“Sorry,” he says to her before looking back at me. “Where is she? Nothing else comes out of your mouth until you tell me where she is.”

I ignore Luke’s closeness and feel my stomach drop at the thought of my best friend. “Her mom was dying. She went out to get pancake mix for Nolan and got a call from her aunt. She’s in Fulton.”

The words come out like rapid fire and as soon as I finish talking, Ben tries to get up. The nurse firmly pushes against his shoulder again. “Sir, I’m not finished.”

He shrugs her off and shifts Nolan in his lap. “I don’t care. I need to go.”

“Mr. Kelly, you can’t leave with an open wound. You’re likely to get an infection. A nasty one at that. Let me finish stitching you up and we’ll see if the doctor will release you.”

He grunts and leans back, both fists clenching on his sheet. “Hurry. Up,” he firmly directs her. His eyes pierce into mine. “Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t she? She shouldn’t be there going through this without me. One of us should be with her.”

“I know that. I haven’t been able to get a hold of her all day. She left me a message and asked me to try and get a hold of you because she couldn’t reach you. And then I couldn’t reach you. Where the hell is your phone?”

He looks at the vest on the bed and reaches for it, pulling out a barely held together phone. “Shit,” he whispers, looking quickly at Nolan who is now playing with the TV remote at the foot of the bed. He winces while the nurse continues to stitch him up. “Call her. Find out where she is and tell her I’m coming to get her.”

I pull my phone out and notice the nonexistent reception I’m currently getting. “I have to step outside. Do you want me to take Nolan?”

“No. But I’ll need you to watch him when I leave. I’m getting to Fulton in under four hours.” He turns and watches the nurse, undoubtedly willing her to hurry the f**k up.

I nod and exit the room, hearing footsteps behind me. I turn and Luke runs straight into me, grabbing me before I topple over. “Christ! What? I don’t have time for this. I need to call Mia.”

He keeps his grip on my arms. “Tell me why you broke up with me.”

I’m sick of this. And I know Luke. He won’t let this go until he gets what he wants. Persistent little bastard. Just like when he has to get another orgasm out of me.

The nerve.

I pull my arms out of his grasp and grit my teeth. “I thought I was pregnant, you prick.”

He leans back as if I’ve just slapped him across the face. “What? You did? When? Are you?” His voice is softer, the heat that was in it moments ago completely vanished.

I feel my body remembering that day and the pain I felt when I delivered the blow that broke us. The agony burns like acid in my mouth, coating my words. “No, I’m not. But I thought I was.”

He holds his hands out in front of him, still seemingly clueless to why I ended things.

“I asked you if you ever saw yourself having kids someday and you said no. You said you never wanted what Ben had. And I want that.” I bite my tongue to distract me from the pain of the memory.

His nostrils flare and he steps closer to me. “You broke up with me thinking you were pregnant? And you didn’t think I should know about it? Do you know how f**ked up that is?”

“You wouldn’t have wanted it. You said…”

He steps into me and brings his face so close to mine, his breath tickles my eyelashes. “Don’t tell me what I would’ve wanted,” he growls. “Was there a chance it wasn’t mine? Is that why you didn’t tell me?”

His words are like venom coming out of his mouth. I gasp, stepping back and putting some distance between us. “No, there wasn’t a chance it wouldn’t have been yours. But since you’re bringing it up, how many other girls were you sleeping with besides me? I should probably go get myself tested while I’m here.”

He shakes his head and comes up beside me, stopping when his arm brushes against mine. “You should’ve told me,” he snarls down at me. He’s never looked at me like this before. I can practically feel the revulsion coming off him. And then he’s gone, moving down the hallway in the direction I was originally heading. He chose not to satiate me with an answer to my question, but I suppose his silence answers for him.

I walk outside and quickly dial my parents’ number after my phone beeps with a voicemail alert. My mother’s casual voice throws me off, until she informs me that she hasn’t read my text message due to the fact that they’ve both been asleep. However, that doesn’t prevent the earful she gives me about not feeling the need to call her with that kind of information. She calms down eventually after I tell her Ben’s okay and only keeps me on the phone for a few minutes. After hanging up with her, I dial Mia’s number. She picks up on the second ring.

“Oh my God. Is he okay? Please tell me he’s okay.”

Her panicky tone makes my heart shudder in my chest cavity. It’s my fault she’s so worried. “Sweetie, he’s fine. He’s not really hurt at all. Just a minor cut on his arm.”

She cries through the phone, her whimpers mixed with the noise of traffic. “Tessa, I thought… I thought I’d never see him again. I never got to tell him…” Her voice breaks apart in sobs and it kills me.

“Shhh, Mia, it’s okay. He’s okay, I swear. He’s f**king pissed as hell about not being there with you. And so am I. Are you okay?”