“Pregnant. I guess it must have been that one episode of makeup sex.” Andrea was scarlet. “But I’m happy. I think this will be a new start. It’s what we need.”
People didn’t always get what they needed, Jenna thought. Nor did they get what they wanted.
Devastated: very shocked and upset by something.
She managed to push out some words. Pleased. Congratulations.
Andrea looked at her oddly. “Are you all right?”
“I ate something,” Jenna said. “Bad seafood. Must go.”
She slid into her car and drove toward the exit, braking to allow a mother and her toddler to cross the road.
Jenna stared at the blond curls and the smile, the chubby hand curled around her mother’s.
Her child probably would have had curls exactly like that, and maybe freckles.
Except there was no child and maybe there never would be.
The emptiness felt like a giant crater and she was teetering on the edge, trying hard not to fall into it.
Tears blurred her vision and she blinked rapidly, forcing herself to concentrate on the road. A few more minutes and she’d be able to give in to her emotions. A few more minutes.
But the tears weren’t willing to wait that long.
She knew she should pull over but there was nowhere safe and her destination was only five minutes away.
Half-blinded, she misjudged the edge of the road as she made the final turn.
She spun the wheel hard, trying to compensate, but the tires hit soft ground and she slammed hard into the ditch and rolled. She screamed, knowing for sure that this was the end. Her bag flew and hit her on the cheek, her head smashed against the window hard, and then there was a sickening crunching sound and the car settled on its roof.
The seat belt kept her trapped there, suspended upside down as she tried to work out if she was dead or alive. Her head throbbed and her vision was blurry.
Still gripping the wheel with one hand, she reached to open the door with the other, but it had buckled during the impact and wouldn’t budge.
She was trapped.
Panic ripped through her. Now what? Did cars catch fire in real life as easily as they did in the movies? Was she about to be burned alive?
Her survival instincts kicked in and somehow she undid her seat belt and landed in an ungainly heap on her back. The pain made her cry out and the only thought in her head right then was relief that she wasn’t pregnant.
Of course if she had been pregnant she wouldn’t be in this situation now.
She’d be at home with a smile on her face waiting to break the news to Greg.
Greg.
He’d be driving home around now but he wouldn’t be worried about her because she’d told him she was going to be late. No one knew where she was.
She felt something warm flowing over her cheek and realized she was bleeding. She felt dizzy and sick.
She needed to find her purse.
She wiped the blood away with her palm and forced herself to stay calm as she looked around the car. It had to be here somewhere. Could she smell gas or was it her imagination? Oh God, oh God—she found her purse half-hidden under the blanket she always kept on the back seat.
She grabbed it, opened it with shaking hands and pulled out her phone.
Please let there be a signal.