Page 5 of Bad Reputation

Taking a deep breath, I head to the bathroom. I make quick work out of peeing on the stick, then set the test on the counter and open the bathroom door. Evie is leaning against the wall when I open it.

“Done?” she asks.

“Yeah, just waiting now.” I glance at the test, ready for it to be done.

But in my heart, I can’t decide what I want the results to be.

If it’s positive, my life as I know it is over. There’s no questioning that. I’ll have to drop out of law school. I’ll have to deal with the looks of disappointment and anger on my family’s faces. Worse, I’ll have to tell Jameson.

On the other hand, though, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I am a little excited. A baby is a big change and a lot of responsibility, but it would Jameson’s baby. I’d have a little piece of him, come what may.

“Emma, I think you can check now,” Evie says gently.

I glance at her, as nervous I’ve ever been. With trembling hands, I reach for the test. I take a huge breath, then look.

It’s negative. I look at Evie, feeling tears of relief form in my eyes.

“Negative,” I say, bracing myself on the sink. I close my eyes. “Oh god. Thank the lord.”

“That’s good,” Evie says, hugging me from behind. “Now your life doesn’t have to change at all.”

I put the test down and turn around to give her a real hug. I bury my face in her black hair, taking a long breath. “Thank you for holding my hand through this.”

“Of course,” she says simply. “It’s what girls do for one another.”

I pull back. “You know what else they do? Call for a breakup pizza.”

She laughs. “It’s pretty early in the day for that. How do you feel about me whipping us up some breakup omelets instead?”

I smile at her. “Okay. It’s a deal. But I demand that we have pizza and ice cream delivered by the end of the day. I’m feeling like eating my emotions today.”

“Deal.”

Evie pushes off the wall, and I throw the test in the bathroom trash. I’m a little sad still, and I’m sure that it will come and go in waves…

But at least I’m not pregnant. Things could always be worse.

3

Jameson

One Month Later

I slam on the brakes of my Jeep in the parking lot of the grocery store, gritting my teeth at the person who is backing out of the space in front of me. The car is an old Buick, and the driver is no doubt ancient, but I’m still irritated.

If I’m honest, everything is irritating these days. I had Asher to hang out with and complain about life to for about a week after my break up with Emma. But then he disappeared, and has yet to reappear.

I haven’t seen or heard from Emma either, not that I can really blame her. It wasn’t the smoothest break up ever, for either of us.

I maneuver my car into a spot, getting out. We ran out of all the citrus fruits at Cure, so here I am, finding a shopping cart. I wheel a cart inside, and veer to the right into the produce section.

The produce here is good and cheap. There’s tons of greenery and colorful vegetables, all lined up in those black coolers that mist every once in a while. I turn to the stacks of citrus crates and grab handfuls of lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits.

Then I reconsider, and just grab one crate of each kind of citrus, stacking them in my shopping cart. I scowl down at the produce. I have a handful of other things to get while I’m at the grocery store, so I push my cart onward.

I can’t stop thinking of Emma. I think about her here. I think about her at the movies. I think of her driving down the highway, and when I’m at the beach.

I know that I should forget all about her. After all, I pretty much told her that we weren’t ever a thing. But somehow, I can’t.

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