I studied him for a long moment before speaking cautiously. “I really don’t think you do. It’s gonna ruin your night.”
“Jax!” he snapped, and I flinched.
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Last chance to change your mind.”
He remained locked in place and raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Spill.”
It was now or never. “Okay, we’re doing this now. Can you grab that envelope off the bench, please?”
“Of course.” He went in search of said envelope, having no idea it held life-changing information.
“You might wanna sit down for this.” I laughed nervously, though it sounded strangled.
Confusion crossed his features when I didn’t accept the envelope when he held it out to me.
“Sit down and open it.”
He complied and turned it over in his hands. The constant bounce of his knee showed his impatience.
Picking out the test, he waved it and looked at me like I was thick. “And what am I meant to do with this?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Surely, I didn’t have to spell it out for him.
“You’re touching the end I peed on,” I exclaimed.
“Ughh!” Jace dropped the test to the floor and glared daggers. “Seriously, J, I’m worried about you, and I didn’t come around to play silly games.”
Sobering, I apologised and asked him to pick up the stick again, this time holding it at the opposite end.
“You know how we were, um,together,a few weeks ago…” I trailed off.
“Yeah.” He examined it closely, and I saw the instant he put two and two together; his knee stilled, and his eyes flicked up to mine. A thousand questions swam within his hazel-green depths. A thousand questions I had zero answers for.
“J?”
“I’ve been feeling really sick for the last week, and that test is the reason. I haven’t been with anyone else recently,” I added, so he didn’t feel obliged to ask if it was his or not.
The pregnancy test shook between his trembling fingers. He stood abruptly and stared at me with dismay.
“Say it. Tell me straight-up. I need to hear the exact words,” he whispered.
“I’m pregnant and it’s yours.” And those were the words that broke the camel’s back.
“Na-ah, not buying it. We used protection every time.”
“Not every time.”
He shook his head curtly. “You’re on the pill, though. Did you take it the next morning?”
“Of course I fucking took it.” Realisation filtered through me and drained the blood from my face. “Oh god. But I was sick so much that morning it can’t have worked.”
His nostrils flared as he clenched his teeth and drew in a massive breath. “For fuck’s sake, Jax! How could—” He pinched the bridge of his nose and fought to control his breathing. “Actually, never mind. I should have known better than to not use a condom; I could not have been more stupid if I tried.Fuck!”
“You don’t have to be such an asshole about it!”
Jace paced the living room and scrubbed his beanie roughly over his head. He prowled back and forth, barely able to glance in my direction.
This was all too much. I couldn’t hold the stupid prickle of tears at bay. I wasn’t the type of girl to cause drama just to get the guy, but he totally made me feel that way. I willed myself not to cry in front of him. To not show a single sign of weakness.