“Charlie, food poisoning passes. Get back in bed, and I’ll bring you something soft to eat. You will be fine.”
She starts crying harder, and I sit down next to her holding her to me. “What’s going on?”
“I have texted every girl I work with and no one else got sick. Then I checked my birth control calendar and realized it’s too soon for me to feel gross. I remembered; I went on the shot seven weeks ago to get off the pill. Apparently that’s too long to feel like this.”
“What are you saying?” I know deep in my gut, but I can’t believe it.
“I think I’m pregnant. Fuck!” she yells and collapses against me.
Abbi and Ella walk in, and I know they heard everything. Abbi slips away and comes back with two boxes that are clearly pregnancy tests. I raise my eyes, but she shakes her head at me.
“Charlie, let’s take a test to confirm. Don’t get upset yet.” I follow her to the bathroom and open the instructions. She pees in a cup, and I submerge one stick and then I have her pee on the other. I guide her to the living room, and we make small talk for a few minutes.
Charlie goes to the bathroom alone, and I wait for a few minutes before going to her. When I get to the bathroom, she’s slumped over the sink with her head in her hands. She’s breathing heavily, and I hug her from behind.
“What’d they say?”
“Negative. Both are negative.” she sighs against me.
Abbi and Ella are behind us, and I see them visibly relax in the mirror. Let’s face it we were all concerned about Charlie being pregnant with Blake’s child right now. Shock factor aside, they both have a lot going on.
“You okay with that? You seem sad.” I ask her.
“Yeah, I’m relieved but for a minute I allowed myself to think it was true and even though I was scared, I felt a tinge of excitement.”
“Honey, a baby is a big deal. Have you and Blake even talked about your future?”
“Yes and no. We talked about getting a place together next summer, and he knows I love him.”
“Are you going to tell him about this scare?” Ella asks.
“Yes, if anything, I want to know how he feels about kids.”
We all shake our heads in agreement and go back to the kitchen. Charlie stills feels ill so she declines breakfast, but I make everyone omelets. I don’t want to bring it up, but I can’t take my curiosity.
“Abbi, why did you have two unused pregnancy tests?”
Her cheeks turn bright red and Ella starts laughing. “Let’s just say Charlie isn’t the only one to have a scare recently.”
“You’re fucking kidding me! How did I not know this? Just because I moved out doesn’t mean y’all stop talking to me! Details now!” I plop down across from her and raise my eyebrows waiting on the story.
“Almost the same situation, I felt sick and off for a few days. When Ella and I discussed it, she convinced me to take a test. We didn’t know which ones were the most accurate, so we bought a dozen. Turns out they were all negative.”
“Did you tell Jimi?”
“Hell yes, he was actually disappointed. But the good thing is it led to a huge discussion about our future. Even though he’s not as outwardly possessive as Declan, he’s pretty outspoken. He’s going after a big promotion at work. If he gets it, he told me everything is going to change. He didn’t elaborate.”
“I think we all know what that means.” Ella adds smiling.
I look at the clock and jump up. “Shit, I gotta get home and Ella you need to get ready for your date.” I clean my mess and go to Charlie’s room to change. She throws my hoodie from last night into my bag and crawls up on her bed to rest.
I say goodbye to Abbi and make Ella promise to call me this afternoon with details of her date.
When I get home, Declan is still in bed. I drop my bag and head to the shower. As soon as I step under the hot spray I hear the door open.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I needed to get up. I didn’t hear you come in. How long have you been here?”