Her gray eyes shimmered as she studied mine. She then blinked quickly, taking a step back and sighing. “Look, Kandy…I understand why you’re afraid. I would be, too, but you can’t let that fear stop you from dealing with the situation. You’re going to hate me for saying this, but I really think you should tell Cane now. He’d find you the best doctor in town to make sure you don’t lose the baby.”
“If there is a baby,” I corrected, “and even so, that’s my point. Cane has overbearing tendencies. If he knows, he won’t rest until he’s spent every dollar and sought every option possible to make sure this works out.” I ran a hand over my stomach, lowering my gaze. “I don’t want to put him through that.”
“Well, you have to tell someone else you trust, Kandy. Someone who can get you an appointment with a good doctor, who will give you good advice and protect that little bean.”
There was only one person who came to mind that I knew wouldn’t judge me but would move heaven and earth if she knew there was a fighting chance for me to have a normal future. My eyes shifted over to my cellphone beside me and I picked it up, exhaling.
“There’s only one person I can think of.”
“Who?” Lora asked.
“My mom.”
“Well, call her! Moms like to help. But first,” she said, ripping the plastic of the pregnancy test open, “piss on the stick so we aren’t jumping to conclusions.”
I jumped off the counter, and she handed it to me. She turned for the door and closed it behind her, and I glared at the stick, as if it were a foreign object I’d never seen or heard of.
Walking to the toilet, I lifted the lid. Deep inside me, I knew something was going on. After I thought about it, I realized I’d had a collection of odd symptoms for a while. I was sluggish, fatigued, and everything smelled horrible. Not to mention my boobs started aching really bad last week, but I thought it was because my period was about to come on.
It was best to get this over with.
I pushed my pants and panties down, then squatted over the toilet. My body resisted the urge to pee, probably sensing the stick and refusing to give it an answer. I closed my eyes and breathed, and finally did what I had to do, capped the end and placed the stick on top of the commode. I flushed and waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
When I took a peek, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Two pink lines. So bold and absolutely clear.
“Holy fucking shit!” I screamed.
“What?” Lora’s voice was loud, and she pushed the door open, barging into the bathroom. She rushed to my side, but I couldn’t stop staring at the stick, and when she noticed too, she gasped and hugged my shoulders, hopping up and down a little. “Holy fucking shit is right! Bitch, you’re pregnant!”
Chapter 5
KANDY
I tried not to freak out as I washed my hands and then grabbed my phone. I needed to call Mom. I didn’t know how to handle this.
“I’ll give you some space. Call me if you need me,” Lora said, walking out the door, but she didn’t get away without me noticing the big grin on her face. She was excited, but I was nervous as hell.
I watched her go and then went to Mom’s name in my contact favorites. Pressing the phone to my ear, the ringing only increased my anticipation, and when she finally answered, I felt my heart drop to my stomach. A part of me kind of wished she hadn’t answered.
“Kandy?” Mom answered.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, baby. How are you doing?” She sounded so calm. I hated that I had news that was definitely going to disturb her peace.
“I’m good. I just wanted to call and say hello…” Hello? Seriously? When did I ever say that? I slapped a hand to my forehead. So stupid.
“Oh, well, hi, sweetie,” she laughed. “Everything okay? You normally don’t call just to say hello.”
“I know. Are you busy right now?”
“Sorta-kinda. I’m in the break room, making a few copies for a coworker of mine. What’s going on?”
I paused, chewing on my bottom lip. “If I tell you something, you promise not to freak out about it?”
“It depends on what it is,” she responded honestly.
“Just…promise that you won’t.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “I promise. Now, what is it?”
“Well, Lora took me to a pharmacy, and we grabbed a pregnancy test—”
“Wait…WHAT?”
“Just listen,” I said, holding up a hand, for all the good it did me. “I took it, and it came out positive, so I think I’m…pregnant.”
She was quiet for a while, and my heart banged in my chest as I waited for her to say something—anything.
“By Cane?” Her voice was way too quiet.