Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
No. No way in hell was I pregnant. Hunter and I only slept together once. That’s not enough to get me knocked up, is it?
I stare at a crack in the wall as I counted the days on my fingers. Shock and panic stabbed me as I started over, counting more carefully this time. Slowly, I looked to Corinne and shook my head.
“It’s not possible.”
“From the look in your eyes, I’d say it is.”
“But it was only that one time,” I countered, spinning around on my heels. I couldn’t stand to look at myself. Swallowing hard I stared at the bathroom stall door. There was no way I could be pregnant. I can’t allow it. But the truth is that we didn’t use protection because our lovemaking was so sudden and beautiful.
“I’d get a test done if I were you, just to be on the safe side,” Corinne says. Her voice sounded so far away, like she was in an underground hole calling to me.
“And then what?” I ask, glancing to her for hope.
“One step at a time,” she says reasonably. “Get a test first and then figure out what to do. Like I said, there are other reasons for you to be losing your lunch. You could very well be stressed. It’s not uncommon for people to drop a ton of weight during finals. Or gain a bunch of weight. Who knows? But I wouldn’t rule out pregnancy, especially since you didn’t use protection.”
I merely grit my teeth upon hearing her words. Shit! How did I get myself into this position? But the reason is all too clear. Everything starts and ends with Hunter Brody.
“Listen,” my friend says kindly. “I have to get to class. Are you going to be okay, Catherine?”
“I’ll be fine,” I say, trying not to sound too broken down. She bobs her head and flashes a sympathetic smile at me. I lean my weight against the sink as I watch her walk out of the bathroom.
In the silence of the tiled room, I glance down. My stomach looks the same way it always does. I wonder if I could be carrying a child inside. Pulling in a deep breath, I held it until my lungs burned.
Take the test, and then you’ll know.
My head bobs a bit as I push off the sink. With my mind made up, I passed the door to my classroom and kept going until I reached the edge of campus. The stifling Arizona heat didn’t help as I walked quickly towards the nearest drugstore.
With a trembling hand, I reached for the glass door and pushed it open. Air conditioning hit me in an arctic breeze. And it felt like no matter which way I looked, there were eyes on me, as if judging me for why I was here. It didn’t take long for me to find the little box on the shelf. My fingers twitched as I carried it to the counter.
Thank god for self-checkout.
There was no way I would be able to buy the test if I had to stand in line with a teenage clerk gawking at me. I’d much rather come back at midnight, or better yet, order on-line.
Now my only goal was to take the test someplace private where my sister would never find out. God forbid Angela find the package in the trash and ask me about it. No. I had to be smart about this.
I raced out of the store. My eyes darted around, searching for a secret place until it landed on a red brick building before me. My heart drummed in my ears as I raced up the steps of the library. It was the one place where I didn’t feel out of sorts. The one place I knew my sister would never find out.
Slipping past rows of desks, I made my way to the bathroom and darted for the first vacant stall. The brown bag crinkled and crackled as I pulled the box out. Sucking in a deep breath, I braced myself.
You can do this, Catherine.
With trembling hands, I peed on the stick and then waited in the toilet stall, watching with uncertain eyes. Panic, fear, and indecision plagued me as I tapped my foot on the floor, waiting for little blue lines appear. On the one hand, I should be hoping for a negative test. But on the other, a pregnancy would be a keepsake of the earth-shattering experience I shared with Hunter. That day was the best day of my life, bar none, and tears came to my eyes once more just at the memory.
Suddenly, the results begin to come in, and my pulse accelerates. My eyes bulge as my heart soars and then drops. There on the stick were the results as plain as day.
A huge lump formed in my throat as tears swelled in my eyes. Two straight blue lines filled the viewing area, and reality hit me: I’m pregnant! My mind drifted to Hunter even as a sad smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Unexpectedly, a little piece of him was here with me. It was a small piece, but worth keeping no matter what. Slowly, my hands went down to rub over my soft belly. There, in the library bathroom stall, I said my first words to my baby: “You may have come into this world by chance, but I’ll love you always.”