Once again, my little hedgehog is snuggled in my bed taking a cat nap in my jersey, surrounded by covers, and pillows. This time though she's not pretending to be asleep. She's curled up, her breathing soft and even, wavy hair all over the place, and mouth moving as if she's trying to say something.

She talks in her sleep.

And it never makes any sense.

It's adorable.

She's been taking naps at my place every so often between classes and work. Life's been crazy for both of us lately, and it's been flying by. She's been busy with work and school, whereas I'm drowned in hockey and homework. But it's times like these, where everything slows down for a fraction, that I get to enjoy her. And right now, my cute little fuzzball is subconsciously begging to be snuggled with before she has to be woken up.

Don't mind if I do.

I change into some sweats and rip off my shirt, knowing how much she hates... and loves it. My body slides in and I swear I entered a furnace. My arm wraps around her, my chest curving around her back until my large body engulfs her little one.

She's perfectly itty bitty in my hold and the best part...

The very subtle bump my hand can't help but hold.

She has started to show and I love seeing that swell in her belly. There's something so... amazing about it. I can't explain it. All I can say is that something primal comes over me.

My face dips into the crook of her neck, breathing in her comforting scent, her hair sticking to my beard. My lips meet her soft skin and she stirs, a cute little moan escaping her lips.

"Little hedgehog," I rumble out as my mouth slides from her neck to her ear. "It's time for you to get up."

She whines, turning into me, her face snuggling in my chest. "But I don't have any buttons."

I chuckle. "No, you have my jersey on again, which is unbelievably sexy might I add. But most importantly, why would not having buttons stop you from waking up?"

Her nose twitches, gliding over the tuft of hair she's obsessed with on my chest. "I don't know. It seemed like a good reason for a second."

"It made no sense."

She laughs, "It did in my head for some dumb reason."

My hand pushes back some of her gorgeous sexy bed hair and then I bring her face up to mine. Her blue eyes are cloudy from sleep, but it's her minty breath that alarms me. "Did you get sick again?"

She groans a little, sitting up and I do the same. She peers at me as if not wanting to have this conversation. "I'm trying to wean off the medication. I've been feeling better but every once in a while I get really sick. I should be over it soon... at least I hope."

"Why do you want to be off it so bad? Babe, you're barely into the second trimester."

"I'm just worried that it could hurt the baby. There's a lot of risks and side effects."

I start rubbing the back of her neck and she lets out a sigh, her head laying on my shoulder. "How often are you getting sick?"

"It's not like last time. Only every so often and I'm not dizzy or anything."

My fingers find the pressure points in her head and relieve some of the tension I know she's feeling. It works and her shoulders relax. "I don't want you in the hospital again."

"I know," she whispers. "If it gets bad I'll start taking it again."

I kiss her shoulder, pushing her hair back so my mouth can continue tasting her delectable skin.

"Please tell me we have time to play Mario Party 3 before I go," she asks, a little breathy.

"You're thinking about video games while I'm here shirtless in my bed with you?"

She sucks in a breath when I bite her earlobe in vengeance for hurting my ego. And don't ask me how, but I know she's smiling right now and whatever she's about to say is going to get under my skin in the best way. It always does when she teases me and takes jabs at my manhood.

"Your moves aren't as smooth as you think."

She yelps and laughs as I pin her back down into the bed, imprinting her in it, my hands gripping her wrist, keeping her in place. I hover over her, her heartbeat in that pulse at her throat beating frantically. The cross necklace of Paul's I wear hangs between us and for the first time, it doesn't hurt to have it around my neck. "You're going to regret that."

Her big eyes get dazed, lost in mine. "How so?"

I dip down to her, my mouth whisperly touching that tempting beating pulse. "By showing you some of the things I want to do to you."

I kiss her throat and I earn a sexy whimper. My mouth becomes addicted to the taste of her skin. From her shoulder to the spot behind her ear, I'm drunk in the best possible way... for a woman.

And one day, I'm going to wake up, opening my eyes up to Blue next to me, and she'll be mine, my girl, the mother of my child... and my wife.

That realization causes my kisses to stop at the corner of her mouth, so close to those divine lips.

"Tariq?" she calls out in concern. "Is something wrong?"

I pull up and her brows pinch, but all I can do is stare at the woman who bulldozed into my life with her quirky stubbornness, compassionate heart, crooked lips, and big blue eyes.

I love her.

Like a hard-hitting, it hurts, kind of love.

I knew I did before, but right now, I'm understanding how deeply it goes. For two years after Paul's death, my soul felt barren, even with Cass, heck, any girl. And yet, somehow, this adorably odd, beautiful woman got a hold of me. She took me by the heart and fell in love with a broken man all while I tried keeping her at a distance, but she didn't let go once.

One of my hands unlatches around her wrist, my fingers gliding down the underside of her arm, trailing the blue veins exposed by her pale skin. Her breathing heavies the further down her arm I go.

"How'd I get so lucky?" I ask in a gruff whisper. "I'm sorry, babe, but I'm so glad you got hit by that football. Just the idea of someone getting to you before I did... I don't know, it kills me to think about how I could've missed you, my chance."

She laughs and it makes my heart and veins dance. "I thought that not too long ago."

A smile stretches across my face, pulling my cheeks up and Elodie pokes my dimples. "I love those. I remember the first time I saw them they were for Cass at your kickoff party."

"They belong to you now, just like the rest of me." Softly my lips take hers and then I chuckle into our kiss. "Were you jealous back then?"

"You wish, Araneo."

I keep kissing my favorite lips in the whole world. "Yeah, I do."

That makes her stop and she tilts her head on the pillow, staring at me. "You didn't back then. You were all over Cass that night."

"I'm not going to deny it, Blue, I was but then I saw you and ditched Cass as soon as the blonde head of yours came into view."

I love the big broad smiles that crunches her face and reaches her eyes. "There's no way that's true."

I give her one more kiss, knowing I'm at my limit of self-control. "It is. I booked it for you, the singing oddball with the big black eye."

She smacks my arm as I get off her and find a shirt to throw on. "Where're you going?"

I glance back at her. "If I lay in that bed any longer it's going to be very hard to resist temptation, especially since you're in my jersey with those black little yoga shorts of yours."

Her head falls back, her fluffy, knotted strands falling down her back as she laughs. "There's no way that's true, especially now that I'm showing."

Leaning over, I catch her in between my arms, my hands planted on either side of her. "It's all the more reason, babe."

Her face reddens and she clears her throat. "Okay, so, um Mario Party?"

"Sounds perfect."

My face is still hot from my tragic loss.

Tariq Araneo is now my archnemesis.

He had beaten me at Mario Party and since my pregnancy, I've gotten even more competitive, and that's saying something. I can still hear his deep, hypnotic laughter mocking me as I left, slamming his door while I did.

He had yelled out I was adorable, I had shouted back he was a turd.

Yeah, I had said turd, which had made him laugh harder.

But right now is not the time to be thinking about my payback. I'm meeting Laura today at this swanky cafe. I sit there at a table, waiting for her as my hands keep smoothing over my dress showing my tiny belly. Most people probably wouldn't notice it, especially since my dress hides it pretty well, but it's there.

Tariq is obsessed with it.

He's constantly touching it. His favorite thing to do is come behind me, his hands on my belly with his chin on top of my head.

I love it when he does that.

He's busy getting ready for a big game, which is why he isn't here with me. But I wanted to go to this alone anyway. My stomach churns a little from all the nerves.

I'm not looking forward to this at all.

Today I find out if the sale had gone through for the house, and if I'll lose my childhood home forever. It's hard. On one hand, I want to rip it off like a bandaid and let it go, on the other, I want to prolong this a much as possible and hold onto hope that maybe, somehow, she'll let me keep it.

I glance out the window and my heart slams into my chest when I see Laura pop out of a car. She looks so much like my dad it hurts. I had forgotten just how much they had looked alike. Same nose, same eyes, same hair color. Her features are softer, more feminine, but as she walks in and her eyes land on me, it's eerie. It's like staring at my dad for a second.

His eyes.

A never-ending brown.

She even has those crow's feet in the corner of her eyes as he had. Her reddish-brown hair is pulled up in a messy bun and she looks exhausted. Just like a woman who had been traveling all day, which she had been.

She wears a baggy T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Her appearance is so normal, so like dad's, that when she stops in front of me, I realize I can't hate her.

As much as I want to.

I get up and stretch out my hand.

Laura looks at it, her chest rising as she takes a deep breath, looking back up at me. Very awkwardly, she wraps her arms around me in a loose hug and I barely reciprocate, not wanting her to feel my baby bump.

I give a cringy pat then sit back down when I glance up at her, she pulls back the chair, clearly uncomfortable as she scratches her head...

Another thing dad used to do.

"So, um," she begins, "the offer fell through and it looks like it'll still be on the market."

My breath swishes right out of me and I instantly relax. I'm really having a hard time letting it go and I can't figure out why. I grieved for my dad, but maybe this is the last step, saying bye to our home.

I'm not ready yet.

The thought heats the back of my eyes up with tears that want to come out, but I swallow and hold them back with a blinking frenzy. "So now, what?" I ask.

A waitress comes and sits a glass of water in front of Laura who glances over, mumbling a thank you. She's just as equally nervous as I am.

"We wait for another one. Sadly, there's not much interest even though it's a seller's market." She takes another sip of her water, her foot tapping in an unsteady beat. "Uh... how's school going?"

My nose twitches but I keep my face neutral. "Fine, why are we meeting? Why did you come all the way here?"

She winces and bites on her lip. "You were innocent in all the things that happened between my dad and me..." Realizing her error, eyes wide and frantic, she clears her throat, correcting herself. "Our dad. I was angry and upset, making rash decisions without thinking about how it was going to affect you. I'm sorry and I want to help you."

I sit there quietly, letting her words sink in. For once, this is a conversation I refuse to walk away from with a list of things I should've said and rehearse over and over again for nothing. I need to be calm, patient so that I can say the things I need to say.

Licking my lips, I take a deep breath. "I don't want your help. I'm hurt by what you've done and you've been nothing but selfish. I understand you and our dad had a bad past, but that didn't give you any right to come in and take everything from me."

"I know, I know," she says with her hands tilted up slightly, fingers shaking. "It's why I'm trying to correct my mistakes and do right by you. I started with putting his stuff... your stuff in the storage unit. All of it is yours. If I can give you some money to help out or help you find a place." She digs into her purse, pulling out papers of house and apartment listings. "I got a list and we can go look at some places for you today or this weekend. Find something that you can afford and if you need help I can help you out."

My lips cave into my mouth, my teeth biting down on them. I lean forward, pushing the listings over, and stare straight into Laura's eyes. "First, I don't need your help. Second, I have a job and am already saving up for an apartment I have my eye on. So, stop trying to help, I won't accept it. Say what you came to say and then leave me alone."

Her eyes water and her tongue pushes the side of her cheek out as the first slew of tears rolls down her face. "I'm sorry. Were you there when he..."

My throat swells at the memory of waking up to his blank stare. I allow the grief to hit me and I croak out, "Yes, I woke up to him gone."

She closes her eyes and puts her trembling hand in front of her face. "How bad was it?"

"It was awful." My tears are free-falling now, splashing on the paper menu in front of me that I ordered nothing from. "They had him on a lot of medication to help ease his pain. His breathing was rough and it was hard to watch."

It's why I had fallen asleep.

I couldn't take it.

"Was he able to say anything?"

"No."

She's sobbing now and I don't know why I do it, but my hand grabs one of hers, it's dry, cracking, and not soft in the slightest. The heel of her other palm tries to shove away the tears. "I wish I could've seen him. I wish we could've talked it out."

I don't say anything and focus on the paper menu, my sprinkle of tears making the paper a dark translucent color, the red ink washed out by the salty liquid.

After a few minutes, she collects herself and her clamming hand unclasps mine. It was weird, awkward, and depressing. "I think you're using me to help ease your guilt. It won't work. You have to deal with it."

I know this because I had to too.

She nods solemnly, her jaw twitching, and lips quivering. "Yeah, I do."

A thought comes to mind and my brows knit. "How'd you find out?"

"About what?" she asks.

"His death."

Her puffy, red eyes squint and she straightens. "Dad's lawyer called me."

All the air leaves my lungs and it takes me a second to finally ask...

"What lawyer?"

I am so sorry everyone for the delay! These last few days have been crazy. From my hubby getting a new job to both of us forgetting about our anniversary to going out to eat only for me to get food poisoning, life's been a mess. I'm feeling much better though and will be writing the rest of this story out in the next couple of days. Hoping to have another update for you soon. This one I may need to go back and edit, add some more. I'm not sure lol!

Only five more chapters left!

What's your guess as to what is going on?

I hope you all stick with me as I wrap up this story and enjoy the end

As always thank you for reading!!!!

Much Love,

LivingRed