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“Just how far along are you exactly?” Amanda asked, watching me grasp my stomach.
“Almost twelve weeks,” I winced, lowering my gaze. “I know I should have told him by now, but—”
“On a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you in right now?”
“I dunno,” I grimaced. “…eleven?”
Amanda paled and bolted upright. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”
I shook my head. “Please no, I just want to go home. My appointment is in a few days, it can wait.”
“You shouldn’t be this sick, Natalie. You need to see a doctor now.”
“I know okay!” I snapped. “I’m just not…ready.”
Amanda leant down and held me by my shoulders. Her eyes bored deep into mine. “Natalie…you need to face this. Whatever it is.”
My lower lip quivered as my fear surfaced. “But I’ve already lost so much. I can’t lose this too.”
Amanda’s eyes welled and she threw her arms around me. “Oh, Natalie.”
I sobbed into her arms, as she gently stroked my hair until I calmed.
“I’ll go tell Nate we’re leaving,” she whispered softly. “Will you be okay to get to the car?”
I nodded, and wiped my face dry. “Just let me freshen up. I’ll meet you out there.”
* * *
I slipped through the crowd with my head lowered, bumping bodies, as I stumbled towards the exit. I had almost made it, when someone blocked my path.
“Natalie Rivers,” spoke a very slurred voice.
Standing opposite me was my obviously drunk ex-boyfriend.
“Jake,” I said in muted surprise.
“Wow, Nat. I heard you were in town. You’re looking goooood,” he said, sleazily running his eyes up my legs and pausing on my chest.
Feeling too ill to attempt unnecessary small talk, I tried to push past him. “Excuse me,” I muttered.
“What? You’re not even gonna say hi to your boyfriend?” he said with a smirk.
I narrowed my eyes at him and Jake laughed.
“Well, we never officially broke up…so…” He stepped closer. “Why don’t you let me buy you a drink and remind you of all the fun times we used to have,” he said, sliding his hand down my waist and groping my behind.
I aggressively pushed him away.
“Oh, that’s right.” He chuckled. “I forgot about your drinking problem. How thoughtless of me. Perhaps, we should just skip the drinks, and head straight back to my place?”
I launched at him, but Luke caught me mid-flight. He held me back with little effort, whilst Jake laughed hysterically.
“Let me go, Luke!”
His warm breath touched my ear. “Walk away, Natalie,” he ordered and placed me back on my feet.
I turned around to discover we were attracting quite an audience, including Marni who appeared amused by the commotion. A flash went off in my face, blinding me, and my temperature spiked.
