My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 317

Nina

Enzo turned the key in the ignition, and the car roared to life. My fingers nervously tapped against the edge of my seat, as though that would somehow repair my frayed nerves.

“Do you want to go in alone, or do you want me to come with you?” Enzo asked, his voice light and gentle, which I sorely needed.

“I think I’d like for you to be with me,” I said. Despite the fact that Enzo was basically a local celebrity and so was I now due to being his wife, and despite knowing that the two of us being there together was sure to turn some heads, I didn’t want to go in alone. Some paragraphs are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com. Visit Jobnib.com to read the complete chapters for free.We pulled into the parking lot of the local pharmacy. In a town as small as Mountainview, everyone knew everyone else, and the pharmacy was no different. This was bound to be an adventure because of that. The car came to a stop, and for a moment, we both just sat there, neither of us wanting to take the first step.

“Ready?” Enzo broke the silence, his eyes meeting mine.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied, managing a small smile before opening the door.

The bell on the door tinkled against the glass as we walked in, and my eyes immediately darted around the store. It was relatively empty, but of course, I had to run into Carol, a woman who ran the bookshop in town. She greeted us warmly but her eyes settled on me in a way that made me feel like she knew exactly why we were there.

“Hey, Carol,” I said, offering a tense smile.

“Out and about early. I see,” she noted. “Anything special you’re shopping for?”

“Just some essentials,” Enzo answered smoothly before I could come up with something.

“Ah, well, you two take care. By the way, Nina, I’m having a book sale next weekend. Think you might be around to lend a hand?” She looked at me expectantly. I had begun volunteering more around town ever since the Crescent attack, and although most of the residents of Mountäinview had no memory of the entire experience, it felt like my duty.

“Of course,” I said, too eager to move on to ask for details.

We continued towards the back of the store, and I felt like each step was taking an eternity. When we finally arrived at the family planning aisle, I stared at the array of pregnancy tests in front of me. I reached out tentatively and picked one up. Enzo put his hand on my arm reassuringly.

“You’ve got this, Nina,” he said softly.

We approached the counter, where Hannah, a girl I had known since freshman year, was manning the register. She glanced down at the test and then back up at me, her eyes widening.

“Oh my gosh, Nina, are you guys—?”

I pulled my hood up almost reflexively, as if that would somehow make me invisible. “Uh, we’re just checking, you know?” Hannah’s eyes sparkled. “Well, this is so exciting! I mean, imagine, little hockey stars running around!”

“Yeah, imagine,” I mumbled, wishing the floor would open up andswallow me whole. I took the bag from her and quickly turned around, avoiding any further conversation.

As we walked back to the car, my face was a flame of

embarrassment. Enzo chuckled softly, his eyes dancing as he looked at me. “Hey, it’s not that bad.”

“I just felt like the entire town was watching me buy that test,” I said, swallowing

“Well, if they were, now they’te watching you walk out with your husband who loves you and will support you no matter what,” Enzo said, his voice soft but firm.

Satisfied that our task was over, we headed back to the car. Before we could drive away from the parking lot, though, Enzo turned to me with a puzzled expression. “Did your stomach just growl?”

I blushed, embarrassed yet again. “Maybe. I threw up this morning, remember? And I couldn’t eat breakfast.”

He put the car back into park. “One more stop before we go home then.”

“Where?” I asked, intrigued.

“You’ll see,” he answered cryptically.

We walked down the streets of our small town, the air light with the scent of spring. The atmosphere smelled like fresh flowers and clean, warm air, but even then, it felt strange to be out and about given the emotional rollercoaster we were on. But Enzo led the way, and when we turned the corner, there it was: the local cafe that had been a staple for as long as I had lived in Mountainview.

He held the door open for me, and the warm aroma of freshly ground coffee enveloped us. It was a sanctuary of normality on an otherwise upside-down day.

“Order whatever you want,” he said, giving me a gentle nudge towards the counter..

I ended up choosing a plain bagel with cream cheese and a large black coffee -comfort food for an unsettling morning. We took our orders outside, choosing a table tucked away in the corner, shaded by an overhanging tree that was just starting to shed its pink spring blossoms in exchange for vibrant green leaves.

“Thank you, Enzo,” I said after a few bites, the food and coffee already lifting some of the heaviness inside me. “You’ve been really understanding, especially since I should have told you about the possibility of being pregnant sooner.”

Enzo reached across the table and held my hand. “Nina, it’s okay. I know now, and that’s what matters. We’re in this together, remember?”

His touch was soothing, warm, and reassuring. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Can you imagine it, though?” he mused softly, his eyes distant but thoughtful. “Our little son or daughter running around, inheriting the best from both of us.”

My face turned a fiery red at his words. I smacked his arm lightly. ” Don’t get too ahead of yourself, okay? Even if I am pregnant, I’m still not sure it would be a good idea to keep it. Our lives are already on the edge of turning topsy-turvy.”

For a moment, his face fell, and I felt a pang of guilt. He nodded, his expression shifting back to understanding. “You’re right, of course.

Maybe it wouldn’t be the best idea right now to bring a child into this world, into our lives as they are. Not until we’re more settled.”

We sat in a contemplative silence for a few moments, sipping our coffees, lost in our own thoughts. The weight of the morning’s events settled around us, but I felt oddly hopeful.

“Ready to go home?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.

1 nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”

When we got home, I took the bag and headed straight for the bathroom. I opened the box, my fingers trembling as I read the instructions. I took a deep breath and took the test.

As I set it on the counter, I leaned back against the wall, my breaths shallow and ragged. This tiny object had the power to completely change everything, and the weight of that possibility was overwhelming.

He had been willing to embrace whatever outcome awaited us, willing to face it head-on like he did with everything in his life.

There was a willingness to jump into the deep end, even if we had no idea how to swim. And maybe that was what both thrilled and terrified me. The thought of having a baby with him had filled me with an unexpected sense of excitement.

“God,” I said with a chuckle, turning so I could stereptitiously blink away the tears that were threatening to come. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I was sort of hoping…”

Enzo stopped me before I could finish by placing a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t think about it too much, Nina,” he said gently. ” We’ll have a family someday, as big or small as you want. It’s just not meant to be right now. And that’s okay.”

I nodded in response to Enzo’s words. He was right; it wasn’t meant to be. Not right now, at least. And it was likely for the best, not only because of the fact that our lives were on the precipice of change, but also because of something else.

Something that I hadn’t dealt with yet. Something that came to me in the form of shadowy figures, beckoning for me to leap to my death.

Just then, Enzo’s phone buzzed from the bathroom counter and pulled both of us back to reality. He glanced at it and then back at me, a silent question in his eyes.

“It’s okay, go ahead,” I said, offering him a terse smile.

He picked up the phone and read the message, his brow furrowing slightly before he typed a quick reply.

Work, no doubt. Or maybe it was one of his many commitments around town, another reminder of the busy, chaotic lives we led.

Lives that, according to that small stick on the bathroom counter, were not yet ready to accommodate another human being. That moment alone was enough to make me realize that I had nothing to be sad about right now, that it simply wasn’t the right time.

But as I stood chere, enveloped in Enzo’s warm and strong arms, staring at our reflections in the bathroom mirror, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. Or maybe it would have been more accurate to say… that something was waiting. Waiting for the right moment, like it was teetering on the edge of a cliff. I wouldn’t explain it, but something felt.. off. Like I wasn’t alone.

But when I glanced around the bathroom, the shadow figure that had plagued my life over the past months was nowhere to be found, and I was only met with the cool gleam of the blue tiles.

The test was negative, but everything else —the fear, the relief, the unexpected yearning-was a resounding positive. And it left me feeling disoriented, like I was lost in a sea of conflicting emotions.

“We’ll get through this, whatever comes our way,” Enzo said, his words echoing his earlier reassurance, though this time, they landed a little differently in my ears. His voice drew me back to reality.

“We will,” I echoed.

For a moment, Enzo was silent before his look of concern morphed into one of love, affection, and maybe even a little mischief.

“Now then,” he said, wrapping his strong arms around me and pressing his lips to mine. “What did I say earlier?”

I fu crowed my brow, thinking for a few moments before coming up blank. “I don’t know. What —”

Enzo grinned and took my hand, leading me out of the stiflingbathroom and into the bedroom. It suddenly struck me, a promise of a peaceful day together, just the two of us, enjoying our time together before he would eventually need to leave for six months.

“I made a promise,” he said, releasing his grip on my hand. “Let’s go out, Just you and me.”