I nod. "Yeah, I am fine."

He stands and holds out his hand to me. "Come on, I will help you get cleaned up."

I take his hand and allow him to lead me to the bathroom, where I find water still spilling from under the sink and pooling on the floor.

"What happened here?" he asks, looking at the mess.

I shrug, not wanting to explain. "Just a leak. The landlord said he would get someone to fix it," I mumble.

I see the disapproval in his eyes. He thinks about it for a moment. "I can't leave you here. You will stay with me tonight, and tomorrow we will deal with your landlord."

"But I—"

"Riley, don't argue with me," he says sternly, taking my elbow.

Without warning, I burst into tears. I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in his chest. "I don't know what to do."

He looks at me and shakes his head. "Everything is fine, Riley. We’ll getit fixed. Now, let's go. You’ll feel much better after a good night’s rest."

"Harrison, I think..." I cry, wiping away the tears.

"Stop it. It isn't that big of a deal."

His tone is firm. It's like he is talking to a child who won't listen. I sniffle and pull away from him.

"I’ve never been this sick," I admit, throwing my hands in the air. “What if I’m pregnant?"

Harrison stands in stunned silence as my words sink in and his expression changes from frustration to confusion.

"You’re joking, right?" he finally stammers.

"No," I admit. "I don’t remember much from that night, but I do remember that we didn’t use protection.”

He gestures at me with his hands. "Don’t you girls follow that stuff… fertile days and all that shit?"

I frown at him. "Excuse me for not expecting to have drunk sex that night."

"Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck…" He buries his face in his hands and paces about the room. This lasts a couple of minutes, then he adds. "Grab what you need. We’re going to my place." He says it in a way that doesn’t allow any backtalk.

About an hour later, he’s knocking on the door to the bathroom of the guestroom in his house, where I’m to spend the night. Everything is painfully white, and there are artificial flowers scattered about the bathroom. I frown at them. Who the heck has flowers in his bathroom?

"Is it over?" I hear him ask, bringing me back to the present moment, which I am so desperate to escape.

I dare not open the door. I’m staring at the pregnancy test in my trembling hand. It’s clearly showing two lines. Two unmistakable lines, which will change our lives forever.

"Oh, fucking hell," I murmur to myself, inhaling deeply and opening the door.

The expectant look on his face is something I will remember forever. I hand him the test.

"Far from over," I tell him. "It’s just started."


Chapter Four

Harrison

The end of life as I know it has started. That much is true. And today of all days, I didn’t need this.