Page 25 of Floored

"Lia, you have to go look." Her voice was all wobbly, and I pressed my fingers into my eye sockets.

"No, I don't." Why were my palms wet? I licked my lips, and they came away salty.

"Yes, you do." She sounded so gentle. So understanding. If it were me, I would've gone tough love drill sergeant. "You can do this, Lee."

I dropped my hands, and when I pried my eyes open, I saw Claire crying in earnest right along with me.

"I'm scared," I said, my voice hardly above a whisper.

"That's okay. No matter what that thing says, we'll figure it out, okay?"

Before I could think too hard on it—what it would mean, what it wouldn't mean—I snatched the phone and rolled off the bed.

"Read the label first," she said.

I smiled. "I will."

On the back of the box, I skimmed until I saw what I needed to know, reading it out loud to Claire.

"One line is no; two lines is yes."

She nodded. "Okay."

Tossing the box aside, I took a second and looked at the test lying facedown on the metal ledge. It looked eight feet long lying there. In my mind, it grew bigger and bigger until I imagined it squeezing me out of the room.

"You can do it," she said again.

With a hard puff of air out of pursed lips, I snatched the test and flipped it over.

"Holy shit," I whispered.

Two bright ass purple lines.

Claire inhaled. "Two lines?"

My nod was jerky, and I tossed the test onto the ledge, sinking onto the floor of the bathroom with the phone clutched against me.

"Lia," she said firmly, "I can't see you."

"I don't want you to see me," I cried. "Holy shit, Claire, I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant!"

"Please let me see you. Not that having the camera smashed up to your boobs isn't great, but I'd really like to see my sister's face right now."

Slowly, I pulled the phone back, resting my hands on my bent knees, but with my head against the wall behind me, I decided that staring up at the ceiling was a better life choice for me.

"What am I supposed to do?"

She was quiet. "I don't know."

"I have to tell Jude," I murmured. "Don't I?"

Claire sighed. "I think that's a difficult question to answer when you don't know what kind of person he is. But if I'm answering in generalities, then yes, I think letting him know is the right thing to do. At least give him the opportunity to support you in whatever way you need."

Finally, I met her eyes. "And what if I don't want to keep it?"

She held my gaze, steady as a rock, unwavering as a mountain. "Then we'll figure that out too. You don't have to decide anything right now, Lia. Not one single thing."

A memory popped up, and I emitted a watery laugh. "Remember when Emmett was born?"

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