AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What does it look like?”
“It’s a line, with a faint line through it. Really faint. Maybe I didn’t hold it in my pee long enough.”
My heart was choking me, beating hard in my throat. “I think that means you’re pregnant, Nymph.”
Her laugh was incredulous. Hysterical.
“No. No, wait. I found in the instructions where it says what that means.”
Her eyes went wider than I’d ever seen them. Her pale cheeks flushed crimson. “Oh god. Valor!” She held up the test so I could see it, then the instructions, showing that it meant the test was positive.
Shocked joy bubbled up in my chest, rising in my throat, coming out of my mouth in a wild whoop.
She was sobbing. I gripped my phone, wishing for the millionth time that I could squeeze through the screen into her apartment.
“I wish I could be there to hug you right now.” My voice was hoarse, my eyes damp.
“What are we going to do?” Her sobs turned to hysterical laughing. “Oh my god. We don’t even live on the same continent! And what about my show?”
“We’ll figure it out,” I assured her. “We’ll have to make sure we choose the right time to tell Loïc.”
“We should tell him together,” she insisted, her eyes bright. So beautiful, my Tarryn. “No spilling the beans.”
“Deal.”
Chapter Sixteen: Tarryn
As much as I appreciated having a dressing room to myself, waiting for my turn to be interviewed on a talk show would definitely be less anxiety-provoking if I could sit in the green room with other people to talk to and distract me. Too queasy to leave my dressing room today, I had to marinate alone in my imposter syndrome.
No matter how many of these I did, it still felt like I’d walk onto the stage, and no one would recognize me, let alone want to hear me attempt to make charming chitchat with the host.
My stomach squeezed and rolled as I waited my turn, making me regret the few bites of granola bar I’d dared to take. What was worse—passing out in the middle of an interview in front of a studio audience, or throwing up in front of them?
I fiddled with the zipper of my purse. I’d planned to take out my phone, but if I let myself get sucked into social media, I would forget everything I was planning to say on stage. It was only my third day of knowing I was pregnant, and I felt vulnerable not having either Valor or Loïc with me. It was silly. I wasn’t sure exactly what they would do for me that I couldn’t do for myself, but as excited as I was about this pregnancy, I was also scaredand now lonely. I’d had to get used to doing everything alone when Valor had moved to California, but since our vacation in Spain, I was missing both him and Loïc.
So much for being a self-sufficient, self-confident, independent person.
I’d started making a list of potential baby names, but it felt premature, considering I couldn’t be that far along. At least…I didn’t think I could be that far along. I wouldn’t know for sure until the doctor’s appointment. Having to admit to the receptionist why I was calling had been weirdly embarrassing, as though she would never have guessed I was sexually active without this evidence.
What if I wasn’t only a few weeks pregnant?
I pressed my hand against my lower stomach. I had felt bloated on and off for a while now, but I had attributed it to the fact that Loïc kept feeding me. What if I’d been pregnant for months and not realized it? For me, not getting my period was the best part of getting the shot, but now it meant I didn’t know when it had happened—I didn’t even have a ballpark idea.
Loïc had teased me about having the clinic tamper with my shot, but I highly doubted it was possible.
Then again…maybe everyone had a price.
What if he really had bribed the medical staff? Would I be pissed off? I sure as hell didn’t want men making my medical decisions, but my elation at finally being pregnant made it hard to be angry with him.
Even if it wasn’t the best time to have a baby.
Even if the baby wasn’t my husband’s.
It was probably only a weird-looking clump of cells at this point, but I was attached to it—was absolutely obsessed with it, even though it was early, and I shouldn’t let myself get too excited yet. This baby wasmine.
A knock at the door surprised me. It was too early for my interview. According to the schedule, they hadn’t started recording yet, and I wasn’tthe first guest. Maybe they were here to offer me more coffee? I hadn’t had any, not sure how much caffeine was safe. I felt like I was constantly googling everything.
“Come in.”
