Page 62 of Don't Look Away

I think I have an out-of-body experience because suddenly, I can’t feel my limbs. Swallowing, I try to talk past the bolder that's lodged in my throat. “Y-yes, is everything okay?”

“Yup, everything was normal. Your HGC levels were a bit low, though, so the doctor would like you to come in at your six-week mark for another checkup.”

Oh, okay, well maybe I just have some kind of hormone imbalance. That would explain things…

“Um, what’s HGC? What does that mean?”

I must sound nervous, because his voice softens, like he’s trying to put me at ease. “It’s normal, just on the low side. The follow-up appointment is pretty standard, just a precaution.”

“A precaution for what?”

“To check the baby, and make sure everything is progressing normally.”

I drop the phone like it’s a live cobra, hissing at me. It falls to the carpeted floor, and I just stare at it, disbelieving. He’s mistaken. The test was faulty. There’s no way I could be…

Bending, I pick up my phone and hold it to my ear. “Sorry. But, um, is there any way that could be a mistake? The doctor said my test was inconclusive before.”

“Right. Sometimes it’s too early to show up on a urine test, but a blood test is much more accurate.”

“Oh,” I say numbly. “Thanks.”

“Would you like to schedule—”

I hang up before he can even finish his sentence. Letting the phone fall away from my ear, I drop it on the bed and just stare at the wall in front of me.

Thishasto be a mistake.

This is not real.

He’s not a doctor, right? He must not know how to read a blood test.

I’m still standing like that, in frozen silence, when Wyn walks into the room. The second she sees me, she knows something’s up and she grabs my arm. “Lux, what’s wrong? Are You okay? Is it Roman? What happened?”

As she peppers me with questions, I place a hand on my ribs, suddenly unable to pull in a full breath. It feels like I’m suffocating like the room is closing in around me.

Wyn shakes me. “Lux!”

I blink, my gaze shifting to her face. She looks concerned. I clear my throat. “I’m…uh…that was the doctor’s office.”

“Finally! Took them long enough. What did they say?”

I swallow, shaking my head. And that’s when the tears start to fall. By the time Wyn pulls me into a tight hug, I’m sobbing, trying to suck in large gulps of air.

“Lux, it’s okay,” she soothes. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”

All I can do is cry, the tears coming hot and fast. I have no idea what I’m going to do. Roman is completely unhinged, and I can’t eventhinkabout telling my grandmother about this. How could I possibly finish my degree with a baby on my hip? My mind is whirling, going over every possible scenario in a matter of seconds, then coming right back around to go over it all again.

Pulling back, Wyn forces me to look at her face. “Lux. You aren’t the first girl in history to get pregnant. We’ll figure this out, okay?”

The assurance in her voice jolts me out of my self-pity. And now that I’ve gotten that initial flood of tears out, I feel a fraction calmer. I sniff and nod. “Yeah. You’re right.”

Her fingers tighten around my arms. “You should probably tell Roman, though. I mean, unless he’s not the—”

“Yes,” I cut her off before she can even say it. “Of course he is.”

Granted, there was the brief thing with Ash, but we were never physical. I realize Wyn doesn’t know that, though. We’ve never really talked about my relationship with Ash, or…I don’t know, whatever it is. A friendship?

Wyn lifts her hands. “Okay, no shade if a girl is getting it from more than one place. I didn’t want to assume.”

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