Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card (Jessie and Luke) novel Chapter 239

THE BABY

JESS

The morning sunlight streamed through the thin hotel curtains, casting long streaks of gold across the room, but that’s not what woke me up because I wasn’t sleeping. The entire night, I lay awake thinking about what could have happened and where he could be. Somewhere, deep down, I knew he was alive, and so was Josh.

They had to be.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands, my fingers absentmindedly tracing the faint curve of my belly. I couldn’t hide it anymore. I was almost at 3 weeks–and I felt it. Felt him . or her, a tiny heartbeat tied irrevocably to Luke.

Luke.

The name lingered in my mind, a sharp ache that pulsed with every breath. He was everywhere and nowhere all at once. My hand automatically reached for my phone to text him before I remembered.

In the hollow silence that filled the space where his laugh used. to be.

Laura’s voice broke through the fog. “Jess? Are you even listening?”

I blinked and glanced up at her. She was standing by the window, arms crossed, her sharp green eyes fixed on me with a mix of worry and determination.

“Sorry,” I murmured, my voice hoarse.

She sighed and sat down beside me, her knee bumping mine. “You’re shutting down again. I get it. I do. But you can’t ignore this.”