Chapter 6

　　Raine

　　Three weeks had passed since that night. Three weeks since I felt the heat of Miguel's skin and the weight of his body. Three weeks since he looked at me and told me I made his skin crawl.

　　I was sick.

　　It started every morning at 6:00 AM. I would wake up and barely make it to the bathroom before my stomach turned itself inside out.

　　I felt weak, like my bones were made of stone. My head would spin if I stood up too fast, and I had to keep a hand on the furniture just to walk across the living room.

　　I told myself it was just the stress. I told myself it was the blood I gave.

　　My mother had called me back to the hospital ten days ago. Raina's levels were dropping again, and she needed a transfusion.

　　I sat in that hard plastic chair for two hours while they drained me to fill her back up. I didn't complain. I never did. I just watched the red liquid go into the tubes and wondered how much more of me she would take before there was nothing left.

　　Since that day, the dizziness had gotten so bad I couldn't even work at my desk. I spent most of my time curled up on the sofa, staring at the empty penthouse and waiting for a husband who never came home.

　　Lena, my best friend from high school, was the only one who noticed. She was a nurse, and she had seen me at the hospital during the transfusion. She told me I looked like a ghost. She kept texting me, telling me I needed to come in for a check-up.

　　"Come to the hospital right now," she said when she finally called me. Her voice was flat and serious. "It's urgent, Raine. I have your results."

　　I drove to the hospital feeling numb. I wondered if I was dying. A part of me thought that maybe it would be easier if I just stopped existing.

　　If I died, Miguel could marry Raina. My parents could have their favorite daughter back. Everyone would be happy.

　　I walked into Lena's small office. The smell of bleach and medicine made my stomach flip again. Lena didn't say "hello" or ask how I was. She just reached into a drawer and pulled out a white envelope.

　　"Read it," she said.

　　I took the envelope. My fingers were shaking so much I could barely get the paper out. I looked at the black ink on the white page. I read it once. Then I read it again.

　　Positive.

　　The word was like a bomb going off in the room.

　　I was pregnant.

　　I sat there, frozen. I couldn't feel my hands. I couldn't feel my feet. The only thing I could feel was the frantic drumming of my heart against my ribs.

　　One night. That was all it took. One night of whiskey and mistakes, and now my life was tied to Miguel's forever.

　　I thought about the way he looked at me the morning after. I thought about him telling me I was a "drunken mistake." I thought about him sitting at the hospital right now, holding Raina's hand and promising her that I was nothing to him.

　　"No," I whispered. I gripped the paper so hard it started to tear. "This is wrong. It has to be wrong."

　　"It's not wrong, Raine," Lena said, her voice soft. She leaned over and put her hand on mine. "You're pregnant. You're going to have a baby."

　　A sob broke out of my throat before I could stop it. I pressed my hand against my mouth, trying to keep the sound in. I wasn't happy. I wasn't excited. I was terrified.

　　For three years, I had lived a life that didn't belong to me. I wore the clothes Miguel liked. I lived in the house he chose. I gave my blood and my organs to a sister who took everything and gave nothing back. I was a spare part. I was a shadow.

　　But this baby? This baby was mine.

　　It wasn't a debt. It wasn't a promise made to a dying girl. It was a real, living thing growing inside me.

　　But then, the fear turned into a cold, hard knot in my stomach. Miguel wouldn't want this baby. If I told him, he would think I did it on purpose. He would think I was trying to "trap" him now that Raina was awake. He would hate me even more than he already did.

　　And my parents? They would see this baby as a mistake. They would see it as a hurdle that was keeping Miguel and Raina apart. They would probably try to take the baby or tell me I wasn't fit to be a mother.

　　"Raine? Speak to me," Lena pleaded.

　　I looked up at her. My eyes were burning, but I didn't let the tears fall. I reached down and touched my stomach. It was still flat, still empty-looking, but everything had changed.

　　"He can't know," I said. My voice was low and jagged. "Lena, you have to swear to me. You can't tell anyone. Not the pack, not my family. Especially not Miguel."

　　"Raine, he's the father. He has a right..."

　　"He has no rights!" I snapped, the anger finally breaking through the shock. "He told me I make his skin crawl, Lena! He told me he loves my sister more than his own life. He doesn't want me, and he won't want this child. He'll just see it as a problem he has to solve."

　　I stood up, the room tilting for a second before I found my balance. I tucked the paper into my bag and straightened my shirt.

　　"I'm going home," I said.

　　"Raine, wait. You're low on blood and you're pregnant. You need to eat. You need to rest."

　　"I'll be fine," I lied.

　　Lena looked at me across the desk. Her face was very serious. "Raine, you have to tell Miguel. Carrying a baby in your situation is dangerous. Your body is weak from the kidney transplant and all those blood donations. You can't do this alone. He needs to know."