“I won’t. I promise.” I did my best to force a smile. “But if you’re going to stick around, then the least you can do is feed me.”

Bell grinned. “Firehouse Pizza?” I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up a hand. “I know it’s not your junk food day, but come on, today has thrown you for a loop. I think you’ve earned some pineapple and pepperoni.”

“You’ve got a point.” I’d just add an extra two miles to my run tomorrow to make up for it. “Fine, go fetch me some pizza, woman.”

Bell laughed and pushed to her feet. “I’m picking up Caelyn, too. Want anything for dessert?”

“No, I’m good.” I watched her cross to the door, but just before she reached it, I spoke. “Bell?” She turned, her eyes searching my face. I didn’t look away. I let her see everything I was feeling in that moment. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, sister.”

I stayed curled up on the couch, losing myself in watching the waves crash onto the rocky beach. They were ever-changing but incredibly constant at the same time. I wanted to be like those swells, continuing to come back to shore no matter what life threw at me.

A knock sounded. I pushed to my feet. “That was quick,” I said, pulling open the front door. My heart spasmed in my chest, halting altogether for the briefest of moments before stuttering and tripping back to life. “Grant.”

“Hey, Kenna.”

Two words. That was all it took for my carefully bottled emotions to come crashing out, for the memories, the most painful ones, to sink in their claws.

A vicious twinge in my belly woke me from a dead sleep. My eyes blinked open, focusing on the glow-in-the-dark stars Caelyn had dotted all over our dorm room ceiling. My stomach contracted again, and I froze.

Something was wrong. So very wrong. That feeling wasn’t something I was supposed to be experiencing. I pushed up in bed, and as I moved, I felt a sticky wetness between my thighs.

I fumbled for the light on my nightstand, grasping for the switch several times before I got it. Bell mumbled something in the background, but I couldn’t make out the words past the roaring in my ears. I flipped back the covers and screamed.

Blood. There was so much blood. Bell and Caelyn were by my side in an instant.

“Oh, God, Kenna.” Caelyn grasped my hand. “What’s happening?”

“I-I don’t know. It hurts.” But I did know. Deep in my soul, I knew that I was losing my girl. My little bean.

“We need to get her to the hospital, right now.” Bell moved through our dorm room, gathering shoes and a purse.

“Maybe we should call an ambulance.”

“No!” My hand jerked in Caelyn’s. “No, I just want to go. I don’t want to wait.”