Page 54 of Knocked up By the Minotaur

“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” I mutter as I start the engine, swiping his drop-down notification away and slapping the screen to get it calling my sister. It begins to dial, and I put it to speaker and screech out of the driveway.

“Hello?”

“Ella!” I practically shout as I hurtle towards the pharmacy. “I’m on my way to get a pregnancy test. Help.”

“Oh,” she says with a little squeak of surprise. “I, uh… Right. Okay. Do you need me to come over?”

“I don’t know. I just started panicking about five minutes ago for no reason. Need to take the test immediately. Driving to the pharmacy now.”

“Okay, deep breaths, Gracie. Everything’s going to be okay.”

I start taking in huge gulps of air at a rapid pace, which immediately sends my mind into a further frenzy. What if I’m pregnant? What if I’m not?

At this rate I’m gathering baby-daddies left, right and center, without any signs of stopping, apparently. I’m a terrible mother-to-be and I make terrible decisions, and if I really am pregnant, I’m going to be forcing Oli into a life he never chose to lead and that makes me a terrible friend on top of everything else.

“Uh, Grace? Those breaths sound a little toodeep…”

This is not what friends do. But then, friends don’t sleep with each other, either. I don’t know what I was thinking, imagining I could handle physical intimacy without attachment.

And now I keep thinking that I actually want him to be the father of my children, even though I keep trying to push that thought away. It’s already too late for me. I’m already in too deep. When did this happen? Oh, god. Oh, god.

“Grace,” Ella says firmly, as I pull up to the curb. “Where are you?”

“Just got to the pharmacy. Going in now.”

“Do not drive back home in this state, I’ll kill you if you have an accident. Just walk to the diner, it’s nearby. I’ll meet you there, okay? I’m on my way now, Rho can pick up our kids.”

“Okay,” I mutter, as I power walk into the building. “Okay.”

Once inside I grab three different brands of tests and head to the cashier, where the same fork-tongued guy served me last time. He raises one scaly eyebrow but makes no comment as I pay, and I rush to the Silver Spoon and straight to the bathroom, where I try to pee on all three sticks at the same time, in case there isn’t enough liquid in me to go one by one.

There’s still a spare ziplock in my handbag from last time, and I dump the sticks in there once I’m done and wash up thoroughly, before heading out to a booth to wait.

It’s only a few more minutes before Ella waddles in with her huge belly, and I immediately grab her hands as she sits across the table.

“I’m an idiot,” I say. “I skipped a pill two weeks ago and took one late last week. Both on the actual daysthat I actually had sexwith Oli.”

“You should be fine, you’d have to be not taking it for—”

“Not this one,” I interrupt. “I’m on the minipill, the one you’ve got to take within twelve hours of the same time, every day.”

“You’re okay.” Ella squeezes my hands in hers. “Everything’s going to be okay, one way or another, I promise.”

I take a deep breath and try to hold it, but it rushes back out of me. “I’m panicking.”

Ella quirks a smile. “I can see that.”

“I’m panicking because I want…” I bite my lip and pull back, closing my eyes as I rub a palm over my forehead. “I want to be pregnant.”

“Oh.”

“I want it to be Oli’s.”

“Oh.”

“But I hope to god that I’m not, because everything is getting just a little too messed up and I couldn’t do that to him because he’s been nothing but perfect with me, and I would hate to mess up his life like that, and I’m a bad, selfish person because I wantit anyway. And I… I want him to want it, too.” I finally open my eyes, and slump back in my seat. “I don’t understand why I’m reacting so strongly, Ella. It’s insane. I knew I wasn’t cut out for this whole ‘friends with benefits’ set up. I have to just—never see him again, or something. I should leave town. I’ll apply for every apartment I’ve looked at and take the first one that accepts and—”

Ella reaches over to take my hands again. “Shh,” she mutters soothingly. “It’s okay.”

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