Adriel
Caleb paled so quickly that I was afraid he would pass out right there on the examining table.
“I can’t,” Caleb muttered, repeating it. “I can’t be pregnant.”
If I still had a pulse, my heart would have been racing. I watched the scene before me unfold as if in slow motion.
Maxwell gave him a sympathetic shrug. “If you are, then you are. I recommend we do a test right now to find out. If it’s not, then you have nothing to worry about and I’ll send you home with some antiemetics. If you are, there are ways of terminating, if that’s what - “
“No!” Caleb cried. “No, that’s not what I want.”
Maxwell spoke slowly and remained calm. “Okay. So if you are pregnant, you’d like to keep the baby?”
“Yes,” Caleb said breathlessly. He turned to me, his eyes wide and desperate, like a terrified deer.
“I’m right here, Caleb,” I promised.
What was the look in his eyes right now? Guilt? Shame? Fear? Whatever emotions raged inside him, I was there to calm the storm. I held his hand within mine, and my gaze never left his own.
“Don’t be afraid,” I told him. “No matter what happens, we’ll get through it together. I swear it.”
Some of the anxiety in his gaze lifted. He nodded with a meek whimper.
“Well, Caleb,” Maxwell said, getting ready to stand up. “Shall I get you a pregnancy test? It’s the fastest way to find out.”
We watched as Caleb nodded and exhaled a shaky breath. “Yeah.”
“Okay.” Maxwell put his hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “You’re gonna be all right. Just breathe. There’s a bin over here if you feel the need to be sick again.”
Caleb shut his eyes, trying to escape the situation the only way he could. “Adriel… What if he’s right and I am pregnant?” he murmured.
“Then you’ll be pregnant,” I stated. “It won’t change anything.”
“How can you say that?” he asked, eyes snapping open. “I - I’m gonna have to bring a baby into this world!”
I kneeled down closer to him. “What I meant is, it’s not abadthing. I don’t see it that way. Do you?”
He hesitated. “No.”
“You told Maxwell you wanted to keep the baby,” I said. “Is that the truth?”
“Yes,” Caleb replied instantly. There was no lie in his voice or his expression. “I meant it. I’m just… afraid. This is happening so fast.”
“It’s okay to be afraid,” I said. “I know this is scary.”
Maxwell returned from fishing in the counter drawer with a brand new pregnancy test. He handed the box to Caleb. “Here we go. There’s a bathroom right over there.”
“Thanks,” Caleb mumbled.
Even from simply holding his hand, I felt his pulse beating rapidly beneath his skin. Caleb was terrified. I helped him to his feet and to the bathroom. At least the nausea had seemed to pass, or maybe it was just forgotten amongst the news.
“Do you want me to come in with you?” I offered.
Caleb blushed. “No, it’s okay. I feel okay enough to pee on a stick by myself.”
I smiled at his humor despite the situation. “All right.”
As Caleb disappeared behind the door, Maxwell came up to me. He wrote something down on a clipboard and asked, “I assume you’re the father. Did you know about this?”
