Page 134 of On the Double

“Well, better that he cared enough to rush you here than if he had ignored you all together.”

With the ER pretty much empty this morning, checking my vitals and getting a doctor in to see me was a breeze. No one seemed too concerned, but they ordered X-rays for me anyway, just to appease my brother.

“Alright,” the technician said as she led me to the room. “Is there any chance you’re pregnant?”

I huffed in amusement. While I would love to have a baby someday, I wasn’t interested in that right now. “No, no possible way.”

“It’s just something we have to ask. It could harm the fetus if…”

While she continued talking, my mind drifted to the last month and then the last two months. When was the last time I had my period? Oh God, I hadn’t even realized I’d skipped a month. How was that possible?

“Ma’am?”

I jerked my gaze to meet hers and swallowed hard. “I think I might need a test.”

Her eyes widened and she nodded succinctly. “I’ll let the doctor know. Why don’t you take a seat?”

As if my legs were made of rubber, I collapsed in the seat and stared at the floor. I couldn’t be pregnant. It wasn’t possible. I was on birth control. I took it regularly. I mean, when I was in the accident, of course, I hadn’t been taking it, but that was months ago. It couldn’t be the reason…Maybe it was just my body throwing things off or some side effect from all the other medicine.

I barely noticed a thing as I was led back to my room. I went through the process of having my blood drawn and then sat back, staring at the blank wall. This wasn’t happening. I didn’t even have a good job. I had just started classes for counseling. I couldn’t be pregnant.

Yet, the second the doctor walked through the door with the results, I knew I was screwed. I dragged in a shaky breath and waited as she gave me the news. I was pregnant. I was going to have a baby. She tried to make me feel like everything was going to be okay, but deep down inside, I knew that was a lie. Nothing would be okay ever again.

And the moment I walked out of the ER and saw my brother, I broke down in his arms, scaring the shit out of him.

His fists clenchedaround the steering wheel as he drove me toward work. Even after all these months, I still hadn’t gotten behind the wheel to drive. I didn’t even like being in the car if I didn’t have to, but I’d sucked it up enough to do what was necessary.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” he finally asked. He glanced over at me, his eyes wide with worry.

“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.

He jerked the wheel, taking us to the side of the road. Then he stared at me. I felt his heated gaze bearing down on me, but I was still in too much shock to look at him.

“You’re what?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s how I feel.”

“But…but you can’t be.”

“I believe when you have sex, you always run the risk,” I said, my voice hollow and disbelieving.

“Harper…”

Yeah, that shocked sound leaving his lips was pretty much how I felt. I couldn’t even say or do anything else. I just stared out the window.

“You have to tell Edu right away.”

Edu. Yeah, that was another problem. I chuckled, then started really laughing as I realized how screwed I was. “Edu doesn’t want kids. In fact, he very plainly told me in the beginning that I should wipe any ideas of kids or marriage from my mind.”

“But that was when you first started dating. You can’t really think he still feels that way.”

But I did. In fact, I was pretty damn sure that when I told him, it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Harper…you have to tell him.”

“I will,” I said, shaking myself out of the trance I seemed to be in. “I’ll tell him when he gets back.”

“When’s that?”