Page 139 of How to Score Off Field

Something wasn’t right…

“Okay?”

I’m not exactly sure what her words mean.

But my heart skips a beat anyway, a cold chill running down my spine.

I was on the toilet…

Something wasn’t right…

Her words hang in the air, charged with meaning. A thousand thoughts rush through my mind, and I try to make sense of what she's telling me.

"Something wasn't right?" I repeat, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah," she replies, her voice a mix of vulnerability and uncertainty. "I'm sorry, Drew..."

“Sorry for what?”

“Maybe I just wasn’t far enough along…”

Wasn’t far enough along?

The unfinished sentence hangs there. It’s a heavy, heavy silence, filled with words she can’t get out of her throat, and I close my eyes as if that will help my mind race to piece together the puzzle.

It's too soon to jump to conclusions, too soon to let fear and worry take over, but her words are hanging in the air like a damn storm cloud threatening to burst.

I take a deep breath, my voice steady despite the turmoil within me.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” More whispered words.

“I think so.”

Does that mean she’s not pregnant anymore?

I clear my throat around the lump forming there, needing to actually ask what’s only in my head. “Does that mean you’re not pregnant anymore?”

She pauses, and I swear I hear her nodding. “I think so.”

I think so.

She’s not pregnant anymore.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask, “How?” Or “Why,” but that would only make me sound stupid and possibly insensitive, so the next thing out of my mouth is, “I’m so sorry.”

Although…

My shoulders sag.

With relief?

With grief?

I have no idea.

All I know is that I’m starting to feel sick in my stomach.

I wish I could reach through the phone and wrap my arms around her to offer the comfort and reassurance that I know she needs.

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