Her jaw dropped. “No, he did not.”
“Believe me, I wish it wasn’t true.”
“Honey, I am so sorry that happened. You didn’t deserve that kind of reaction. Maybe he’ll come around,” she offered, trying to sound optimistic.
“He seemed pretty sure of himself yesterday. Besides, I texted him earlier to let him know about my doctor’s appointment tomorrow, and he hasn’t responded.”
“That little shit,” she muttered. “Does Jace know?”
“No. And he absolutely cannot find out until the time is right.” My voice was tight and high-pitched as the words tumbled out.
“I understand,” she said, wearing the same sympathetic expression Ellie and Cassie had when they found out I was pregnant. Everyone could see the disaster my life was slowly becoming.
Great.
——————————–
As I sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office, I couldn’t tell if the sterile smell was making me nauseous or if it was my nerves. My heart was racing. By all accounts, I was pregnant. Between the positivepregnancy tests and the debilitating nausea, there was no denying it—but this was the moment of truth.
“Molly McKinley?”
I stood when the nurse called my name, knees weak. “That’s me,” I said with a meek smile.
“The exam room is just back here. After the doctor is done, we’ll do some lab work, and we’ll need a urine sample as well.”
“Um, okay.” I hadn’t realized I’d be doing so much on my first visit.
After taking my vitals, she held up a medical gown. “Put this on, and the doctor will be in shortly,” she said before walking out the door.
I changed into the gown, then lay back on the cold medical bed.
After the doctor walked in and introduced herself, she confirmed everything. I was pregnant.
“Based on your measurements, you’re about ten weeks along,” she said, ripping the strip of black-and-white ultrasound pictures away from the machine.
The paper weighed practically nothing, but in that moment, holding it was like carrying the weight of the world in my hands.
She kindly answered all one million and one of my questions.
Your boobs will be sore now until you decide to stop breastfeeding most likely. Your morning sickness will start easing up soon, but sometimes it can last theentire pregnancy. When it’s time to deliver, I’ll walk you through every step, don’t worry.
But as I sat, alone in my car, I was more worried than I’d ever been.
I snapped a picture of the ultrasound images, sending them to Ellie, Cassie—and Liam.
Ellie:Look at that little bean!
Cassie:When’s your due date?
Me:February 14
Ellie:A Valentines Day baby?!
Cassie:OMG how precious!
Ellie, Molly, and I texted back and forth all night. We talked about whether we thought the baby was a girl or a boy and shared our ideas for names. I could tell they were trying to cheer me up and get my mind off my circumstances, but no matter how long we talked, I couldn’t stop thinking about how the one person I’d hoped most would text me back tonight never did.
I stayed up way past my normal bedtime, waiting for him to respond—to say literally anything—but he never did.
