Thorn (Carmichael Series #5)✔️

Hiding Things

**I'm going to be completely honest when I say that I work an eight hour shift yesterday and today and updating just totally slipped my mind until now. Sorry guys! Enjoy this chapter!**

Tansy's POV

One Month Later

I jolted up in bed, frantically throwing Tanner's arms off of my body before bolting for the bathroom. I keeled over and vomited into the toilet bowl as my eyes squeezed shut. About ten minutes had passed with my forehead resting on top of my hand on the rim before the wave of nausea finally passed.

In the time I was spewing my guts out, Tanner had come to sit behind me, his legs on either side of my body as he massaged up and down my back in a soothing manner. I leaned back against his chest feeling tired already and the day had only just begun.

"Here, baby." Tanner motioned while holding something out to me. I grabbed the bottle, a big whiff of its contents wafting into my nose before I shoved it back at Tanner dry heaved multiple times into the toilet once again.

"Shit, fuck. Shit, I'm so sorry baby. I totally forgot." Tanner apologized profusely before setting down the bottle of mouthwash and going back to rubbing my back. I patting his hand half-heartedly, letting him know that I didn't blame him and it was okay as another gruesome gurgle emitted from my throat.

I wasn't sure why, but about two weeks ago my body - more like my baby - decided that it absolutely hates the smell and taste of mint. Didn't matter what it was. Tea, food, toothpaste, mouthwash, my shampoo and conditioner. It didn't discriminate. If it smelled or tasted even the most minuscule amount like mint, then my stomach immediately started heaving. It was getting so bad that I had literally resorted to sharing Calla's tube of bubblegum flavored children's toothpaste.

The brain was a powerful, powerful thing. The day I found out I was pregnant and my body was in sync with my brain, my mood swings, tiredness, and morning sickness reared their ugly fatheads up and have been wreaking havoc ever since. Tanner's done his best to help minimize the times I vomit in a day and just my general overall discomfort, but when he's at work and it's just me at the shop until Calla's out of school it's hard. My body just seems to ache, not to mention how mother fucking painful my nipples have been recently. The only time I get any relief is at night when Tanner sucks on them - though when he gets carried away and rough I nearly wet myself from the pain.

Tanner loves me being pregnant. It wasn't that he'd said anything in particular that cued me into his happiness about it, but then again he never uses his words to communicate how he feels. It was all the little touches here and there that he did subconsciously that I caught, but didn't mention for fear that he'd stop doing them out of self-consciousness.

For example, every morning when we brush our teeth his hand always comes around and flattens against my stomach, his fingers splaying across my skin underneath my shirt. When we were eating, no matter what meal of the day, he always gave me extra and never finished his own so that he could offer it to me if I was still hungry. I think the one that got me the most was when I caught a small trash bag hanging from his back pocket. It came after a nightly walk with Calla around the block when a funky smell hit me and caused me to wretch into a nearby trash can - leaving me terrified of what would've happened had there not been somewhere close by for me to release my stomach's contents.

Calla didn't seem to have any clue what was going on whatsoever. She was just as obliviously happy as the day I came back and started spending the night again. It wasn't until today that we finally decided to buy out my apartment's contract and move everything leftover into Tanner's place - soon to be our place. I wasn't surprised when we showed up and Tanner refused to let me lift even a single finger. I tried fighting him on it, but he wasn't having any of it.