Someone rubbed their hand up and down her back. “Hey. You okay? That’s the second time you threw up today.” Mindy Sue pulled her hair back into a ponytail and used her free hand to touch Brooke’s forehead. “You don’t have a fever.”
“I must have some bug.” She pulled a bunch of toilet paper from the dispenser and wiped her mouth.
Mindy Sue hooked her hand under Brooke’s arm and helped her up. “Maybe. But I’ve noticed you’ve seemed…off for a couple weeks. We should stop at the drugstore on the way home.”
Brooke went utterly still. “No.” She shook her head, but that night with Cody came back in vivid detail. The way they’d been so consumed with being together they’d forgotten all about using protection. “No. I can’t be…” She tried to take in a calming breath. “She’s already… No. This can’t be happening.”
“I think it is.” Mindy Sue pulled her into a hug. “No matter what, it’s going to be okay.”
She held her amazing friend even tighter. “I’m not so sure.”
Am I pregnant?
Am I going to be a mom?
How will I tell Cody?
What will he do?
“Oh God. This is bad.”
Mindy Sue leaned back and shook her head. “No. It’s not. This is Cody’s baby. You wanted him in your life forever. Now you’ve got it.”
Her heart pounded in her chest. “Not this way. Not like this.”
“I know. But if this is the only way, then take it, Brooke. Be happy with this little piece of him you get to keep. Enjoy the moments you’ll get to share with him watching your child grow up together, even if he is with her. Let it be enough.”
“It’s better than nothing,” she reluctantly admitted.
Mindy Sue put her hand on Brooke’s shoulder. “When you tell him, maybe he’ll choose you.”
“He already chose her.” She couldn’t even hope for a different outcome.
Cody wouldn’t go back on the promise he made to Kristi.
“She’s wearing his ring. He’ll remind me we’re friends and that we can raise the child together in that way.”
Mindy Sue pressed her lips tight. “I think he’d choose you. Give him a chance to make that decision.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t take the chance he still chooses her and it breaks my heart all over again.”
Mindy Sue cupped her face and brushed the tears away with her thumbs. “Then he doesn’t deserve you, because you’re awesomer than all the rest of us.”
“Not true. I have the most awesomest friend ever!”
“Okay. Then let’s get our food to go and hit the drugstore. You need to know, so you can plan what comes next.”
Brooke washed her hands and rinsed her mouth in the bathroom sink while Mindy Sue went out to deal with their food and tell their friends they had to leave because she wasn’t feeling well. She’d keep the why of it to herself for now.
She took a deep breath, then went out to face everyone.
“Are you okay?” Jeremiah asked.
“You look pale,” Adam added.
“I think it’s just a bug. I wasn’t feeling well this morning, but thought it had passed. Guess not. Sorry to spoil the evening. You guys stay and have a good time.”
Julie stood and hugged her. “I’m going to hang out. Jeremiah and I are going to play video games after dinner.”
