And that thought alone had her taking large steps up Brooklyn Heights’ city blocks, headed straight for the pharmacy.
“Good morning,” the clerk greeted the moment Rylee stepped inside.
“Good morning,” Rylee forced a smile. “Can you please tell me where your pregnancy tests are?”
The question alone had her head spinning. Never did she think she’d ever need one of those things again.
And still, at the guidance of the clerk, Rylee found the test of her choosing, walked it to the register, and left with the test and a prayer that it would give her the result she was hoping for.
Negative.
She wanted the test to be negative. Needed it to be negative, actually.
Back home, in the downstairs bathroom near the brownstone’s front door, an impatient Rylee tore open the packaging, peed on the test strip, then placed it on the counter after covering it.
She didn’t move an inch.
Rylee stood over the vanity, eyes fixed on the strip as her urine moved along it, the test immediately producing two pink lines.
Her gasp was slow. Loud. Nerving.
She closed her eyes and held them tight as if she were trying to erase what she saw.
There was no way it would give a result so fast.
Except, it did.
And the result confirmed she was pregnant.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. “Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God…”
She had no problem figuring out how something like this could’ve happened.
The anniversary of Lennox’s death.
It was the only time she’d had the audacity to guide Xander inside of her without a condom.
She released a long, heavy breath that sagged her shoulders and forced her to take a seat on the toilet lid beside the vanity.
It was one time.
At least that’s what she reasoned. She’d been caught up in the moment but still aware of what she was doing. But Ryleehonestly didn’t think this would happen. What were the chances, honestly?
Her head was in her hands a second later, fingers running through her braids, tossing them over her shoulder before she pushed herself back to her feet.
She had to see the test again. By now, surely it had been enough time to prove she was trippin’.
Rylee believed she just had to be trippin’.
Her eyes met the test window again and just like the first time, her heart and stomach dropped.
The lines were abundantly clearer now. Two bright pink lines.
“Fuck,” she whispered to herself, her voice shaky. “This can’t be real life.”
She and Xander had just gotten to good. She’d just started to feel okay about them.
Now this?
