Page 108 of My Vows Are Sealed

“Pretty sure you just have to go pee on the stick,” Ashton quipped.

Kate shot them a glare. “Not helping, asshole.”

“Come on, Darla,” Naomi murmured, standing up, grabbing my hands, and pulling me to my feet. “The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be.”

“She’s right,” Christy chimed in.

I took a couple of deep breaths, then walked into the bathroom and took the tests out of the bag. I ripped open the boxes and pulled the plastic sticks out, setting them on the counter as I sat down on the toilet and drank some of the ginger ale, hoping it would help speed up the process.

I couldn’t even tell how long I sat there, just waiting for nature to call. Peeing on command wasn’t as easy as it sounded, especially since I was so stressed and nervous. But finally, I managed to take the tests, and then I threw all three tests in one box, washed my hands, and walked back out into Kate’s bedroom, flopping down on the bed.

“It says I have to wait for five minutes,” I announced.

“Just watch the movie with us,” Naomi encouraged me. “Don’t look at the clock. We’ll tell you when to check. Okay?”

I nodded and turned my attention to the TV screen, where they were watchingX-Men.

“Okay, where the fuck are Magneto’s kids?” Ashton groaned as Magneto appeared on the train with Wolverine and Rogue. “Like, are we just going to ignore the fact that he’s a father?”

“Um, Magneto’s clearly not the paternal type,” Kate countered. “It would have been weird to include that in the movie.”

“He’s not the paternal type in the comics either,” they argued. “But that doesn’t mean that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver should just disappear.”

“If they included everything that’s in the comics in this movie, it would have been four hours long.”

“And?” Heather said. “I’m not seeing the problem here. I’d watch four hours of Wolverine.”

“Are you going straight on me, baby?” Christy teased.

“I’d go straight for a night with Hugh Jackman,” she shot back.

“I thought your straight for a night hall pass was Johnny Depp, Heather,” Naomi chuckled.

“A girl’s allowed to change her mind, right?”

“For Hugh Jackman, absolutely. I’d climb that man like a tree,” Ashton chimed in.

Kate snorted. “Get in line, Ash. I was here first.”

“Don’t worry, dollface. I’ll share him with you,” they shot back, kissing her cheek.

Normally, I would have been laughing at my friends’ antics and complaining about them talking over the movie, but right now, I couldn’t even concentrate enough to care. The only thing I could think about was the plastic sticks sitting in this box that I was clutching in a death grip.

I couldn’t help myself. This sitting around and waiting was killing me. I had to know. I had to see. So I pulled one of the sticks out of the box…and it was faint, but there was definitely a second line on the stick.

The tears that I’d just barely been managing to keep at bay spilled over my cheeks as I attempted to muffle my sobs with my hand, and everyone in the room turned to look at me. Naomi, who was the closest to me, pulled me into a hug and petted my hair.

“Shh,” she whispered. “It’s okay, sweetie. You’re going to be okay.”

“Leave it to Darla to completely disregard our instructionsnotto look at the damn sticks,” Ashton chuckled weakly as they scooted across the floor to get closer to the bed and put a hand on my arm. “We’ve got you, honey. Just like always. We all know you and Brendan are going to be amazing parents. And you’re not alone.”

“But we’re going to be,” I sobbed. “By the time this baby’s born, you guys are going to be in New York and Chris and Heather will be back in Georgia.”

“We’re not leaving forever. We’ll still come down and visit every chance we get. This little nugget is going to need their Captain Ash to teach it about makeup and clothes and how Jack and Rose couldbothhave fit on that damn door.”

I couldn’t help it. I snorted. Over three years later, and Ashton was still going on about how Jack didn’t have to die inTitanic.

“Captain Ash?” I asked.

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