“The hell gives with such an early phone call?” Katie asked.
“I need you to do me the biggest favor on the face of this fucking planet,” I said.
“Olivia? What’s wrong? You sound upset.”
“I think I’m pregnant,” I said quickly.
“What?”
“Just… I’ll pay you back. But I haven’t peed yet this morning. I need tests. All of the tests. My phone is telling me I’m five days late, and you know I run like fucking clockwork. Please, Katie. Help me,” I said.
“Give me an hour. Cross those legs and hold it for me. I’ll bring every test I can afford.”
“I’ll write you a check when I get here,” I said.
I slammed my phone down, clearing out the notifications. I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t have proof of my suspicions. Yet. I pinched my muscles and ran out to the front door, throwing back the lock on my apartment. I paced the room, concentrating on anything and everything. Projects at work. Things I still needed to get in place. Emails I had to organize and conference calls I needed to take. I strode into the bathroom and ran a brush through my knotted curly hair. I tossed it up into a bun and splashed cold water on my face.
Anything to keep me from peeing on myself.
“I’m here!” Katie called out.
“In my bathroom!” I yelled.
I heard her running down the hallway, the plastic bag brushing against her side. She tossed it at me when she came into my bathroom, and I started unwrapping every single one of them.
“Here, use this,” she said.
She dug around in the pocket of her hoodie before pulling out a small plastic cup.
“What?” I asked.
“You’ve really never done this, have you?” Katie asked.
“You have?”
“That’s beside the point. Pee into the cup, then put all the tests in, stick side down. Go. Now. Do it.”
I shoved my pajama pants down, not caring that she was practically staring at me. She continued unwrapping the tests as I peed into the cup, then set it on the counter. I finished cleaning myself up as she stuck the sticks into the cup, one by one. Ten of them were sticking out by the time she was done.
“Now, we wait,” Katie said.
It was the longest four minutes of my life. I felt every second rush through my body. It was like I could hear a nonexistent clock in my bedroom, ticking down the seconds until my life was over. I whispered to myself. This couldn’t be happening. So much was already happening in my world. Brett. The job. Daniel. My mother with this whole “being engaged to Bernard” shit. I slid my hand through my hair, catching my fingertips in my bun.
I took my hair down and threw it back up before Katie drew in a breath.
“It’s time,” she said.
I rushed back into the bathroom and dumped everything out into the sink. I turned the water on, cleaning up the splattered mess. I picked up one of the sticks. Then another. I set them all on the counter as my eyes filled with tears.
Every single one of them, positive. Every single one of them, glaring at me with the consequences of my reckless actions.
Then, I held up the last stick. One of those nice digital ones that even told me how far along I was.
Three to four weeks.
The exact timeframe of Brett’s and my first wild encounter.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
“Olivia, can you hear me?” Katie asked.
I felt her grip my shoulders and slowly turn me to her.
“Olivia, nod if you can hear me.”
I slowly nodded as I gripped the stick tightly in my fingers.
“We need to get you to a doctor. Now. We need a blood test done. I want you to call into work, take a day, and get down to my car. Okay?” she asked.
My watery gaze dropped down to the stick before it fell to the floor.
Everything felt so far away. My cell phone. The edge of my bed. Even Brett’s voice as it wafted over the phone. I called in sick. Told him I was running a low fever and felt exhausted. He was more than understanding about giving me a long weekend, and I was thankful for it. He mentioned something briefly about letting him know if I needed anything.
Hey, can you be the father of my child? Because you really don’t have a choice now!
“Come on. Follow me. I’ll get you to the car,” Katie said.
“What if this ruins us?” I whispered.
Katie paused, her head turning to me as she gripped my hand.
“What?” she asked.
“Brett and me. I mean, that’s who—he, um—we…”
“I figured as much,” she said.
“Things are going so well with us. And I know you don’t like him, but… what if this ruins us?” I asked.
“Oh, Olivia,” she said as she pulled me into a hug.