I gag again, clutching the toilet as another wave of nausea hits.
I see Luke, out of the corner of my eye, pull the towel off the rack and wrap it around his waist, then he crouches down beside me. He takes my hair in his hands, holding it back out of the way.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmurs softly as he pats me on the back with his other hand. “Get it all out.”
My stomach heaves again. God, this is misery.
He moves his hand from my back and places it on my forehead. “No fever,” he mutters quietly.
The nausea finally eases off, leaving me shaky and weak. I fall back onto my butt, the cold floor seeping through the thin fabric of my sleep shorts.
Luke is already moving, grabbing my toothbrush and quickly squeezing toothpaste onto it before handing it to me.
“Here you go,” he says gently. “Stay right there. I’m gonna get you some water.”
He closes the lid and flushes the toilet before disappearing out of the bathroom. I sit there on the cool tile, brushing my teeth slowly and think.
Sick. Okay. But other than the nausea, I don’t actually feel sick. No fever. No aches. No sore throat. Just nauseous.
My stomach drops.
Suddenly my heart starts pounding.
No... I can’t be.
But this is exactly how Ash was.
I stand up slowly and spit into the sink and slowly reach into the cabinet under it. My hand trembles as I pull it open. Inside sits the unopened box of tampons. The same box I bought two months ago. After my last period.
My stomach twists again—but this time it isn’t nausea.
“Oh, God…” I gasp.
The bathroom door opens as I glare at the box as if it personally wronged me.
Luke steps into the room holding a glass of water and his phone to his ear.
He freezes when he sees me standing frozen with the box in my hand.
“Baby?”
I look up at him, my heart racing.
“I…” My voice cracks. “I think… I think I might be pregnant.”
His eyes widen slightly. For a second he just stares at me, and I’m afraid he’s going to take off running out the door, far away from me.
Then he sets the water down and steps into me, wrapping his arms around me.
“Doc,” he says, forgetting he was on his phone when he came in. “You might wanna bring a pregnancy test with you.” That’s all he says before hanging up.
He sets the phone down and cups my face with his hands, tilting it up so he’s gazing into my eyes.
“It’s okay,” he says calmly. “We’ll figure it out.”
I shake my head slightly, panic rising. “But I’m on the pill.”
“Sometimes it happens anyway,” he says gently. “I’m sure Doc knows how it could.” He kisses my forehead. “And even if you are… it doesn’t change anything.” His voice softens. “You’re here. And if there’s a baby… that baby’s ours too.”
