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“Oh, honey.” Anya’s voice overflows with compassion. “I understand why you’re scared. Can you come over? Nico’s gone for the day, and Clara’s at my aunt’s house, so we’ll have privacy and can figure this out together.”
“Thank you,” I sniffle, wiping the tears from my face. “I’ll be right over.”
Heady relief floods me to know I have someone in my corner. Hastily gathering my things, I head downstairs and ask Alfie to call my driver. I’m not allowed my own car like my brothers. My father likes to know anywhere I go, so I have free access to my driver. I only ever really use him to get to and from school or to visit my brothers.
The short drive to Nico’s penthouse takes an agonizing amount of time. When I get out, Anya’s already waiting for me in the lobby. I fight to keep my tears under control as she pulls me into a hug.
To my surprise, I notice my driver, Lonnie, followed me in. He stands a short distance away, his expression conflicted.
“What is it, Lonnie?” I ask, confused by his unusual behavior.
He clears his throat uncomfortably. “Your father told me to keep a close eye on you if you should want to go anywhere,” he states.
My skin turns to ice as I wonder how I’m possibly going to talk to Anya if I can’t even have privacy.
“We’re going upstairs to her brother Nicolo’s condo to discuss our periods,” Anya states coldly. “Would you like to join us?” Her eyes silently daring him.
Lonnie pales visibly, and he swallows hard. “N-no, ma’am. I’ll just wait right out front.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone make their exit so fast, and the painful knot in my stomach eases slightly in relief.
Anya’s lips curve into a mischievous grin as she glances at me from the corner of her eye. Despite the intense stress of my situation, I can’t help but giggle at how she sent my poor driver running. Then, with her arm around my shoulders, Anya guides me to the elevator.
We don’t say anything until the doors slide open, welcoming us onto the top floor. It’s a beautiful condo, with floor-to-ceiling windows lining two walls and looking out on the Chicago city skyline.
“This way, Silvi,” Anya says, guiding me gently down the hallway toward the master bedroom.
She walks me into the bathroom, where a pregnancy test already sits on the counter, waiting to be unwrapped. I stiffen at the sight of it, my heart hammering in my chest.
God, this is really happening, isn’t it?
Anya rubs my arm briskly as if attempting to stoke up my courage. Then she talks me through how the test works. I don’t know what I would do without her. She’s so empathetic, answering my questions before I can even think to ask them, making the whole situation somehow more manageable.
“I’ll be right outside the door, okay?” she says once she’s done explaining. Then she gives me the room so I can have a moment of privacy.
My hands shake the entire time. When I’m finished, Anya rejoins me in the bathroom as I set the test on the counter. And we wait.
“Thank you for this. I can’t imagine having to do it alone,” I murmur, weaving and unweaving my fingers.
“I did,” Anya confesses. “When I was a few years younger than you too.”
My eyes snap up to meet hers. She’s never gone into specifics about what happened between my brother and her before. All I know is that she got pregnant in high school, and my brother didn’t know about it until four years later when they reconnected in college.
It was a lot more complicated than that. Still, I try not to dig too far into everything that happened because it wasn’t my brother’s finest moment, and I know he regrets everything he did. But now I want to know everything she’s willing to tell me about finding out she was pregnant.
I wait patiently for her to go on, and Anya gives me a soft smile, her blue eyes turning sad.
“I was too scared to tell anyone–even my aunt–until I was sure of what was going on. And I cried so hard when I found out. My aunt and I talked about the possibility of getting an abortion. Having a child at that age… well, it almost destroyed my chances of becoming a ballerina.”
“Did you ever regret not getting one?” I ask, my stomach knotting.
“Not for a single second,” Anya says vehemently, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Being a single mother was terrifying. And hard. But I had my aunt, and I knew what I wanted. I’m so blessed to have Clara. She’s brought me so much joy.”
I smile with her, thinking about my fiery little niece. Clara’s something special, and it makes my heart ache to even think about a world without her in it.
“But, Silvia, you do have options, okay? You deserve to make your own choices, and none are wrong.”
I nod, my eyes shifting back to the pregnancy test, and the timer on my phone goes off a moment later.
