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F O R T Y - F I V E
The apartment was spotless. Kate had even emptied the kitchen cupboards, scrubbing and reorganizing through the haze of nausea that threatened to slow her down. Her nails bitten down to nothing, the inside of her cheek chewed so fervently she had given herself an ulcer, and yet Colton still hadn’t come home. The sun was beginning to sink, orange and pink streaks dancing across the sky. Kate sipped a glass of water, her head resting against her palm as she stared blankly out the window. The tears had run out hours ago, her tear ducts completely drained, but the sadness still enveloped her like a thick, warm blanket on a scorching hot day.
A creak rang from behind her, the doorknob turning as if in slow motion, and Kate jumped from the stool, raking her gaze over Colton’s exhausted frame. His shoulders slumped forward dejectedly, tear-stained cheeks reddened, his hair still a complete mess. Hesitating for a moment, Kate realized she didn’t care if he pushed her away. She needed
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Rude Awakenings F O R T Y - S I X
The vast waiting room of the doctor’s office felt stifling. Inhaling deeply, Kate tried to abate her nausea. Colton sensed her discomfort, squeezing her thigh reassuringly before sweeping his arm around her small shoulders, tugging her into the rapidly-beating cavity of his chest. It was rhythmically soothing for Kate, the accelerated tempo surprisingly calming her.An elderly couple sat opposite them, weathered hands entwined in the gentleman’s lap as they watched the medical piece on the television. The woman glanced at Kate, a smile crinkling the sides of her wrinkled mouth. Smiling back, Kate had to bury the small laugh that fluttered in her chest as the woman’s hazy blue eyes widened, taking over Colton’s tattooed skin. She was easily won over though when Colton flashed her a heart-stopping smile, her cheeks flushing rouge.Leaning towards Kate’s ear, Colton’s breath was silky as he whispered, “That’ll be us one day. Just with more tatts.”Kate giggled. A sens
Rude Awakenings F O R T Y - S E V E N
The plastic covering of the examination table squeaked as Kate cinched the sheet over her bare legs, waiting patiently for the sonographer to return. The past few days had been torturous at best, sickness washing over her at every turn. Colton had tried his best to reassure her; promises that the ultrasound would find their baby in the right position recited so often Kate thought it was just an automatic response for him now.Dr. Bharathi had confirmed the pregnancy through Kate’s blood work, stating that she was around 5-6 weeks pregnant, and although there was a slim chance Kate wouldn’t see much, the sonographer would know exactly what to look for.As the sonographer returned, beginning the ultrasound, grey flickers of Kate’s uterus flashed across the small screen. Her breath hitched in her throat, the beating of her heart stopping completely as her eyes narrowed on the image. She had studied Paloma’s ultrasounds and thought she would know what to search for, but she
Rude Awakenings F O R T Y - E I G H T
Silence filled the room.Mind-numbing, oppressive, disheartening silence.The walls were closing in, inching nearer and nearer like a damn nightmare. Dr. Bharathi’s voice pierced through the void of numbness between Kate’s ears, “Looking at your second round of blood work, your hCG levels seem to be dropping on their own. I think we should stick to active monitoring. The pregnancy looks to be dissolving on its own. If your hormonal level increases, we’ll need to look into some other treatments, but for the moment, I think your body is doing the hard work for us.”The doctor’s voice faded out, Kate’s heartbeat ringing loudly in her ears. She didn’t care about the side effects of her body’s rejection or the fact that she’d need to get blood tests done every second day to ensure her levels were dropping. She didn’t care about her future chances of a thriving pregnancy or the fact that her IUD had been successfully removed. All she could think of was that she failed. H
Rude Awakenings F O R T Y - N I N E
The door swung open, Paloma’s sorrow-filled face greeting Kate with a warm hug, “Dylan’s offered to take Floss for the night. It’s just you and I, babe. I bought chocolate and ice-cream and the caramel popcorn you like, as well as a shitload of Tylenol and pads. I didn’t know what you’d need so I just bought everything I could think of.”Straining a smile, Kate felt the stiffness of her cheeks from dried tears. She hadn’t thought of any of the necessities and she was so thankful for Paloma’s common sense. It seemed like her own had evaded her. “Thanks, P.”“You’ve done the same for me,” Paloma smiled, soothingly rubbing Kate’s arms as she ushered her inside. “Go and put your sweats on. I’ll get a heat pack and we can hang out and watch movies.”As Paloma disappeared from sight, Kate meandered down the hallway, stopping at the entrance of the spare bedroom and taking a deep breath. As much as she loved her best friend, this isn’t where she wanted to be. Not really.
Rude Awakenings F I F T Y
Clutching the railing, Colton panted frantically, desperately trying to regain his breath. Jogging had never been his thing, and he had no fucking idea why he had thought that it would be a good idea. Kate had always claimed it ‘cleared her head’ but all he felt was fucking foggy. He was sure the cigarettes had destroyed his lung capacity.After hearing Kate’s sweet voice over the phone this morning, his body had begged for a release. Not holding her in his sleep, not being able to fuck her or kiss her or smell her or taste her, not having her beside him at every turn, was sending him fucking insane. But the run had been fucking idiotic and now he just missed her even more.Soft shuffling rang out from the floor above and Colton groaned. He prayed it was the new couple that had just moved in and not the old bitch that had threatened to have him evicted. He didn’t think he was mentally capable of not accidentally pushing her down the fucking staircase.Her pink fluf
Rude Awakenings F I F T Y - O N E
The car idled beside the curb, its driver watching assiduously through a sophisticated pair of binoculars. He had purchased them years ago when he had begun bird-watching and he applauded himself for using his acquired skills from night-birding to stake out Kate. She was staying with her friend, he’d established, after a spat with her oaf of a boyfriend, making her a much easier target. The slender brunette she was bunking with would be much easier to overpower than the brute.Vibrant blue eyes narrowed as Kate exited the front door, waving goodbye to her friend and the small child lifted precariously on her hip. Even with the refined technology of his binoculars, he could only assume it was Kate. Her brown hair was hidden beneath a dark beanie, her slender frame wrapped in an oversized coat. He had been watching for a while though, assured that it was only Kate and her friend in the home. He knew how terrible Kate was with children. There was absolutely no way she’d be left a
Rude Awakenings F I F T Y - T W O
The flight of stairs seemed never-ending, the clinical smell of the hospital saturating his senses. His heart raced emphatically, desperate to reach Kate. She had finally answered his call, her voice trembling explaining the situation. Paloma and Heath had been in a car accident. She couldn’t say much else, her words trailing off into soft weeps. Colton had wanted to pick her up, to be the one to comfort her, but she told him Dylan was picking up Florence and would drive her to the hospital.Never again would she need someone else to take care of her, he swore it. No matter how bad their fighting had become, he would never leave her side again.Rounding the corner, Colton almost collided with her shaking frame. Dressed in sweats and a thick, blue sweater, her hair messy and her tan eyes red and puffy, Kate looked as beautiful as ever. Strong arms enveloped her, crushing her tremors with the firm planes of his chest.“Are they okay?”Sniffling, Kate wiped her
Rude Awakenings F I F T Y - T H R E E
It took a few days before Paloma and Heath were released from the hospital. Heath had suffered a concussion, a broken leg and a few broken ribs, but he was healing well. Paloma had been mainly unharmed, although she was knocked unconscious during the collision. Doctors had done a multitude of scans to make sure she wasn’t bleeding internally or suffering any underlying issues and had found that she was doing okay.They couldn’t remember much of the accident, only that the car had redlined as if it had been stationary before their arrival at the intersection. There had been a small crowd of witnesses at the scene but all had been unable to provide a definitive description of the perpetrator, only causing Kate’s stomach to churn in unease.Guilt had consumed her at the officer’s words. She had offered for Paloma and Heath to stay with her, but they had declined. All Paloma wanted was to spend time with Florence. The brief hospital visits hadn’t been enough. She had gratefu
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