Late

Lila

"Are you serious?" he whispered.

He'd frozen, his arms locked around her, staring at her, wide-eyed and she couldn't tell if it was fear or hope. Or maybe both. She hiccupped and swallowed her tears, and plowed on, their faces only inches apart so she could see every twitch on his.

"It… it was a lie when I told Chris and the others, I was just using it to try to keep your dad cautious, but… Dane… I'm late. Like, really late. I didn't even realize until Chris had me tied up in that bathroom—" Dane shuddered at that, "—and I started thinking back and counting days. And I realized I keep getting really tired and I've been feeling sick and I threw up whenever I got anxious and… I don't know for sure, but… but you might not have to wait for that, Dane."

He stared at her like she was a wonder. One of his hands cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheek, but he just kept searching her eyes. "You're serious."