Alie
Ten days late. I’m never late.
How could this have happened? I’ve religiously taken the pill since I was sixteen.
After a proper freak-out, I had my assistant run to the drug store to discreetly grab a pregnancy test—or five—so I could rule out what I suspected to be true.
So, after chugging nearly a gallon of water, I take the first test and wait for the results.
I pace my small bathroom in my office as the timer on my phone winds down to zero. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. As I exhale, I open my eyes and look down at the long white stick resting on the counter next to the sink.
Two pink lines.
“Oh. Fuck.”This can’t be happening.
I close my eyes and brace my arms on the sink to hold myself up. I inhale deeply, trying to wrap my head around how this is possible. I’m an analyst, for fuck’s sakes. The numbers are not supporting this outcome.Pregnant.
A knock on the door startles me, and I bump the test into the sink.
“Alie, it’s me. Let me in,” my older sister, Presley, says.
I don’t even bother to compose myself before opening the door.
“Pres,” I start and then immediately start to cry.
“Okay, so I take it, the test was positive?” She wraps me in her arms and rubs my back.
I can’t even speak through my sobs, so I just nod.
“Alie, we got this. I will be with you every step of the way. Let’s just take a second to figure out a game plan and how we’re going to address it with Mom and Dad. And you need to tellhim, of course.” She pulls back and looks at me, but keeps her hands on my shoulders.
I sniff and reach for a tissue on the counter. “I just don’t understand how this could have happened to begin with. You know I’ve been on the pill forever.”
“Well, let’s trace your timeline. You think this is from your little rendezvous with Liam Pitz the week before Christmas, right?”
I nod.
“And you remember taking your pill the morning after?”
I think back to that morning, and memories of us having sex—again—flash through my mind. Yeah, nope, I did not. Definitely got distracted by his magic dick.
“I … didn’t, no.”
“Aliette Grant, I think you have your answer on how this happened, then, yes?”
“In my defense, I would have taken it if he hadn’t distracted me. Then I saw those texts, and I just panicked and left. By the time I got home, changed, and met you for brunch, it had completely slipped my mind. I feel so stupid.” I grimace. “Do you really think one missed pill would do it though?”
“Not necessarily, but you know that shit is only ninety-nine percent effective. Are you absolutely sure it was just one day?”
I start crying again. Those few days after, I was in a haze. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and I was crushed that I could be so wrong. I’d thought maybe we could actually try to be something.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter. What’s important now is making sure you’re taking care of yourself and the baby. When are you going to call him?”
I shrug. “Well, I could call him if I had his number.”
“You don’t have his number?”
“No, Presley. I ran out of there like my ass was on fire. I didn’t stick around for his number.”
