When the door opens, I look up as Dr. Perry comes in, shutting the door behind her. I look down to turn off my phone after reading what my mom said back, but she hasn’t said anything. Okay, then. Looking up, I swallow hard and look at Dr. Perry as she comes toward me. She looks worried, which confuses me. Her small frame is tense, her shoulders back as she moves closer, looking at my chart and chewing on the end of her pen.

What the hell is going on?

She looks at me with trouble-filled brown eyes. “Sorry it took so long. We, um, had some issues with your prescription.”

My lip curls up in confusion. “Huh? Why?” She looks at me, really looks at me. I’ve been coming to her for a very long time, so I know something is wrong. With my chest tightening and my heart slamming hard into my ribs, I eye her. “What’s wrong?”

“Avery,” she says, placing her hand on my knee. “Sweetheart, you shared so much today, more than ever. I mean, you are growing right before my eyes. But you left out something huge. Something I needed to know before I try to write a scrip. I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me. Aren’t you worried your medications could hurt the baby?”

I can only blink. “What? What did you say?”

Her head tilts to the side, confusion swimming in her eyes. “You’re pregnant, and I needed to know that before I wrote this scrip. I had to find a different prescription for your lingering traces of depression because the other med could be harmful to the baby.”

“What baby?”

“Your baby.”

My head is jerking from side to side as I throw my hands up in a defensive manner. “Whoa, back it up. I’m not pregnant.”

“Yes, you are,” she says, flipping her file over to show me. At the top it has my name and then below that in big, bold letters:

PREGNANT

“Wait, what?” My throat is closing as I pull in deep breaths through my nose.

This is a mistake.

“You didn’t know?”

I shake my head, and I swear my brain scrambles in my head. Maybe it’s resetting because surely this is fucking wrong. I can’t be pregnant. This can’t be true. “No!”

She holds the file to her lap, her gaze full of confusion but also concern. “Well, Avery, are you sexual active?”

“Yes. But we use condoms.”

“Those aren’t 100% effective, you know,” she points out and I shake my head, unable to breathe.

“What the hell,” I yell, my whole body going numb. Bracing my hands on the side of the table, I draw in deep breaths, my head still shaking no as I try to figure out how this could have happened. Every time, we used condoms. We were safe. What the fuck? “No. How do you know? This has to be wrong.”

“You know we always do a urine test at the start of your sessions to check your levels.”

“It’s wrong,” I say defiantly, my heart pounding against my ribs as I start to feel dizzy. “I can’t be pregnant.”

“Have you skipped your period?”

I pause, squeezing the table until my knuckles turn white as I suck in breath after breath, racking my brain for that information. Closing my eyes, I feel the tears escaping from them and down the side of my face when I realize the truth.

I did…

“Yes.”

Looking up at her, I hope this is all a joke. A funny scare tactic to make me never want to have sex again. But as I meet her gaze, I know it isn’t. This is happening, and holy shit, I’m pregnant.

With a baby.

Jace’s baby.

Oh, crap.

I gasp for breath, pretty damn sure I’m having a panic attack. While the doctor talks about the new meds, I’m still trying to process this. How did this happen? I mean, I know that it can, but we were safe. Well, I’m not on my own birth control, but I was going to get it after my next period that I just realized never came. Oh my God, does this mean I got pregnant the first time we did it? Shit, he is amazing at everything he does. His boys broke through a damn condom.

This isn’t funny.

Oh my God.

What am I going to do?

“Do you understand?”

Looking at her with wide, tear-filled eyes, I shake my head. “No, I don’t fucking understand. I’m not fully understanding that I’m pregnant yet.”

When her eyes widen, I can only shake my head as the tears fall.

Damn it, what is Jace going to say?

What is he going to do?

I don’t doubt that he will stay by my side.

But we don’t need this.

Oh, God.

What are we going to do?

I’m bouncing on the tips of my toes as I wait for Avery to appear from the exit of the Southwest terminal. I may be early, and I may have to drive around since I’m on a timer, but I don’t care. I just want to see her. Hold her.

Kiss her.

God, I miss her.

Moving my finger up and down the thorn on the rose I got for her, I wonder where she is. She texted me saying she was here five minutes ago, so what’s taking so long? When my phone vibrates in my pocket, I pull it out, praying it’s Avery telling me she’s coming out now. But it’s Jude.

Jude: So I’m guessing since I haven’t gotten any calls of you crying, you and Avery are good?

Me: We will be. She just landed.

Jude: Good.

Jude: I hope it works out.

Me: It will.

Jude: Always so damn cocky.

Me: I know what’s up is all.

Jude: Haha. Whatever. Let me know if you need anything.

Me: Will do.

I grin at that as I tuck my phone back into my pocket, lifting my gaze to watch the door. I’m glad that Jude and Jayden still like Avery after our little spat of out-of-control emotions. It was intense, but it was a long time coming. Love isn’t perfect, no matter how great it feels, and we aren’t going to agree on everything. Like Jayden said to me, it doesn’t matter how bad the fight is, it matters how you make up. Two days of pure hell is enough for me. I want my girl and I’m ready to make up.

And we are going to make up hard.

When I see her, my heart stops in my chest as my face splits into a huge grin. I bounce faster as my grin continues to grow. My body breaks out in gooseflesh as her lips curve, her eyes intensely on me. And I decide I’ve never missed someone so much in my life. She looks beautiful like always, wrapped up in a thick jacket, a pair of jeans, and brown boots up to her knees. Her hair is back in a ponytail and she may look carefree, but she is walking in a short skirt and red heels in my eyes.