Page 538 of Hell Hath No Fury
“Look, the offer stands if you need to talk, okay?”
Lucy nods, then offers a small smile. “Thanks.”
The bell rings, prompting me to run to my classroom since it’s in another building. I’m one of the last to enter, but luckily, Sir isn’t here yet.
I find myself in a daze for the rest of the afternoon, thinking about Lucy. When the bell rings for dismissal, I’m actually grateful my father is picking me up since it’ll distract me from my thoughts.
Inside his black Aston Martin, he drives through the traffic while his favorite music plays in the background. My stomach feels unsettled again, but this time I think it’s my period since the dull ache feels familiar.
“Dad, do you mind if we stop at the drug store? I need to pick up some feminine products.”
His face remains still, but I can almost hear him cringing on the inside. “Of course.”
Sometimes, I feel sorry for my father, given he has four girls and no son. Even I’ll admit my sisters were a lot to handle. Okay, maybe not Addy but Millie sleeping with my father’s business partner behind his back, to Ava getting pregnant on a one-night stand with Millie’s ex-fiancé. Talk about stress.
I was around when it all happened, and boy, did he lose his shit. I had never seen him so angry in my life than when all this stuff went down. The only saving grace was Mom. She has some superpower over him and manages to tame his anger.
The good to come out of all this is that he now has two sons-in-law plus a million grandkids.
He stops the car near the front.
“I won’t be long.”
“Take your time. I need to make a business call.”
Of course, he does. I’m surprised he didn’t have someone on Bluetooth while we were driving over here.
Inside the drugstore, I take a basket to grab a few things. First, some hair products and a new shaver. I walk past the cosmetics aisle and pick up some clear lip gloss. Then, I head for the essentials. I’ve always been lucky to have a light cycle, unlike Millie, who has heavy cycles. Ava used to tease her about needing super tampons for her big vagina. Millie always argued it was Ava who needed super tampons from all the sleeping around she did. I kinda had to laugh at the accuracy.
My hands reach out for the regular-sized box, tossing them into the basket. All of a sudden, Lucy’s situation comes to the forefront of my mind. Inadvertently, my eyes slowly move to the pregnancy tests on the next shelf.
There are so many boxes, some guaranteeing the most accurate results, others designed to detect early. As I continue to stand there in complete silence, I think about Lucy again. She feels trapped and carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Quickly, I reach out and grab the box, dumping it into my cart and hiding it beneath the other products. I don’t know why I do it. I’m not pregnant nor have any reason to believe I could be, but a part of me is curious how it feels to even do a test. Maybe, Iwould understand Lucy better and not be so quick to criticize her for caring about what other people think.
Thankfully, there’s no line at the register, so I pay without judgment from the young man serving me. When I rush back to the car, I ensure the test is buried at the bottom of the bag. If my father saw it, I’d be dead meat for even buying it.
Back inside the car, my father is distracted by his phone ringing off the hook. Turns out, taking the afternoon off means the business crumbles. That’s according to him. I welcome the distraction since the test feels like it is burning a hole in the bag.
As soon as we get home, he stays in the car to finish the call. I race inside, grateful Mom isn’t home, and straight to my room. Closing the door behind me, I run to the bathroom and then lock the door again.
The brown paper bag is in my arms, crumpled from holding it so tight. I take all the products out and place them on my counter, leave the test in the bag, and shove it under all the spare toilet paper.
I spent the night having dinner with my parents, then went back to my room to study. It was mentioned at dinner that there is some scandal, and my father is being dragged into it. It’s not unusual since people love to target the billionaire.
Mom was quiet, not pleased this was happening. I could tell by her reaction that she preferred to have the discussion privately, but my father was so angry that you could practically see steam coming out of his ears.
Neither one of them was bothered when I excused myself early to study. Back in my room, I open my book and try to concentrate.It’s just a stupid test … just do it and get it over with.
I let out a groan, annoyed at myself for wasting time. Why the hell am I so curious as to what it would be like? Why can’t I just let it go?
Another hour passes, then Mom comes in to say goodnight. My eyes wander to the bathroom when the clock beside my bed hits midnight. I stand up to stretch my legs, then walk toward the bathroom. Flicking the light switch on, I take a deep breath, not understanding why I’m so nervous. So, I haven’t been feeling well, big deal. I’m getting my period. This is just my body acting weird as fuck.
I lean in and retrieve the packet to read the instructions. There’s not much to it: pee on the stick, then wait three minutes.
Easy, I can do that.
Sitting on the toilet, I slide the stick beneath me and pee on the stick. The hard part is trying not to splatter on my hands. Gross.
