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“Don’t you know it,” Dana replied.
“Yes,” Ashley said, blowing her auburn bangs out of her face. “I’ll be paying these books off at the retirement home.”
“Exactly and…” Jessica stopped then. She was still plenty angry and frustrated, but her stomach was lurching, and she felt bile trying to work its way back up her throat. “Wait, I need to get to the bathroom.”
Her stomach twisted in knots even further, and she rushed for the bathroom down the hall. Ashley ran after her as Dana desperately seemed to fumble with the collection of books and art supplies. Jessica caught a glimpse of the shitshow she’d left behind when she glanced over her shoulder, but she didn’t have the time to worry about it.
She was Mount Vesuvius about to blow.
The swinging door jostled back and forth on its hinges as she rushed for the nearest stall. She barely got enough time to slam the stall door behind her and get some privacy before she threw up. It lasted for a while, and she lingered with the drive heaves before she was done. Spent, she rested her head in her hands and felt tears flow down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Hey?” Ashley asked as she entered the bathroom. “Are you okay?”
Jessica stood up and forced herself back out into the world and made sure she was cleaning up at the sink. “I think it’s just the flu going around, you know?”
“Mhmmm.”
She frowned and glared at her friend. “What?”
“Well, you have been eating more,” Ashley said.
Jessica wanted to counter that Ashley had been eating a lot less, but she bit her tongue over such a petty comment. “I guess.”
“How long have you been nauseated. It’s seemed like a while now.”
Jessica tried not to overthink it, but there was a definite direction, and aim, to Ashley’s questions. “Maybe two weeks. It’s not such a big deal, is it?” Her hands traced over the filigree of the dolphin necklace she wore all the time, except when she visited her dad’s place. “So I caught something weird, so what?”
“I didn’t think anything was going around, to be honest,” Ashley said.
“What are you saying?”
“You could be pregnant.”
Jessica’s whole body stiffened. No way could that be true. Absolutely none. Zero. She’d been careful. She’d been taking her pill religiously for months. It didn’t make sense. “I can’t be.”
“Well, I’m just saying. Let’s get you home and see, okay?” Ashley hugged her. “I’m really worried about you.”
Me too.
***
The little plus sign was on the stick. The little plus sign had been on the last three sticks, so why Jessica thought a fourth one would be any different, she wasn’t sure. Her shoulders hunched over, she trudged back to the living room where both Dana and Ashley sat wide-eyed. Dana was on the far end of the couch, glancing back to the used tests on the coffee table like they were cobras ready to bite her. Ashley’s face was sympathetic, and it was appreciated to have two good friends like this. Her mom wasn’t in the picture very regularly, and there was no way she could talk to her dad about this.
Or Brent.
Oh God, what was she gonna do?
The worry must have been playing across her features because Ashley surged to her and wrapped her up in another warm hug. Together they stumbled to the couch, too, and Jessica slumped heavily down on it. Her heart raced. Her breath was impossible to catch. None of this could be happening.
“I don’t understand. I was on birth control. This shouldn’t even be a problem!”
“Were you on any other medications?” Dana asked. “My cousin has to take meds for her seizures, so that nullifies the effect of her birth control.”
Jessica’s throat went dry. “I… Just some meds to help me get more sleep over the summer since I was so stressed about my professors giving me a hard time about no internship. Some St. John’s wart, too.”
Ashley yanked out her phone and Googled a few things on it. “Oh man, Google says they can definitely affect b.c.”
Jessica felt she might vomit again and it had very little to do with the morning sickness she was apparently experiencing. “No.”
Dana rubbed her shoulder. “We will figure this out. I called a friend while you were in their who works at a free clinic that also has an OB on staff. We go there, and it’s not free, but we can cover it together. We know you can’t ask your dad.”
Jessica’s lip wobbled. “My dad is gonna kill me.”
“First, we see this doc Dana found, then we figure the rest out,” Ashley said, hopping onto her feet. “Whatever you decide and whatever you do from here, your little one has two kickass aunts who are going to help you and won’t abandon you.”
