Then I was out the door, practically running down the street in my haste to get to the drugstore.
I purchased three tests, different brands, and didn’t so much as glance at the young girl working the checkout as I threw a fifty-dollar bill down and scooped up the boxes, then dropped them into my purse.
One fell out as I was exiting the store, and I bent over to pick it up, when someone wearing familiar looking boots and black jeans beat me to it.
If I wasn’t going to faint back at the shop, I feared it was about to happen now.
“I’d ask how you are, Petal, but I think I’ve caught you at a bad time.”
With my heart sinking like a stone, I took the box from his hand and shoved it into my purse as my eyes welled.
Then I turned around and kept on walking.
“Whoa, wait.”
“Can’t. As you said, bad time. And even if it wasn’t, I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
“That test says differently.”
The words raced out, scraping over my tongue before I could think better of it. “If I am pregnant, we both know it’s not yours.”
Aiden stopped, and so did I. Passersby moved around us as color leeched from his face.
That freaking face that hadn’t changed, save for the thick coat of stubble that now seemed to be a permanent feature.
His eyes, dark and impenetrable, closed, then reopened and focused on the ground.
“I’m sorry.” It was a rasp. “But you’ve been gone for months, Aiden.”
“Five months, which, apparently, is long enough.” His chest heaved with a loaded exhale. “Everett?”
I didn’t want to say it. Didn’t like how even thinking the word felt like a betrayal. To both men. Even though I’d done nothing wrong other than fall for them both.
So I said nothing and left, holding my purse close to my chest until I was locked behind the comfort of our bright blue front door.
I slid down it, my purse falling to the floor, the tests inside spilling out as my hand sank into my hair, tugging.
Real. It was all too damn real.
I’d gone on the pill. I’d made the doctor’s appointment after the first time Everett and I had sex in his tiny room.
Time sped by as I stared at the boxes, counting and measuring all the ways life would change if those tests were positive. Then it slowed when I thought about them being negative.
Either way, choices would need to be made.
What was Aiden doing here? The season wasn’t over yet.
Squeezing my eyes shut at the thought of telling Everett that Aiden had returned, that I’d taken these tests, and that I could be pregnant caused an ache to bloom behind my skull.
I forced myself off the ground, forced myself to pick the tests up, and forced myself into the bathroom where I carefully read the instructions.
Ten minutes later, I was trying to swallow a knot the size of my fist as I stared at all three tests. All three—very much positive—tests.
I was fucking pregnant.
After letting the shock, fear, and a small kernel of excitement drip from my eyes, I spent the next hour with them as I tried to go over all the things I’d need to do next.
Number one was tell Everett, but he wouldn’t be home for hours, and I wasn’t about to text him news like this.
Number two was call the doctor.
Number three was call my mom and have her come and hold me until this mess got figured out.
Unfortunately, I could only do one of those, so I called my doctor and scored an appointment for the next afternoon after work.
I ran myself a bath, ignored Gloria’s call, and sent her a text saying I was fine, then I curled up in my robe on my bed and stared at the wall.
Everett. The band. Aiden. My degree.
What the hell were we going to do?
Gentle hands brushed hair from my face, and I blinked open weighted lids to find Everett seated on the side of my bed.
His eyes were rimmed in red, exhaustion pulling at his plump lips. Golden light danced across the dusty blond hair curling around his face, bathing him and the room in peach as the sun approached the horizon.
“You finished early?” I found that hard to believe.
“You didn’t answer my calls or texts.”
Oh. I reached for my phone, but it wasn’t there. It was in his hand.
“I got worried.” The subtle note of wariness to his voice