Page 5 of Sweet Child of Mine

“Maybe it’s best if your friends leave the room so we can discuss the results in private.” That was the worst thing the doctor could say.

“Oh. My. God. You’re dying,” Andrei wailed like a wounded animal.

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics before replying, “I’m just going to tell them so go ahead, Doc.”

“First of all, you’re not dying,” he said right away. I sighed in relief. I really thought he was going to drop some giant bombshell in my lap, turning my entire life upside down. For weeks, I’ve stressed about how my non-relationship with Nik could end up with one of us dying.

“Oh, thank God,” Andrei gasped.

I rolled my eyes and pretended like I wasn’t worried. But to be honest, I was petrified after the doctor came in without a smile. Asking me if I wanted my friends to leave meant the news wasn’t going to be something I expected.

“Your blood work came back, and surprise,” he said, finally cracking a smile, probably thinking this would be a happy moment. “You’re pregnant.”

My mouth fell open as denial immediately kicked in. “But I just had my period. The test has to be wrong.”

“How long ago?”

“I don’t know. A few weeks. My periods are never on time.”

“The blood test doesn’t lie, Ms. Mattheson. You are indeed pregnant. We’ll order an ultrasound to make sure the baby is okay since you passed out.”

“I didn’t eat this morning,” I told him, still refusing to believe him.

“You’ll need to be more careful about eating every few hours and start prenatal vitamins right away. Other than that, you’re completely healthy.”

My world was officially rocked by a giant bomb. I blinked a few times, my mouth hanging open as the doctor walked into the hallway closing the curtain behind him.

“You know who the daddy is,” Andrei stated as he stared at me, seeing the panic in my face.

“Fuck,” I moaned as I covered my face with my hands. This was the worst-case scenario. I was knocked up. A single mother who was pregnant with Nikandr Baranov’s kid. It was like the big man upstairs had it out for me.

My heart was pounding against my chest so hard I could barely breathe. I shook my hands, feeling a panic attack about to strike. “I can’t,” I said, and my voice cracked on the last word. “I can’t be a mother.”

Amelia immediately wraps me up in the tightest hug she’s ever given me. “You… not alone,” she whispered in my ear reminding me that I had people who cared about me. She knew who the father was but I appreciated her not going there right then. I needed time to process this. The baby. My baby. Nik’s baby. Our baby.

“We’ll figure this out,” Andrei told us as he joined in on the group hug.

“How?” I asked, peering up at him with tears in my eyes. I didn’t see a way this finished with a happy ending. The one damn time I was too drunk to not have unprotected sex, I got knocked up.

“I don’t know who Daddy is, but you’re going to have to tell him.” Andrei wiped the tears from my cheeks.

I wasn’t sure how I would break the news to Nik or if I should. I’d spent an entire month trying to pretend he never returned, and the entire time, our baby was growing inside my body. God, what if he thought I was trying to trap him as some part of an evil plan?

“He may surprise you,” Amelia signed.

“Oh, it’s a surprise alright,” I said and started to laugh in my panic.

“Ms. Mattheson?” a woman near the doorway asked as she pulled a cart behind her. “Are you ready for your ultrasound?”

Amelia and Andrei stand back to get out of her way. “Sure,” I mumbled under my breath as the woman scanned my hospital bracelet. The ultrasound didn’t take very long, and the technician didn’t say much while she took pictures of my uterus. I stared at the black-and-white screen, as I tried to figure out what I was looking at. “Did you see a baby?” I asked as she cleaned off her equipment and packed up to leave.

“The doctor will be in shortly to go over the ultrasound with you.” Her words didn’t give me comfort. I hated how they always made it seem like something was wrong. I was a bundle of stress and nerves and her words didn’t help at all.

“Everything will be fine,” Andrei said as he patted my arm, but he didn’t understand the absolute mess I’d created.

Moments later, the doctor walked in, holding the ultrasound pictures in his hand. “Everything looks good, Ms. Mattheson. You’re around four weeks into your pregnancy. You’ll want to follow up with your OB/GYN this week, but as of right now, both mom and baby are perfectly healthy.”

“Great,” I replied, trying to plaster on a fake smile.

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