One More Time - Ali Parker Page 0,56
my belly before her brows furrowed and her gaze lifted back to mine. “How late?”
“Probably only about two weeks.” My voice shook so badly that even I almost couldn’t hear what I was saying.
Alicia, however, clearly did. She sucked in an audible breath, her eyes widening. “You’re never late. Have you taken a test?”
I shook my head miserably. “No, I don’t even carry any. I take my pill religiously, Alicia. It can’t be that. I just… I must be sick or something.”
“Or something,” Alicia muttered, with concern clear as a bell in her blue eyes. “I know you’re really good about taking your pill, but birth control isn’t infallible. Sometimes, despite what you do or how good you are about it, it just doesn’t work.”
“Is that what you told Jared last year when Madison came out and accused him of knocking her up? Because if I remember correctly, you kept saying that you knew he always wrapped it up.” I immediately regretted my sudden flare of anger and annoyance. “I’m sorry. I have no idea where that came from.”
The worry in Alicia’s eyes doubled. “I might. I’ve heard mood swings are a terribly common symptom of—”
I smashed my hands over my ears to avoid hearing the word. It was a juvenile move, but I just wasn’t ready to hear it. My heart rate sped up all the same, and my thoughts jumbled into one, but soon, all those thoughts narrowed to one.
Practically hyperventilating by this point, I stammered, “Caleb’s going to think I lied to him. Oh god. Oh fuck. We just sorted everything out. There’s no way he’s going to believe me.”
Alicia put both hands on my shoulders and pushed down a little to calm me. “We don’t know anything for sure yet. Let’s go get a test, and we’ll take it from there. If there’s a reason to keep freaking out, we’ll do it later okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered, my mouth and throat drier than the Sahara.
“Okay,” Alicia agreed. She gave me another hug and reached for her purse, slinging it across her shoulder. “You go jump in the shower, and I’ll go buy a test.”
I stood frozen right where I was. My limbs were refusing to cooperate as my hands folded over my lower belly. Was it really possible there was someone in there?
Alicia smiled softly, understanding that despite her orders not to freak out, I still was, just internally. She gently took my hand. She led me to the bathroom, and I clung to her like she was a life raft, which her calm, logical demeanor and quiet support kind of was to me.
She flipped the tap on the shower, checked the temperature, and waited for me to get in before telling me she’d be right back and leaving. I went through the motions of showering on autopilot, completely mechanically. I washed and conditioned my hair, brushed my teeth twice right there in the shower, and lathered myself with soap until a thick layer of it covered my entire body.
Rinsing off, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel Alicia had placed on the basin for me around myself. I was just putting on my most comfortable track suit when the door to the suite opened and Alicia strode back in.
“Good thing there’s a drug store right downstairs. Whoever put mini-malls in hotels clearly understood the need not to have to leave when you need something urgently.” She pulled a bulging brown paper bag from her purse, along with a bottle of Vitamin Water. “You’ll need this.”
Cracking the lid, I took a tiny sip to test that the nausea wouldn’t return. When it didn’t, I took another couple of swallows. Once that was done, Alicia led me back to the bathroom and shook several packages from the bag.
“Did you buy the entire selection?” I asked when I saw the different shapes and sizes of the boxes now lying on the counter. She tore the plastic wrapping off the first one and held it out to me. “Variety is the spice of life. I didn’t know which was supposed to be the most accurate, so I figured it was better to buy as many different kinds as I could.”
“Good thinking,” I mumbled, my knees and hands trembling again. It was difficult to believe that such small packages had the power to change my entire life.
“You want me to stay, or should I wait outside?”
The thought of her leaving nearly sent me into a full frenzied panic