Page 21 of Wanted You More

She pats her flat stomach. “Well, my gut has never been wrong yet.”

The back of my neck heats when I see the man behind the cash register reading some magazine he probably got from the rack. I try ignoring him as Marybelle and I make our way to the back corner, where the pregnancy tests are lined up on the shelf. We read a few of the boxes to figure out which one would be the best option before selecting a couple of the digital ones that I couldn’t possibly misread.

As I’m grabbing a second box of the cheapest test, I hear, “Austen?”

Startled at the familiar melodic voice behind me, I turn quickly and knock down a few of the tests on the shelf with my elbow. I catch the annoyed glare from the man behind the counter, followed by the surprised look from Mrs. Kingsley, Elizabeth, as she glances from me to the pregnancy tests in my hands and the ones currently scattered on the floor.

Face blasting with heat, I kneel to help Marybelle pick up the mess I made while avoiding Elizabeth’s eyes. I specifically asked to come here, hoping we wouldn’t bump into anybody we know. Yet here’s Noah’s mother, staring with caution as Marybelle and I stand after cleaning up the floor.

“Are you all right, Austen?” Elizabeth asks quietly, eyes moving toward the test for a brief moment.

It’s hard to swallow, even when I see no judgment on her face as she studies mine. Only concern. It makes the awkwardness settling into my limbs a little less intense. “I don’t know,” I admit, hardly able to meet her eyes.

She brushes my arm before taking the pregnancy tests from me and puts them back on the shelf before grabbing a different brand. “This brand is far more accurate, and it gives you results a lot faster than the other. Come on.”

Taking my hand, she weaves our fingers together and guides us toward the register. I can’t look up as she sets the tests down, along with a few items she grabbed, onto the counter and pulls out her credit card to pay for everything.

“I’ll pay you back,” I all but whisper, embarrassed by the situation.

Her fingers squeeze mine. “No need, sweetie.” After getting her receipt and the bag she’s passed, she offers the clerk a sweetthank youbefore walking out with Marybelle and me.

My best friend clears her throat when we stop by the curb where her car is parked.

But it’s Elizabeth who says, “It’s Mary, right? Marybelle?” She sticks her hand out to my friend for a quick shake. “I’ll make sure Austen gets home safely.”

My friend can tell there’s no argument to be made, so she gives me a hug and says, “Text me when you know. Good luck!”

After she climbs into her car and honks before leaving, I turn toward Noah’s mom. Before I can say anything, she does. “I know that look. Things happen. There’s no need to be embarrassed by it.” She gestures toward her car, opening the passenger door for me. “When I was sixteen, I made my brother take me to get a test when I thought I was pregnant. I’m hardly one to judge.”

I gape at her. “Yourbrother? I could never ask Wolfe to do that for me.”

Elizabeth’s laugh is light. “My brother and I have always been close. He told me if there was anything I needed, he’d help me without any judgment. If I was drinking and needed a ride, if I needed to be rescued from a bad date or party, he was the person I could go to. I trusted him. Of course, he wasn’t very happy to take me to buy a pregnancy test. He lectured me the entire thirty-minute car ride to the closest store. No matter how close we were, I didn’t want him to tell me all about condoms and safe sex.”

I bet that’s true. It was horrible listening to my father ask if I was safe in a two-second conversation. I couldn’t imagine half an hour of hearing it from my sibling. “If I am…pregnant I don’t know what I’d do,” I tell her, fear thick in my voice.

As we slow for a stop sign, she reaches over and takes my hand. “You’ll figure it out if it comes to that. But let’s go to my house and take it before we come to any what-if scenario.”

“Elizabeth, I don’t know if—”

“It’s just us,” she reassures me. “The boys are both out. You’ll have complete privacy, and my secrecy. This is between us. Okay?”

Taking a deep breath, I stare down at the bag from the pharmacy perched on my lap. It feels so much heavier than it really is. When I release the breath and let my lungs loosen, I find myself nodding. “Okay.”

An hour later, and four pregnancy sticks resting on the counter of the bathroom I’ve only been in a handful of times, I close my eyes and feel the relief flood into my body at the negative result on every single one.

When Elizabeth sees my smile, she gives me a hug and matches the expression. We get rid of the tests, tie the garbage bag up, and swear the night to secrecy when she drops me off at my house. The scare makes me realize how much my life could turn around if I’m not careful.

It’s why I walk into the house and go right to Dad, who’s watching TV in the living room. He seems surprised when I peck him on the cheek and give him a hug before settling in beside him on the couch to watch the sports game playing.

All I say is, “I love you.”

And when he moves an arm around my shoulder to give me a single-armed hug back, I hear the thick emotion in his voice when he replies, “I love you too, pumpkin.”

When Wolfe walks in a few minutes later and sees us like that, he doesn’t say a word. But I can tell from across the room that he’s finally forgiven me.

CHAPTER TEN

The cafeteria isfull, except for one table in the corner that only has one person sitting at it. I beeline for my brother, who’s got his bulky headphones on as he reads some dorky comic book he’s obsessed with.

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