The Billion Dollar Mistake

8. It

Eva
*

Three hours is how long it took to get coherent answers out of Harper. Most of that time was spent giving her reasons why I didn't let her die in peace. Poor Ruger was just left out of the loop. He mostly stood there and rubbed her back. This wasn't the Harper he was used to seeing.

It's the Harper I dread seeing.

I left the room after checking for any more razors and pills. Sighing out, I plopped down on the couch next to him. He pulled me under his arm and kissed my forehead. I sighed and curled into him.

"So that was intense." He muttered. I nodded. "Has she done this before?" I nodded again.

"Over the summer." I admitted. "Tough breakup that left her completely alone." He nodded. "I had to call 911 to get them to open the door."

"Damn." He sighed. I nodded.

He seemed to understand that I was too emotional for real conversation. He never tried to pry for answers. He just took what he was given and stored it away.

We sat in a comfortable silence. My arms wrapped around him in a lazy embrace. How he handled today was nothing short of amazing. It made me love him more. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to marry this man.

"I'm proud of you." I broke the silence. "You didn't freak out not once."

"It's my job." He shrugged, pulling me into his lap. I turned to straddle him. As I looked at him, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Something that told me that this wasn't the first time he's had to do this. I wanted to know more.

"Is breaking into houses one of your jobs, too?" I cocked my head. He smirked and kissed my shoulder. He left a trail of kisses to my ear. I moaned out when he nibbled my earlobe.

"My real job is fucking you into oblivion." He whispered huskily.
----

"So that was a nice wakeup call." I hinted at Ruger. He smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"You're the one who refused to let me pull out last night." He countered, pulling on his sweats.

"That didn't mean stay in until I woke up." I rolled my eyes. He chuckled and kissed my forehead.

"I'm getting breakfast, should I get her something?" He glanced toward Harper's door. I sighed and shrugged.

"She likes waffles. Fluffy ones." I glanced around her kitchen looking for something else for her to eat.

"Absolutely no eggs." He gave me a look. "She throws up every time she gets around them."

"Pregnancy thing?" I shook my head.

"Harper thing." He gave a halfhearted chuckle.

"Keys." I tossed them to him and he walked out the door.

Did he really leave here shirtless?

I shook my head and went to wake up Harper. I slowly pushed the door open to see her sitting in the middle of her bed, staring out the window. I sighed and went to sit with her.

"Harp." I whispered to her. She didn't acknowledge my existence.

It killed me to see her like this. I took a deep breath and inched closer to her. I wrapped my arms around her.

"I'll help you." I spoke out. "You're not alone. But you have to tell the dad."

"No." She shook her head.

"He deserves to know." I pleaded. "It's not fair to him."

"He can have it." She said in a monotoned voice. I frowned, I hate how her medicine makes her. Even the smallest dose turns her into a zombie.

"You don't want the baby?" I asked, concern lacing my voice. She shook her head.

"How far along are you?" She shrugged and leaned her head into my shoulder. "Can I make an appointment for you to get checked out?" She nodded and I held her tighter.

Seeing my best friend in pain was breaking my heart. My best friend in pain and with child was just gut wrenching. To know that she possessed the one thing I ever wanted and tried to kill herself over it, broke me even more. I leaned my head against hers and let out a shaky breath.

"Everything will be fine, Harper." I whispered. "We'll be okay."
----

We sat in the examination room in silence. I fiddled with my fingers as I watched Harper. She kicked her feet out and stared into space. She hadn't said a word yet. The only sound that came out of her mouth was when she walked into the glass door on the way in.

"Hey Harper, how are you feeling?" An older man chirped as he walked through the door. Harper muttered a response. The doctor frowned.

"So tell me, what happened with this medicine situation." He sat down in front of her.

"I accidentally took too many sleeping pills and my friend freaked out." She lied effortlessly.

This was the part I hated the most. She had the ability to make anyone believe that everything was just great with her. In reality, she was crumbling. They called her a "high functioning" depressed person.

I suppressed a deep sigh as her doctor flipped through her charts.

"You should be fine if that's it." He assured her, well me. Harper couldn't have cared less. "Would you like to find out the sex? You're far enough along to get some good images."

Harper shrugged and laid back against the table. He frowned again before setting up the equipment. I took his new focus as an opportunity to set her straight.

"Acting like that is not going to keep you out of the psych ward, Harper. Straighten the fuck up and act normal." I hissed in her ear. She shot me a glare before rolling her eyes.

I sighed and leaned back. She was working my last nerve. The doctor came back with a bunch of nonsense. He pulled out a gel and squirted it into his hand. He rubbed some of it on Harper's stomach. She tensed slightly.

"Cold." She chuckled awkwardly. A ghost of a smile touched the doctor's face. I smiled in excitement. The doctor squirted a generous amount of the gel on her flat stomach.

I wonder if that's safe?

"Alright, let's do this!" The doctor announced. He moved the little remote thing across her stomach.

I watched in awe as a figure emerged on the screen. The doctor rambled on about the different experiences. Harper's face remained cold. She was clearly full of regret. It hurt my heart to know that something so innocent was causing her so much pain. I sighed and pushed away my own ill feelings.

"Would you like to know the gender of your baby?" The doctor asked, warmly. Harper looked to me and I nodded in response.

"Congratulations, you're having a girl!"