Race the Storm

Chapter 2

The next morning, a chirp from Willa's phone woke her up. Instead of her alarm, it was a message from Cris. It was a reminder early over the Estate's app that she had an afternoon session with Deidre and that tomorrow was her weekly check-up with Dr. Ueda. Every three days, Cris monitored her vitals and did an ultrasound, which seemed really excessive to her, but she wasn't going to complain. It wasn't her baby, and the parents and the Estate were paying for all this. The least she could do was go along with it.

There was also a note about the time for the next pregnancy yoga session. If you go ahead and get up, you could make it! I already put your name down.

Right, right. Yoga. Willa had always been more of a team sports person. Back in high school, she had played soccer and basketball, though she was the shortest person on both teams. Yoga seemed so...isolated. Even when she was in a group, it made her feel weirdly alone. But, hey, maybe it would be different if everyone was pregnant? A bonding experience.

With a sigh, Willia dragged herself out of bed and tugged on one of the Estate-issued yoga pants that were ridiculously comfy. Seriously, the Estate could probably fund its program on sales of these alone if it wanted to. Give parents reduced costs or something--she couldn't imagine what the parents were paying for her to stay in a facility like this. She briefly debated between a tank-top or t-shirt, but she'd always been a t-shirt girl, so she decided to go with one of the ones she brought with her from home.

In the little kitchenette that was in her apartment she kept a few snacks, waters, things like that, for when she didn't feel like going to the cafeteria. She grabbed a water bottle and an apple, deciding to munch on the apple on her way to the gym facility where the yoga classes were held.

Cool morning air greeted her, and Willa breathed in deeply. People who'd never been to the desert often assumed it was hot all the time, but it wasn't. It just had drastic temperatures. She'd come to love nighttime and early morning in the desert, the weather a perfect mix of cool and warm. She'd decided after a week of being here that if she could live anywhere besides South Carolina, it would probably be Arizona.

She definitely didn't miss South Carolina's humidity. Or summer bugs. Although...she could do without the tarantulas and rattlesnakes.

The courtyard was fairly empty as she moved across it, but there were a few people out and about. Most surrogates like her, although there were a few nurses.

Because he wasn't a surrogate or nurse, one man in particular stood out. He was wearing what looked like the casual version of a military uniform--that grey-brown t-shirt and dark khakis she'd sometimes seen some of the security guards wear. There weren't many of them, of course, since they were out in the middle of no where and threats were minimal, but there were a handful working for the Estate. This guy seemed to be in need of a bigger shirt size seeing how it was fitting snugly across a well-muscled chest. He had a strong jaw that sent a strange thrill through her, but she was going to blame that on the pregnancy hormones.

But what really caught her attention when he turned to her was the expression on his face. Almost as if he was...troubled by something? And then, a split second later, the recognition that flashed across his bright blue eyes, a striking contrast to his dark hair.

Wait, did she know him? Had they met when she checked in?

A little uncomfortable with the prolonged eye contact, she quickly flitted her eyes away, focusing on the gym. Yoga class. Make Cris happy. New experiences. Right. She was so focused on positive thoughts that she almost forgot about the strange man until she was passing him.

And then his voice stopped her.

"Miss Richardson?"

"Yes?" she replied, turning toward him. Was this about how she kept her windows up at night sometimes? She knew they were supposed to close them, but sometimes she liked to let in the chill night air.