“Brandon requested a meeting with their Alpha, so we shall see if he accepts. He would be an idiot not to. Or at least just to fricken meet and discuss things. He knows what’s out there, so he can’t exactly turn a blind eye to it.”
I looked down at my coffee. I felt that same twist I’d felt last night when we left. All those people who needed help but wouldn’t accept it. Their Alpha refused it.
“Oh, I made you some eggs and bacon. It’s in the microwave.” Kaleb pulled himself up and set his mug beside the sink. “Do you have plans tonight?”
I shook my head. “No, why?”
“How about another date?” he asked, pausing next to me. “We could go do mini golf. They close up this weekend, but the weather is supposed to be nice tonight.”
I thought about it, considering it might be a good idea. Not under dimmed lights and food, but rather outside doing something. It would be a nice change of pace.
“You know what, that sounds lovely.”
He smiled. “Great, I’ll be home around five, and we can go. They have some really good food there that we can grab when we are done.”
I nodded as he headed out. I took a few sips of my coffee, feeling my stomach stir. I ignored it, knowing I was starving from yesterday. I didn’t have the stomach to eat anything last night, and I was hungry.
I opened the microwave and inhaled the smell of bacon and eggs. But instead of smiling, I felt my stomach flip violently, and I could feel puke form in the back of my throat.
I slammed the door shut and turned, covering my mouth as I skittered across the floor toward the sink. I gagged as I leaned over, puking up the pile of coffee I had managed to drink.
I felt hot for a moment and pressed my forehead against the sink faucet as I turned it on.
I took a few slow breaths, wondering if I caught a bug. I’d been stressed to the max, and I knew that with the cold weather coming on, it made sense. But I glanced at the microwave, knowing that wasn’t it.
I remembered when Jade first got sick. We were in her kitchen cooking up fajitas, planning to relax and discuss school. But I saw the way her face went pale, and she went running when that smell filled the room.
I shook my head, trying to count back. There couldn’t be. Kaleb and I had only done it once. There was no way it was possible.
I headed upstairs into the bathroom and dug into my bathroom bag. I looked at my tampons and realized I was late. Only a few days, but late nonetheless.
“Shit.”
I dug some more until I found the pregnancy test. It was from the same box that Jade had used years ago. I should have thrown it out, but I just shoved it into the bag and never really thought about the fact that I still had it.
I scowled, knowing it was expired, and they say you shouldn’t use expired ones, but in the moment, I didn’t care.
I shut the door and yanked my pants down as I ripped the test free from the box. I bent over the toilet and peed, thinking about how Jade had been through this.
I remembered going to her house after she called me. She was sitting on her bathroom floor, numb. She held the pregnancy test up, looking so broken. I didn’t know what to do, how to make her feel better. It was something neither of us was expecting.
I cleaned my hands and paced while I waited. I tapped my finger on my thigh, trying to think of how this wasn’t possible. Sure, Jade got pregnant from one change, but that was because we were young. It was two different people with two different bodies. There was no way lightning would strike twice.
And honestly, the chances of getting pregnant the first time were low. I was just overthinking this. I was stressed from everything going on and making a mess of myself.
I turned and grabbed my phone, calling Jade. I heard it ring a few times before she picked up. “Jesus, do you even know the time?”
“Hey, uhm…are you busy?”
I stopped pacing and looked at the test.
“No, because it’s the ass crack of dawn. Why do you sound off?”
“Can you come over?” I grabbed the test and stared at the pink line. “And bring a pregnancy test.”
Jade was over twenty minutes later. She came into the bathroom, looking out of breath, her hair a mess, and her jacket half on. She looked at me with wide eyes. “What the fuck.”
My eyes went to the bag in her hand, and I knew she got me what I needed. “Hi.”
