AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fine!” I scream at her. “Give me that.” I wave randomly at one of the objects stacked on the shelves behind her.
She lets out a huge, aggravated sigh as she puts down her phone. “Fine. How are you paying?”
I dig into my pocket and reach for my credit card. It takes an irritatingly long time for her to swipe me through. I practically wrench the product and my card out of her hand before flying to the restroom.
I’m barely kneeling down in front of the toilet before I start to heave. It’s a long time until I have nothing left in my stomach.
When I finally stand up, tears are streaming down my face. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve thrown up in my life, even after an alcohol binge or when I was ill.
Something is not right.
I grab a wad of tissues and wipe the toilet seat. It’s after I flush that I finally look down at what I bought.
A pregnancy test.
Ridiculous purchase, I think, wondering whether I can go back and exchange it for something else. I’m never going to need it, anyway.
Unless . . .
My breath catches in my throat as I mull over every event of the past few hours. Sudden tears, throwing up, nausea, exhaustion . . .
I frantically pull out my phone to check the date of my last period, and realize with dread that I’m ten days late.
It can’t fucking be. There’s no way in hell.
We didn’t use condoms. But I’m certain I’ve been consistent with my birth control.
I look down at the test kit. I want nothing more than tofling it as far away from me as I can, to cling to the time when all I was concerned about was having feelings for Alex.
But I need to know.
My fingers are trembling as I unbox the kit. Moments ago, as I struggled to not throw up over the cashier’s counter, time seemed to pass in an excruciatingly slow manner.
Now, everything happens quickly, and all at once.
It feels like seconds until I’m staring down at the wet stick that confirms the thought that’s now ebbing through my feverish heart.
Two lines.
Pregnant.
I close my eyes, more stunned than scared.
But even in the midst of my complete and total daze, I manage to acknowledge one fact.
While it was hard to imagine Alex would be thrilled to hear me declare my love for him, a baby in the mix makes it even less likely.
Impossible would be more accurate.
Alex and I are officially over.
CHAPTER 20
ALEX
“Alex, focus!” Blake’s urgent shout pierces through the frenetic energy on the ice. I fix my gaze on him as he sends the puck hurtling in my direction. He’s right. Over the past hour, my grip on the game has been slipping, and the puck eludes my control moments after I gain possession.
I steal a quick glance at the scoreboard looming above, its glowing numbers unchanged since the match began. The Philly Flyers trail behind the Chicago Blackhawks by a slim margin, and if the buzzer were to sound now, we’d suffer a heartbreaking loss.
