Page 66 of Obsessive Love

He frowns and his shoulders slump as he looks between the tests and my face.

"So, we're not having a baby?" he asks, his tone deflated and sad.

Surprised by the guilt that starts to filter through my body as I see his reaction, I shake my head.

"How'd you feel?"

Tears burn my eyes as I stare at the man before me, wondering how he can be so dejected and in such turmoil with his own thoughts yet still ask how I'm doing at this moment.

"Surprisingly, I'm actually a little disappointed," I tell him.

"You are?" he asks in surprise, a little sparkle of hope now in his saddened eyes.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved because it's going to save us a whole load of trouble, but I'm disappointed because I've always wanted to become a mother and although I've spent the last hour freaking out about the possibility of being pregnant, I was also a little excited at the possibility of having a life growing inside of me and having that experience."

"You will get to experience that," he tells me, cupping my face in his hands and looking at me with a newfound determination. "This test may be negative, but we can make sure the next one is positive."

I laugh and a tear slips from the corner of my eye, dripping down my cheek and onto his thumb.

"Okay, let's not get too ahead of ourselves," I say, patting my hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we should go and speak to Jericho right now and figure out what we're all going to do, okay?"

He rolls his eyes but nods nonetheless.

I look down at the sticks still in my hand, staring at them for a moment before I throw them in the bin.

Before we leave the room, I tug on his arm, bringing his attention to me.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He smiles sweetly and nods, dropping a chaste kiss on my cheek.

"I'm good,dolcezza. I trust that this is the universe's way of telling us that now isn't the time. I'm okay with waiting a little longer for you and for our future together."

"Besides the fact that half of what you say is delusional, you're kind of sweet sometimes," I tell him as we exit the bathroom, our hands still firmly linked together.

"You're the only person that will ever give that description of me, baby."

My cheeks bunch up as a smile spreads across my face when I realise that he's hinting no one has ever or will ever see the sweet, soft side of him that I do.

We walk down the hall towards the kitchen, each of us walking slowly as if we're prolonging the time we have together in this little bubble we always seem to be in before we enter reality again.

As we enter the kitchen, Jess scrambles off of her chair, staring at the both of us for a few moments, taking in the saddened eyes, Kaleb's slumped shoulders and my small, shaky smile.

"Do you need me to do anything?" she asks, knowing the result of the tests just by looking at us.

Kaleb lightly squeezes my hand and I glance down to where we're connected before I look back at my cousin and shake my head.

"I think I'll be okay," I tell her.

She frowns in concern but nods and collects her things from the kitchen side.

"Give me a call if you need anything," she says, walking over to pull me into a hug. "I'll stop by your parents and let your mum know the news."

"Thank you, Jess."

"Anytime, Soph."

As she pulls away from me, her eyes dart over to Kaleb and she examines him for a few moments before sighing.

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