Lone Girl (The Wolfling Saga) Read Online Free PDF

said.
    “Yeah,” his mouth twitched; an indication that he was uncomfortable with the topic. “It didn’t really cross my mind to get condoms while I was breaking out of jail.”
    “Right.” 
    “We didn’t have … you know … any that night, either,” he continued.
    “I know,” I said.
    “I’ve been thinking about it,” he said. “You’re not – I mean – you haven’t missed-?” he trailed off, his question hanging in the air.
    “No,” I shook my head vigorously, my cheeks flushing pink. “I haven’t.”
    Tom nodded, seemingly relieved. I wondered how long he’d been thinking about it. It was clearly an embarrassing subject for him to bring up. “Good,” he breathed.
    “But not skipping a period isn’t a solid indication that a woman isn’t pregnant. You should know that, you’re a teacher.”
    “ I was an English teacher,” he frowned, putting emphasis on the past-tense. He seemed very uncomfortable with this topic of conversation.
    “But to answer your question – No, I haven’t skipped a period and I’m not-” I paused as Tom flinched. “ Really , Tom?”
    “What?”
    “You’re a grown man,” I said, chuckling. “Surely you can bear to hear the word period without having a nervous breakdown?”
    He too, smiled . “Sorry.”
    “I’ m not pregnant,” I finished my previous sentence.
    “How can you be sure?” he asked.
    “I was given a morning-after contraception pill at the hospital once they’d finished with the … rape kit-” I let the sentence die in my throat.
    “Right,” he nodded, averting his gaze.
    “Sorry,” I muttered.
    “Don’t be,” he said, reaching up and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “None of this is your fault.”
    I sighed. “If only I had stay put in that damned forest after I’d woken up. Then those campers wouldn’t have found me and none of this would have happened.” I was frustrated with myself and had been since the incident had occurred. I felt as though our entire predicament was my fault.
    “You can’t blame yourself,” said Tom, snaking his arms around me and pulling me into an embrace. “The important thing is we are together.”
    “ Do you wish you were back home, still teaching? I asked. “Would you rather you hadn’t met me?”
    “Rose,” Tom sighed and pulled away to look me in the eye. “For the last few years I’ve felt isolated because of my condition. I had no one to talk to and no one that understood what I was going through. Then I met you and I felt as though the last piece of the puzzle had slid into place. You fit Rose. You fit with me.”
    I exhaled a shaky breath and nodded. Tom smiled and kissed my nose.
    “My greatest fear is you coming to your senses and leaving me,” Tom admitted.
    “Don’t be stupid,” I said.
    Tom chuckled. “I can’t help it. Now … we really should sleep, sweetheart. We’ve got a long day of driving ahead of us.”
    “Okay.” I pouted and crawled back into the passenger seat. Tom covered me with two jackets so I was nice and warm, despite being half naked. I curled up under them and lay back in the reclined car seat.
    “Goodnight, Rose,” Tom said, leaning over and kissing me on the forehead. “Try to sleep, okay?”
    “You too,” I said through an almighty yawn.
    “I will,” he promised. “I love you.”
    I felt my heart jump into my throat. The words sounded so natural when he said them.
    “I love you too,” I replied.
    And I did; more than anything.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    We drove all day. I didn’t think the car would be able to handle such a journey, but it seemed to sense our desperation. However, the time came - as we knew it would – when the warning light began to flash and we had no choice but to stop and fill up on gas.
    Tom handed me a twenty-dollar bill, a frown on his face. “This is all I’ve got left,” he said. “I doubt it will be enough.”
    “I have a little money,” I replied, “In my bank-”
    He shook his head.