This.

I sit here, debating and debating and debating, not sure what to do first.

What do I do?

How do I react?

I wasn’t ready to be pregnant but I’m not ready for this,either.

Do I call my mom?

My roommates?

Do I call Drew?

Wipe.

Flush.

Text?

Cry?

Yes, I’m definitely going to cry….

CHAPTER48

DREW

I GUESS MISSING HER THIS MUCH IS THE UNIVERSE REMINDING ME THAT I’M FALLING FOR HER.

It’s late.

Like—too late for a friendly call.

So when the phone rings, I scramble to answer it, heart racing with a mix of excitement and apprehension when I see Tess’s name flashing on the small screen. I smile though I’m tired as I accept the call and press my phone to my ear, yawning.

"Hey," I greet her, trying to keep my voice steady despite the fluttering in my chest. “Is everything okay?”

The question everyone asks when they get a random call past a certain hour in the day, yeah?

"Hey," her voice responds, but there's an edge to it, a hint of something I can't quite place. “No, I don’t think…everything is okay.”

I lean over, flip my bedside light on, and lean back against the pillows propped against the headboard.

“What’s goin’ on?”

There's a pause on the other end, a weighty silence that stretches out for a moment too long. My mind races, my imagination conjuring up a thousand possibilities—some mundane, some heart-stoppingly serious. Or maybe I’m just too fucking tired.

We had our first practice today.

A meeting, too, and I crashed when I went to bed after texting with Tess—everything seemed okay at the time. What could have gone wrong in the few hours I’ve been in bed?

“Did your brother do something?” I ask, immediately suspecting Grady of another verbal lashing.

"I... I don't know how to even say this," Tess begins, voice trembling. "I was on the toilet, you know, and something wasn't right."

I was on the toilet…