The Alpha's Daughter (Un-Edited Version)

The Alpha's Daughter - Chapter 27

Annie: 

I bit my lip, gazing at the cereal in front of me. I was in denial, I had decided. I had made no attempt to find out for sure that if I was pregnant, nor had I told Cal of my suspicions. He didn't need to know. Yet. 

And there was no point in getting his hopes up; he wanted a baby and he had made no effort to hide it, but me...I wasn't sure. 

"Are you alright?"  

I looked around, slightly alarmed and came face to face with Radleigh, his eyebrows furrowed. 

"Yes," I replied breathlessly, blinking back my surprise. I hadn't spoken to Radleigh since we had left him at the wake. Not that we had been speaking that much before. He sat down next to me, still frowning. 

"Are you sick?" he asked. Shit, shit, shit. 

"No," I said, a little too quickly. Radleigh nodded before getting back up and leaving the room. What the hell had that been all about? I sighed, leaning back in my seat, running my fingers through my hair. What the hell was I going to do? I wanted to curl up in a corner somewhere and cry until I had no more tears.  

The fact remained the same; I didn't want a child. 

I must've sat there for another ten minutes, just thinking it all through. And I probably would've stayed there if it hadn't been for Georgie coming in, mumbling something under her breath. She stopped when she saw me, her facing forcing itself into a pained smile. I didn't want her to smile; it was too normal. None of this was normal. Nothing about this stupid situation was normal. I felt completely out of my depth here. This was where I stopped functioning. 

"You okay, pet?" she asked, turning on the cooker. Normally, I would have had a rant about people giving me pet names but I really wasn't in the mood. I didn't want to do anything, other than finding that corner.  

"I'm fine," I choked, the words catching in my throat. Why the hell did this have to be so hard? Georgie looked up when I said it, her eyes narrowed. When she took a step towards me, I flinched involuntarily and instantly cursed myself.  

"Annie?" she whispered. I shook, the spoon in my hand clattering to the floor as I lost all of my senses. I tried to speak but all that came out were tiny, shuddering breaths as tears fell down my cheeks. I tried to wipe them away as soon as they spilled, but the next lot followed too quickly and my face was suddenly sodden with salty water. I felt Georgie's arms wrap around me and I sobbed into her sleeves, not caring about the fact that she was seeing me crumbling. 

"What's the matter?" she breathed into my hair. I shook my head, trying to desperately hang onto the fact that I could do this alone. But the truth seemed to be standing there in front of me; I couldn't. I couldn't do this on my own. But more importantly, I didn't need to. 

"Georgie," I whimpered, pulling away from her and wiping my eyes with the sleeve of my jumper. "I think...I think I might be pregnant." The words came out quiet and strained and another bubble of fear rose up inside me. 

Georgie stiffened momentarily and for one terrifying, I had visions of her just walking out and leaving me sitting there. But she just hugged me closer again, letting me cry in peace. Now that I had said it out loud, it seemed more definite, as if all of this was really happening. Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from feeling scared. It didn't stop that huge chasm of fear trying to consume me. 

"You need to be sure," she mumbled into my hair. I bowed my head out of her grasp, wiping my eyes. I knew that already. I knew that I needed to be sure. But I didn't want to. In this care, ignorance was most certainly bliss. Knowing for sure would probably make or break me.