Fireflies From Heaven (24 page)

Reed wasn’t
home when I went to his house, but Jase was and saying that he wasn’t happy to see
me was like saying summers in Texas were a little warm.

He was locking
Reed’s front door when he saw me and scowled. “What’re you doing here?” Jase
demanded of me.

“I would think
that’s obvious. I came to see Reed.”

Jase scoffed.
“You’re kind of late, don’t you think.”

“He’s already
gone?”

“He and
Isabelle left early this morning.”

When I looked
at him questioningly, he didn’t elaborate just stood watching me like I was a
bug that had crawled across his shoe.

“Okay,” I said
drawing out the single word. “I’ll come back.”

“Why the hell
would you do that?”

“Maybe Reed
didn’t tell you, but he chose Amber. I’ll bet she not only knows where he is,
but is with him as well.”

“Look, I don’t know
what kind of game you’re playing, but you fucked over a guy that would have
done anything for you. This ‘he chose Amber’ is bullshit.”

My heart
squeezed at the mention of Reed, and I was unnerved at the strength of his
anger.

“Did you know in
all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him drunk until the day you sent
him that text.
 
Maybe I shouldn’t
tell you this because you’ll probably enjoy hearing about the hell you put him
through.” Jase’s eyes flashed angrily.

“That’s not
true. He didn’t tell you everything.”

“You had your
fun. Now it’s over,” Jase sneered. “He’ll get over you.” With that parting
shot, Jase moved past me, but I turned and followed him. My head felt light,
and I struggled to fight off the haze.

“I walked in on
him and Amber!” I called to Jase, who kept walking, not even bothering to slow
down.

I jogged,
trying to keep up with him, desperate for him to hear my side of the story.

“I wasn’t
playing any game, and I only sent the text because it hurt too much to talk to
him after what he’d done.”

He ignored me.
I ran, but I was still several steps behind him.

“Jase, I still
love him!” The admission tore from deep inside of me, and I’d only just said it
when I tripped, stumbling.

He must have
turned back, because Jase caught me before I fell. I hadn’t realized I was
crying until he brushed at my tears. I’m not sure what happened next, but I
felt strange, the ground seemed to rush toward me and I only closed my eyes for
a second.
 

I don’t
remember anything else.

“Please, Ellie.
Wake up.”

Reed’s deep, insistent
voice tugged at my consciousness, urging me to listen. I wanted to continue to
rest in the peaceful darkness, but something in his tone refused to be ignored.

The steady
beeping sound, the sterile smell and the cool sheets made me think of a
hospital, but that couldn’t be right.
 
I tried to remember what had happened. I’d gone to see Reed. Jase was
furious with me, and I recalled how frantic I’d been to convince him that I
hadn’t done something horrible to Reed. The beeping sound increased with my
heartbeat.

 
“It’s okay,” I heard Reed tell me.
“You’re safe Ellie.”

Opening my
eyes, I saw Reed standing over me, stroking my hair and looking down at me with
an expression on his face I’d never before seen. He looked worried.

 
“What’re you doing here?”

He seemed to consider
his words carefully. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Yes.”

He pushed a
button on the side of the hospital bed. “Everyone will be glad to know you’re
awake.”

“Everyone?”

“Cora and
Isabelle, Jase and your dad.”

I couldn’t
believe it. How had they all gotten here so quickly? “Why am I in the hospital?”
I asked, looking toward the window and seeing the darkening sky. Staring in
disbelief, I wondered what had happened to the sun.

“Ellie you
fainted.”

“That was this
morning! What time is it now?”

He glanced at
his watch. “Almost eight. You’re okay, Ellie. The doctor will be in soon.”

My mind was
racing. I’d lost nine hours. Taking a deep breath, I tried to put the pieces of
the puzzle together. My mind played through what had happened that day starting
with Dr. Mitchell’s phone call and ending with me talking to Jase. “Jase called
you.”

Reed nodded. “He
brought you to the ER.”

“Reed, I’m pregnant.
I was coming to tell you.” The words tumbled out.

“I know,” he replied
stoically. Something bothered me about his reaction, but I couldn’t figure out
exactly what it was.

The doctor
entered the room, and I didn’t recognize him. He looked to be in his
mid-thirties and was holding a file that was probably mine.
 
He smiled as he walked over to me, and I
relaxed a little.

“It’s nice to
finally meet you, Miss McAllister.
 
I’m Dr. Sullivan, and I’ve been reviewing your test results.”

I must have
looked alarmed, because he quickly assured me, “You and your baby are fine.”
His eyes settled on Reed. “Usually, we only allow family members in, but since
Mr. Bentley said he was your baby’s father, we made an exception.”

“Thank you.” My
gaze swung to Reed, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Dr. Sullivan
nodded. “You fainted, which isn’t unusual considering your condition. We’ve
kept you for observation because you’re showing signs of dehydration and your
blood pressure is a little high.”

“The baby is
okay though?”

“Both of you
will be fine.” He gestured toward the heart monitor beside my bed. “This is the
baby’s heartbeat.”

I stared
transfixed at the little green beep, and I relaxed.
 
Reed was watching the monitor as well,
but something was wrong. I don’t think he was as happy about the baby as I was.

“I’m going to
go,” Reed said abruptly. “I’ll be back to check on you.”

“You don’t have
to go.” At the moment I didn’t care about Amber or anything else; Reed wasn’t
just my baby’s father, he was my best friend and I didn’t want him to leave me.

“Your dad will
want to see you now that you’re awake, and I’m not his favorite person now.”

I nodded,
realizing that Dad probably knew about the baby too.
 
Even though I regretted them finding out
this way, I wasn’t ashamed of my baby, and I wouldn’t act like I’d made a
mistake.

Dad came into
my room a few minutes after Reed had left and he came to my bed and kissed my forehead,
looking down at me with clear relief. “Thank God you’re alright.”

I didn’t often really
look at Dad, but I did now and realized several things. He was young. We’d
practically grown up together, despite him being my dad, and he’d lost so much
in his lifetime. He never knew his father and his mother had run off with her
boyfriend when he was sixteen.
 
And
he’d lost my mom. I was all he had left, and it was obvious that I’d scared him.
His dress shirt was wrinkled and rolled up at the sleeves, and his expression
was mask of concern.

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

“We’ll work it
out. Don’t worry about anything.”

I smiled and
for the first time I noticed Isabelle behind him. “Hey, Isabelle.”

She walked over
to my bedside. “How are you feeling?” She rolled her eyes. “Sorry, that’s a
stupid question.”

“I don’t feel
like I need to be in the hospital,” I told her.

“They’re only
keeping you for observation. You’ll get to go home in the morning.”

“I guess I missed
all the Black Friday deals,” I joked.

“There’s always
Cyber Monday.” She smiled.

“Is Reed still
here?”

At the mention
of Reed, a peculiar look crossed Isabelle’s beautiful face. Dad’s jaw tightened.
“He walked Jase out,” Isabelle told me, glancing at my dad uncertainly.

“Jase was
here?”

“He’s been here
all day.”

I felt bad for
Jase, thinking how guilty he must feel because we’d argued just before I
fainted.
 
I’d have to talk to him
later and make sure he knew that I didn’t blame him for what happened.

“Can I see Reed?”

Dad frowned. “I
don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please, I need
to see him.”

My dad and
Isabelle exchanged a look, which was odd but I chose to ignore it.

“I’ll send him
in,” Dad said, dropping a kiss on my forehead. “If you need me, I’m right
outside.”

Isabelle stayed
behind after my dad left.

“Can you ever
forgive me?” she whispered with tears in her eyes.

“Isabelle,
stop.
 
I know you’re mad at me for
what happened with Reed, so you don’t have to pretend all is good just because
I’m in the hospital and look like hell.”

“You don’t look
like hell,” she assured me, but I knew she was lying.

“Do I have any
make up left on at all?”

Isabelle
studied me a moment. “No. But you’re hair looks great.”

I smiled.

“No matter what
happens with Reed, you’re still my best friend and I love you,” Isabelle told
me, her sincerity warming me.

“I love you too,
Isabelle.”

Reed stepped
into room, filling it with his larger-than-life presence and my heart ached at
the sight of him. He walked to the side of the bed, and Isabelle whispered
something to him and he nodded.
 
Again,
I had the feeling something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly
what was it was. It must have something to do with the baby.

“I’ll let the
two of you talk.” Isabelle squeezed my hand. “It’ll be okay.”

Once she was
gone, an uncomfortable silence fell and I couldn’t ever recall feeling so
awkward around Reed.

“How you
doing?” he asked.

“Not bad. I
can’t wait to go home.”

“I know the
feeling.”

“Yeah, I guess
you do.
 
Reed, I just found out
about the baby.
 
I don’t want you to
think I was keeping it from you.”

His expression
was impassive. “I didn’t think that.”

“Last week I
was hurt when I found out about you and Amber, but I know that I should have
talked with you in person.”

“It doesn’t
matter.” He looked like he meant it, and a jolt of alarm shot inside of me.

“Reed, I know
we have a lot to work out—“

“Just stop,
Ellie.” He didn’t say it unkindly, but there was no mistaking the command in
his voice.
 
“This isn’t doing anyone
any good, especially you and the baby. You shouldn’t be upsetting yourself.”

“But we need to
talk,” I persisted.

“I know. Once
the baby is born, we’ll work something out.
 
If you need anything from me before
then, just let me know.”

“That’s great,
but I wasn’t just talking about the baby. We need to talk about what happened
with us.”

 
His expression darkened, but the look was
gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced once again by an unemotional mask. “If
you think I’m going to hold a grudge because you broke up with me, it’s not
going to happen. I know we’ll have to get along for the baby’s sake.” Reed
stopped and raked his hand over his jaw. “Sorry, it’s a lot to take in. I
wasn’t expecting to find out I was going to be a father today, but that doesn’t
mean I won’t be a good one.”

“Right, you’re
probably shocked. I know I was.”

“Yeah, give me
some time, and I promise I’ll work with you on whatever we need to do for the
baby.”

“Sure, no
problem,” I lied.

He strode from
the room without looking back. I’d been wrong to think my heart was completely
broken before, because it completely shattered with Reed’s words.
 
He only wanted to discuss the baby. Any
doubt that Reed hadn’t moved on with Amber vanished. I was torn up inside, but
I didn’t cry. I had no more tears for Reed because I had no more hope for us.

Over the next
few weeks, my life settled into its new normal. I went back to work, had my
first OBGYN appointment, and I learned not to think about Reed. Fortunately, I
was busy enough that I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself.

For the first
time ever, I made it to my last dress fitting before Aunt Lacy and Brooke.
 
Strangely, they arrived several minutes
late and I knew immediately that something was not right between them.
 
Aunt Lacy didn’t criticize me, but I
think it was more because she was preoccupied with whatever she was upset with
Brooke about.

“So you’re
bringing Reed to the wedding?” Brooke asked pleasantly. Something in her eyes
told me this was more than just a casual question.

“I hadn’t
thought about it,” I lied, knowing I’d RSVP’d for two, but so far I was still
dateless.

“Oh,” she said
with exaggerated disappointment. “Is there a problem between the two of you?”
Brooke didn’t wait for me to answer. “I didn’t want to say anything, but I saw
him the other day and I think he was hitting on me.”

I stared at
Brooke.

“I cannot imagine
what he was thinking.” Brooke pretended indignation.

“He’s probably
thinking about you passing him your digits with the words CALL ME,” I replied
easily, watching the look of shock play on Aunt Lacy’s face.

Brooke gasped.
“I did not.”

“Brooke, maybe
you should figure out what you want before you walk down the aisle and marry
Davis.” With that I left the boutique, knowing Brooke would likely to blow me
off but hoping for once she’d listen.

I kept my head
held high, relishing how awesome it felt to stand up to Brooke. The amazing
feeling lasted all day long only to vanish like a lady in a magic act when I saw
Reed out later that night with another woman.