“Of course. Just one moment.” We held our br
eath in silence. “They’re on their way.”
Now, all we had to do was wait. And make a pot of tea. The kettle had just begun to boil when the doorbell rang. I turned off the burner and threw in the herbs to steep. A quick glance reassured me that I didn’t have anything telling lying around the room. As I crossed the room to answer the door my heart thudded against my chest. I really hoped this was going to work. Arkan was at the door. Kara followed in behind him. Perfect.
“I’ve made us a pot of tea.” I went to go prepare the mugs. Hopefully, they couldn’t see my hands shaking. The glasses clinked together as I moved them from the counter to the table. Grabbing the kettle and a tray of tea biscuits, I began to pour three cups.
“I don’t want sugar in mine.” Kara waved her hand.
“Me neither.” Arkan sat down next to Kara.
Perfect. I had rehearsed several guilt trips to having them try my tea. Glad to know I wouldn’t have to work around it.
“Well, I’m sure you know the reason I’ve called you here.”
Arkan looked up at me. “We’re here to figure that out.”
I took a deep breath, letting their anticipation linger. The longer I waited to tell my story, the more tea they would get in their system. “Well, see that’s the thing. When you guys came over, you really surprised me. When I went to the bathroom with that test, I didn’t know what to expect. In fact, my life was flashing before my eyes. I was afraid. What if I was pregnant? Would Gerard and the others understand? And I was worried what would happen to you Arkan, when they found out you broke the rules. So, I was pretty nervous and when I’m nervous I get fumbly. So, I was sitting on the toilet trying to pee, and I was kinda nervous so I peed halfway into the toilet bowl.” Arkan continued to sip. Kara put her tea down. She looked annoyed. “And you see, I was pretty sure I splashed it on there, but I wasn’t sure. I’ve never taken a pregnancy test before, so I just didn’t know what I was supposed to do.” Come on, drink more. I’d put enough in the tea, that all they had to take were a few swallows, but I didn’t want to risk it. “And you know I was just crazy nervous, so—”
“Get to the fucking point!” Kara interjected. Well, someone’s true colors were showing. Hanging all out there. I feigned shock at her outburst.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I buried my head in my hands and tried my best to pull up tears. Arkan put his hand on my back.
“It’s okay dear. Kara is just desperate to hear why you called us back here.” The heat from his glare radiated through my shirt. He was at least curious to see if his spawn were inside me. I knew it. That was his wish and weakness. He wanted me to get pregnant. That was on purpose. And I was going to use it. I lifted my head.
“I well…I think I made a mistake on the pregnancy test. Because I took another one and it was positive.”
“You took another pregnancy test?” Kara gasped.
“It was positive?” Arkan tried his best to paste a serious look over his grin, but his joy was obvious.
I nodded vigorously. It looked like they were both done with their tea.
“So, I’m not sure what to do. Gerard was the one that went and got me the test, but I didn’t tell him the results yet. I didn’t know what to do. Because I think the baby is yours. It hasn’t been long enough for a pregnancy from the others to show up.”
Kara stood up, clearly agitated. “Are you sure? How can you be sure?”
“Well, I mean aren’t those tests supposed to be accurate?”
“There is room for error. You should take another one.” Kara began to dig through her pockets.
“Another? But, I’ve taken two already.”
“Yeah, but you need a tie breaker. Duh.” Kara handed me a pregnancy test. Fuck.
“How many of those do you have in there?” Arkan quipped.
“Well unlike some people, I like to be prepared for all outcomes.” Kara retorted. Outcomes. As if a baby were an outcome. Fuck. I didn’t count on her pulling another test out of her pocket. What the hell was I going to do?
“Go take it. Now.” Arkan encouraged.
Kara got up. “Let’s go. Where’s your bathroom?”
“Um. I think I can handle it.”
“Obviously not. You fucked it up once today already. I need to know whether you are pregnant or not.” Bitch. True. But bitch! Fuck. Now, I was going to take the test and I wasn’t going to be pregnant. What the hell was I going to do. I still had a few minutes before things would kick in. Well, I guess I might as well. Hopefully Vivica would get the hint and get the fuck out of the way. Kara followed me back into the bathroom and watched me pee on the stick. I propped it up on the counter as we waited. She said it would take five minutes. At least I could know for sure that most likely they would be under the influence by then. But they weren’t showing any signs yet, so I really needed to be careful. Five minutes passed by at a glacial pace. Arkan poked his head in the door.
“So, what’s the deal?” Kara grabbed the pee stick and showed it to Arkan.