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Her heart raced when she realised her Dad might be here to take her away. Is that why Duke ran out of here so quickly? He didn’t want to hear her pleas to stay. He didn’t even want to say goodbye. They still hadn’t talked about the future but she’d been so sure that he cared about her past a regular fuck friend. Maybe she’d been wrong all this time. Her heart broke slightly and tears filled her eyes. She realised Slam had said something and she hadn’t heard. She pulled herself together best she could and lifted her head to meet his gaze.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Backing herself for the worst she focused n his words.
“I think you’re pregnant.”
She laughed, relief bubbled up from her insides. This wasn’t about her Dad after all. Slam was playing tricks. She kept laughing and then realised he wasn’t. His face was a mask of seriousness. If this was a joke he was seriously committing to the bit.
“Are you serious?” She asked. He simply nodded. “I can’t be pregnant Slam, I’m on the pill and I haven’t missed any. I’ve even run my packets together while I’ve been here. There’s been no gap.” She wanted to see the worry leave his eyes.
“You’re wrong. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. You’ve been more tired for the last few weeks and feeling nauseous at times. Your swollen abdomen must be you starting to show. You’ve had no bruising and no pain there at all and….”
“Whoa there! I’ll have you know it was nine months before I came here since I had sex. There’s no way. No way!” She was starting to panic.
“Just let me finish. You say there’s been no gap in your pill, but I made you have one.” Now he looked guilty.
“What the fuck are you talking about? What are you saying?”
“The night you were brought here you slept for twenty hours straight. Remember when we first met, I told you. You didn’t realise you’d missed a day until the Sunday barbecue and that night……”
“I had sex with Duke,” she whispered to herself. The world seemed to start spiralling around her. Could it be true? She was stuck between being terrified and disbelieving. She felt someone pick her up. She tried to slow her breathing. Her chest was tight and she started to sweat. When she eventually opened her eyes Slam was sat next to her on the bed.
“Take deep breaths, Nic. You were having a panic attack.” Slam was rubbing her back and holding her hand.
“What if you’re right? Duke says he doesn’t want a normal family. He’ll hate me! I couldn’t get rid of our baby, I just couldn’t!” Her eyes pleaded with Slam to give her the answers because she sure didn’t have any.
“Look, before we go sounding off any alarms, I’ve got four different brands of pregnancy test. The best time to do them is in the morning. Go into the bathroom now and then at least you’ll know for sure.”
All she could do was nod. Slam was going to have to guide her through this, her brain had stopped working. She sat on the toilet and peed on the sticks. Her hands were shaking as she rested them on a strip of toilet paper. She let Slam in and they waited three minutes. Her heart hadn’t calmed yet, she felt like she was running a marathon. She allowed herself to secretly hope as her hand kept drifting to her rounded stomach. If she’d got pregnant that first night she would only be 13 weeks along. There was no way she’d have a bump already. Her brain kept conjuring pictures of a little girl with Duke’s brown hair and her green eyes. Her eyes strained to focus on the results panels. Slowly each one gave the same answer….. Positive. She was pregnant. Oh fuck.
“Nic, you’re gonna have to ease up on my hand there, it’s getting no blood.” She didn’t even realise she was squeezing his hand. “Look at me Nic.” She looked into his reassuring gaze and felt herself calm. “You okay?”
She quickly realised she was. She was more than okay. A smile stretched her cheeks until they hurt. Her eyes teared and overflowed, wetting her face. A warm feeling started in her belly and spread until happiness seemed to radiate from her. “I’m having a baby… I’m really having a baby.”
Slam embraced her in tight hug. She wished Duke had been here for this. Her wish to have a family was becoming a reality. But the dream had always included the father. She had absolutely no clue how Duke was going to take the news. She was dreading telling him. Hope and terror swirled around inside of her. Duke would make a great father and she could finally get everything she’d ever hoped for. On the other hand, Duke could hate her for trapping him or turn away from her completely or God forbid demand she get it taken care of. There was no way in hell she would give this baby up, not even for Duke. Her mind raced with everything she needed to do and get. Then guilt swamped her completely as she realised something.
“Oh my god, Slam! I’ve been drinking, having the occasional smoke and them bitches beat me! It could have harmed the baby. What am I gonna do?”
“Calm down. I’m gonna call the family centre and get you an appointment for later today. You sit up here and wait for Duke. He shouldn’t be long now. Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be fine. You’re not gonna be on your own, no matter what! You hear me?” Something inside her sagged in relief hearing those words.
She nodded at Slam. He was such a great friend to her. Everybody here was. She knew they’d have her back and she couldn’t help but imagine their little family at the monthly barbecue. Slam left not long after to make arrangements for her. Now all she had to do was find a way to tell Duke….
