Page 36 of Never Yours

“No,” I cry. “I don’t just go for my pap.”

She pulls out her phone. “What do you need? My friend is great, I’ll see if I can get you in.”

“Cass…”

“What?” She looks up, pausing for a moment. “What birth control are you on?”

“The kind that requires an OB four times a year…”

“It’s okay! I’m sure it’s fine. You probably weren’t ovulating while Cay was still here.” Cass shrugs and types on her phone. “I’ll get you in to see my friend today, just to be safe.”

“This can’t be happening.” I begin pacing and wringing my hands. “I’ve always been so careful, even used condoms, how did I let this happen?”

Cass grabs both my shoulders, forcing me to stop and look at her. “Perfect. You used condoms. It’s going to be okay… You did use condoms, right?” My silence is admission enough for her. “Damn it, Ingrid! What about with the boss daddy?”

“Martin? Yes, we used a condom, but they aren’t one-hundred percent.”

“And Caleb?”

I wince. “No.”

“It’s okay, it’ll be fine…” The high screech of her voice tells me it’ll be everything but fine. “I got you in for this afternoon at three. Are you having any symptoms?”

“Like what?” I grasp at my stomach, not feeling any different.

“Insomnia, morning sickness, cravings…”

“No.” I shake my head, but then my eyes widen. “I threw up my bagel this morning… but that’s just nerves. I was just offered the job!”

Cass’ shoulders sag. “Babe, I’ve been a nurse for years and have read a ton of accidental pregnancy romance books. You’re probably knocked up. I’ll run to the store and pick up a few tests, you’ll pee on a stick, and we’ll know for sure what’s going on.”

“Okay,” I sigh, nodding my head in agreement.

She grabs her things and rushes to the store, leaving me to freak the fuck out by myself. I let Smitten back inside, and she can sense my worry, not leaving my side. I do my best to manifest a negative test—speaking it into the universe over and over, hoping it’ll take.

Fifteen minutes later, Cass rushes in with a plastic grocery bag full of tests. “Pick your poison. We’ve got the double-line tests, the ones with words, the cheap tests, and the expensive tests. I say you pee in a cup and we shove all twelve of them in there at once.”

“Good plan.”

Cass pulls out a plastic disposable cup from the cabinet. “We’re going to eliminate the possibility of error here. Each box has two tests. So, you’re going to pee now, we’ll do one round. Then, in an hour, do another round. Okay?” I nod and take the cup from her, rushing off to the bathroom. Once I’m done, I return to the kitchen, urine in hand. “Bitch! Back in the bathroom! I’ll come to you. We’re not going to risk piss spilling in here.”

I groan and return to the bathroom, Cass following me with a handful of unwrapped tests. Once I set the cup on the bathroom counter, she begins placing them in. All of the packages say three to five minutes, so we decide to wait the full five.

It’s the longest five minutes of my life.

The timer chimes, and I can’t look. Cass pulls out the first one, capping it and placing it on a paper towel. “Ah-ha! Negative!” I breathe a sigh of relief. She pulls the second one out, and her eyes widen. “Oh, this one must be one of the cheap tests…”

“What does it say?”

“The line is faint, it could go either way.”

I take the test from her. “Those are two distinct lines, Cass.”

She pulls the remaining tests, capping them and placing them on the paper towel. “Well… good news is one-sixth of these tests are negative.”

“There are five positives!”

“Here me out. It could be anything! Your HCG levels could be off from your birth control.”

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