll… I’ll—”

“Emma.” I took a step forward and caught her hand in mine before she had the chance to pull away, giving it an encouraging squeeze. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

She swallowed, her eyes widening a little more. I could feel her hand tense in mine, but she didn’t pull away. Not right away, at least.

“Especially don’t tell Heather,” she whispered.

I nodded. “I swear.”

Emma hesitated for a moment longer, just staring at me, and it felt as if a previously unimaginable gap between us had lessened, even if only the tiniest bit.

Then, without a word, she yanked her hand out of mine and stormed off.

…

I walked up the front steps to Eric’s cottage alongside Adrian, and the sound of pounding bass music filled our ears. Adrian shot me a quick grin before opening the door.

“You look cute tonight, by the way,” he said, placing his hand on my lower back at we entered.

I blushed. “Thank you.”

Tonight, the night of Eric’s party, I had gotten dressed in a short, flared dress, sneakers, and a denim jacket; casual, but still good enough for a party. And good enough for a second date with Adrian who, earlier this afternoon, had texted me asking me to come with him.

I had accepted right away, of course, and had been ecstatic to do so. After all, I had thought that the situation with Eric on my first date with Adrian had blown my chances with my crush. But apparently I had thought wrong.

Adrian and I walked into the party, which was already in full swing. My brother’s little cottage was packed to the brim with warriors, dancing, playing games, and drinking. It was so packed, in fact, that I couldn’t spot Eric anywhere.

“Adrian!” a warrior called out, waving us over. “We’re just playing seven minutes in heaven!”

Adrian grinned and looped his arm around my waist. “I’ve already got a partner.”

“Oooh!” the other warriors called out excitedly.

Before I knew it, I was being thrust into a dark closet with Adrian, our laughs dissipating beneath the sound of the muffled music. Jackets and shirts pressed onto me from all sides, and the familiar scent of Eric’s cologne filled my nostrils, drowning out all other scents.

This was Eric’s bedroom closet, but that hardly mattered right now; what mattered was the game.

Seven minutes in heaven was a game I had heard of, but had never played; normally, winners of each round would pair up and would have to spend seven minutes in a closet together. What happened in the closet was up to them, but it usually involved a lot of making out.

“I guess we didn’t even have to play to get paired up,” Adrian teased, his voice low and husky in my ear.

I felt my cheeks turn a deep shade of red, and I was grateful for the shadows hiding them. Here, in the dark closet, I couldn’t make out any of Adrian’s features either; I could only feel him pressed up against me, his body warm and enticing.

“Y-Yeah,” I murmured. “I-I guess so…”

Adrian chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I could feel his warm breath tickle my ear, close enough to kiss. “Nervous?” he whispered, sending a shiver down my spine.

I swallowed. “I, um…”

As we stood there in the dark closet, thoughts of kissing Adrian made my heart pound. I wanted this, needed this. We still hadn’t kissed; in fact, I hadn’t kissed anyone. Except for Eric and his stupid pranks, of course.

And now, finally, it was time to kiss someone… someone who wasn’t my brother.

But as Adrian leaned in to press his lips against mine, I felt my muscles tense—out of instinct, I leaned back, pushing my hands into his chest before our lips could meet. “No,” I whispered.

Adrian stopped for a moment. “You don’t want to?”

“I just…” I swallowed, unsure of what to say. It all felt like so much, too much even.

But Adrian, being the gentleman that he was, simply leaned back and chuckled. “I think you need a drink first,” he said, opening the door. “Meet back here in a bit?”

I nodded, and the sounds of the party filled the air once again as we stepped back out of the closet. It was only then, as we rejoined the party, that I saw a familiar head of blond hair and a pair of striking blue eyes staring at me.

Eric.

But before I could walk up to him, he slipped off into the party and disappeared.