Rare Blend (Red Mountain #1)

50. Marisa

CHAPTER 50

Marisa

A FREAK OF NATURE

I ’m breaking the law…well, sort of. The laws of the hospital. It is well past visiting hours, but Hillary refused to let me go back to the apartment.

I don’t know how she’s not passed out. She’s honestly a freak of nature. Not only did she work a full eight-hour day—because she refused to start maternity leave before the baby arrived—she gave birth without any drugs, and baby Josephine was almost a ten-pounder. If I’m fortunate enough to have kids, I’ll be begging for pain meds.

Archie is snoring loudly on the pullout couch, looking totally exhausted.

“I think I broke his hand,” Hillary says to me with a giggle. “Poor guy wasn’t ready.”

“Seems only fair, considering the state of your vagina.”

She groans. “Don’t remind me. She’s never going to look the same again.”

I laugh quietly, trying not to wake Archie or the baby. “It’ll be good as new in a few months.”

Her eyes roll. “I doubt it. Tonight, do yourself a favor and take some good vagina pics. You can send them to Ethan for safe keeping. That way you’ll always remember how pretty she was before a baby, with a head in the ninety-eighth percentile, squeezed out of it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I murmur, distracted by thoughts of Ethan.

Hillary stays quiet for a beat, watching me. “You’re going to marry him, you know. He’s the one.”

My eyes meet hers, and I breathe out, giving her a small smile, nodding. “I hope so.”

She squeals and then realizes where she is and claps a hand over her mouth. Once she’s calmed down, she gestures for me to come closer. “Why did you come back? And don’t tell me it was for that stupid job. You don’t even like being a technical writer.”

“I know,” I say, flashing my eyes downcast. “He was adamant that I needed to move back so I would know what I really wanted. But I knew, Hill. I knew I should’ve stayed. I just let myself think it was too soon. I’ve regretted moving back every second I’ve been here. The only reason I would consider staying is because I do love having you close by, and it’s hard being away from you.”

She snorts. “Sweetie, I can move. I got Archie to cross an ocean for me. If I wake up tomorrow and tell him, ‘Babe, let’s move to Red Mountain,’ he would have the moving truck scheduled that week.”

I cock my head at her. “You’re not moving, Hillary.”

She sighs. “Well, obviously not right now. I just had a baby. But I could, one day. What I’m getting at is don’t stay for me. This isn’t your home. You have nothing tying you to Seattle anymore, except that dumb job, of course.”

“I quit.”

Her head rears back. “Like you quit the new job?”

I nod. “Yeah. Technically, it wasn’t a real quit, since I’m still within the ninety-day window, but yeah, I quit.”

Her smile is soft. “Good for you.” She grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m proud of you.”

At some point, I fell asleep in the rocking chair in Hillary’s hospital room. My eyes squint from the bright fluorescents the nurse turned on. Apparently, staying in a hospital means getting woken up at three in the morning. I look around and let my eyes adjust. Archie is still hard asleep. Hillary is awake, but it looks like she was recently woken up based on her tired eyes. A nurse holds baby Josephine in front of Hillary.

I get up and walk over to Hillary and the nurse. “What’s going on?”

“They want me to try to breastfeed. I guess she was fussing.”

The nurse passes a bundled Josephine into Hillary’s arms. I watch for a moment as she coos and shushes, rocking her gently back and forth, like a total natural.

“You’re a mommy,” I tell her, feeling emotional.

Her eyes meet mine, shiny. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

I blow her a silent kiss goodbye and wave. After being awkwardly curled up in the rocking chair, I’m ready for a real bed.

The only nice thing about this hour is that it takes almost no time at all to get an Uber to pick me up from the hospital. With the lack of traffic and the driver slightly speeding, the normal twenty minute drive is only ten. When we’re almost to Zoe’s apartment, I slip the driver a tip to stop at the convenience store so I can run in and grab something to munch on. Between quitting my job and then racing to the hospital, I’ve barely eaten today. It’s been a whirlwind.

As soon as we pull into the parking lot of Zoe’s apartment, the driver is quick to leave. A pang of unease hits me as I wander through the dark parking lot during the witching hour. Zoe lives in a decent area, but Seattle still has plenty of crime, enough to have me looking over my shoulders all the way to the complex. Just when I think I can breathe a sigh of relief because I’m almost to Zoe’s door, I instantly freeze, seeing a man slumped over, passed out, and sitting in front of the door.

My large pop and hotdog drop to the ground, and I yelp. The man stirs, turning his face, and I’m immediately relieved. It’s Ethan.

Wait! It’s Ethan!?

I rush to him and squat down. “Ethan! What are you doing here? Are you insane?!”

He shakes his head, coming out of his sleepy state.

“It’s fucking January. You could’ve frozen to death.”

“Keep it down!” someone yells from up above.

“Come on,” I whisper. “Let’s get you inside.”

I practically drag him in and close and lock the door behind us. When I turn back to face him, he’s rubbing at his face, looking more awake.

“Why are you here?” I don’t mean to sound upset, but had I known he was coming, I would’ve been here hours ago. He didn’t call or text or anything. I’m feeling panicked. People don’t show up out of the blue for no reason. The only thing I can think of is that he finally came to his senses and is here to break up with me, and because he’s such a good man, he’s doing it in person.

“Let’s sit down,” he says.

I stand my ground and cross my arms, popping a hip to feel a little more confident. “No, I’m not sitting until you tell me why you’re here.”

His eyes narrow at me, confused. “Are you mad at me right now?”

I throw up my hands. “I don’t know Ethan? You show up here out of nowhere, and it’s got me freaking out.” I meet his gaze and then look down, feeling less and less confident with each passing second. Breathing deeply, I lock eyes with him. “Are you here to break up with me?”

He laughs harshly, tossing his head back. “Break up with you? Why would you think that?” He approaches me slowly, cautiously. Reaching his hand out, his fingers brush against my jaw, holding it gently. “Baby, I’m not here to break up with you. I’m here to take you home.”