A Hurt So Sweet Volume Four (Elite of Eden Falls Prep 4)

"What?" I grunt. "The fuck are you talking about?"

Her words wake up Oakes too, and he grabs her, demanding, "What kid?"

"You don't know?" Angela smiles blissfully with the knowledge none of us have. "Your precious Pandora is pregnant. Congratulations, Dexter Booth. You'll be a daddy soon enough."

7

Pandora

"Are you sure this is the right address?" I ask again.

We stand in front of a huge holiday home. It's utterly secluded—in fact, the cab driver refused to take us all the way up here and stopped at the caretaker's cottage a mile away from it. After the long trek uphill to reach the cottage, I'm freaking exhausted, and the last thing I need is for Alli to tell me she made a mistake and we're at the wrong place.

"This is it." She smiles as she heads to the porch, lifting up a flower pot and producing a key out of nowhere. "Oh, good. The key was hidden in the same place."

I furrow my brows. Did she actually bring me here without knowing whether the key would be there?

"What is this place?" I wonder out loud as she unlocks the heavy front door, decorated with stained glass like you'd see in a church.

"It belonged to my father," Alli explains. "I don't think my... uncle uses it at all. We came here a lot when I was a kid. It hasn't been in use since."

We enter the house. The furniture is covered in white sheets and the place looks deserted. I cough when Alli pulls a sheet off the couch, sending dust flying into the air.

"It'll need a good scrub and clean," she goes on. "But we'll be safe here. No one will think to look for us in this place."

I don't know whether that's comforting or scary, but I nod my approval anyway. I help Alli remove the rest of the sheets from the furniture. The place is actually quite okay—a little outdated, but nice enough.

"There's a caretaker, too," she says. "Although I think he hasn't been in here. But he took care of the property, and he still lives in that shed we passed. We can get anything we need from him."

"Great," I mutter, groaning when I feel another cramp in my stomach. "Fuck."

"Sit down." Alli makes me sit on the floral couch. "I'll try to get the generator going so we'll have water and electricity."

I nod, watching her leave the room and feeling utterly miserable.

Did I really do the right thing when I left Eden Falls?

I can't stop the thought from entering my mind. I keep wondering whether I should have left in the first place. Not my mother's home—I knew I had to leave that place, knowing what she had tried to do. But Father wouldn't have tried to make me lose the baby. He'd be proud. He'd place me on the highest of pedestals and the baby wouldn't be in danger.

But by abandoning ship, I risked the baby's life. And if it hadn't been for Alli's quick, smart reactions, I wouldn't be pregnant anymore.

We saw a doctor in Stormcliff, who confirmed with an ultrasound the baby was unharmed. It was also the first time I finally saw the little bean in my uterus, confirming what I knew already—I was pregnant, and in a few short months, I'd be a mother myself.

"Thanks." I gratefully accept the glass of cold water from Alli and take long, deep gulps of the liquid. The water clears my head, leaving behind a determination to make things right, and return to Eden Falls and my Father. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Go ahead." Alli sits down on the couch cross-legged, pulling a pillow into her lap and beaming at me.

"I want to go back home." I watch her face for a reaction, but her smile remains frozen on her face. "I need to tell Dex what's happening. I need to go back to my father and tell him what Mother tried to do. I need to be somewhere where I can... work on my life."

"And you think going back to your father's house will accomplish that?" Alli's question sends a pang of guilt through me.

"Well, I can still be independent," I try to defend myself.

"In Eden Falls?" She laughs out loud. "Yeah, good luck with that."

I watch in disbelief as she stands up and walks over to the window. She opens the floral curtains and light spills into the dusty room. "No, no, I don't think that's a wise decision at all, my dear Pandora. I think you should stay right where you are and figure out your life, not run back home with your tail between your legs."

"Well..." I bite my lower lip. "Dex would be happy to see me."