"What are you doing on the roof dear?"
How do I explain I came up here to see if it would make a good picnic spot for me to surprise Nic with the news that I didn't have to testify in Dante's case? He had confessed to killing his father in exchange for some deal the FBI made with him. Antonio was pissed, I was pissed, but relieved at the same time.
"Checking something, that's all."
She smiled and waved again before going back into the house.
Sighing, I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest again.
Okay, you've got this, Gabi. You are a strong, independent woman who owns her own business. You can do anything you set your mind to. All you have to do is take one step down. That's it.
I stared at the ladder peeking up over the roof.
"I am so fucked."
Charity popped her head up, making me scream. "What in the hell are you doing? You're pregnant! Cole will kill you if he sees you on a ladder."
She stepped up and flashed me an evil little smile. "I had to come show you what a baby you're being. If I can get up here and get back down with a belly, then so can you."
"You're not even that big," I said, my eyes wandering down to her little tummy sticking out.
Rolling her eyes, she reached for my hand. "Shut up. Come on, we'll be late for knitting club and Nancy is showing me the yarn she got for the baby."
I tried to hide my smile as I followed her back over to the ladder. "Why do you go? You don't even knit and the bet has long since been over."
Charity shrugged. "I like it. Sue me."
When she stopped at the ladder, I patiently waited for her to show me how to get off. But she didn't move.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Um. Nothing. I just need a second."
I nodded. "Okay. Is anything wrong though?"
Glancing back at me, she gave me a nervous smile. "No."
With a lift of my brows, I asked, "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "Uh-huh. Yep. I need a moment."
My shoulders dropped. "Please don't tell me you're afraid to get down."
Charity turned to face me. "Oh, you have no right to judge me! You were sitting up here in a fetal position!"
I huffed. "It was not a fetal position."
She quirked her brow. "Really?"
I waved my hands around like a crazy person. "It doesn't matter. How are we going to get down?"
"Girls, are you okay up there?"
We both turned to see Mrs. Hawk standing out from the house looking up.
"Yes."
"No!" Charity cried out.
Hitting her, I smiled. "We've just hit a bump in the road. That's all."
"What bump is that, sweetheart?" Mrs. Hawk asked.
"We're too afraid to get back down!" Charity cried out.
Reaching for her phone, Charity said, "I'm calling Cole!"
I grabbed it. "Are you insane? If he finds out you crawled up on the roof, he is going to be pissed. Then he'll be pissed at me because I'm the reason you're up here."
"Damn it. Well, who do we call? Kilyn?"
Laughing, I rolled my eyes. "So we can get her stuck up here?"
"She's seven months pregnant, I don't think she would climb up here."
"And you're five months pregnant. I didn't think you would climb up here either, but here you are."
With a frown, she mumbled, "Touché."
"Don't worry, girls, I called for help."
Charity and I both froze. "Holy shit. Who would she have called?" I asked.
Pressing her hands together, Charity started praying. "Please don't have called 9 –1-1. Lord, please."
I glanced back down. "Oh, that wasn't necessary, Mrs. Hawk. You can call them back. We're perfectly fine."
She looked up with a sweet smile. "Katerina said she knew what to do."
My stomach dropped.
Dear Lord above, please no. No. No. No. No.
CHARITY GASPED. "DID she say she called . . . oh . . . my . . . God . . . please tell me she didn't say what I think she said."
Covering my mouth, I tried to keep the bile I instantly felt down.
She called Katerina. How does she even know her?
My hand dropped to my side as I called down, "What did you tell her, Mrs. Hawk?"
"That you and Charity were both stuck on the roof and couldn't get down."
Charity crawled on her hands and feet to the middle of the roof and sat down. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and she had her eyes closed. "This is bad. This is so very bad. Go to a happy place. Go to your happy place, Charity!"
Rolling my eyes, I said, "Who's in the fetal position now?"
She stuck her hand up and shot me the middle finger. "Fuck you, Gabi. Fuck. You."
I turned back to Mrs. Hawk. "You can call her back and tell her we're fine. We're about to come down."