Page 82 of Darling Dmitri

“What do I do?” We were standing in my bathroom with two different boxes of pregnancy tests.

“It’s simple.” Kenzie opened the box, pulling out a plastic stick from a wrapper. “Here. Pee on the stick, and we wait a few minutes.”

“Okay.” I stood and waited for them to leave, but they were both leaned against the countertop as if we were having a party in the bathroom. “Can I have some privacy?” I eyed the door.

Finally, they took a hint. “We’ll be in your room.”

When I finished my business, I set the stick on the counter and washed my hands. “We’re coming in,” Kenzie called before opening the door. Gah, she was so bossy.

We huddled around awkwardly. Finally, enough time had passed, and I glanced over at the stick, and my legs nearly gave out. It was a plus sign. I shook it as though it were a magic eight ball and would produce a different result. “Maybe we should take another one.”

Theo and Kenzie both nodded solemnly. “Try this one.” Theo gave me a stick from the other box we bought. I could feel my heart race but took the stick and again waited until they left.

The long minutes were agonizing, but I knew what the result would be before I saw the two pink stripes appear as clear as day. I was pregnant with Dmitri’s child.

I almost suggested we take another test but knew the result would be the same. “How could this happen?”

Both girls remained quiet, probably thinking I was an idiot. A naïve idiot. “I’m on the pill.”

“Did you take it every day?” Kenzie raised her eyebrow, and why in the hell did I feel like she was the live version of Web MD?

“For the most part.”

She shrugged with a look that said,well, you have your answer. “Your chances of protection decrease if you don’t take it every day.”

I blushed, remembering a few days where I’d skipped it when Dmitri distracted me. I couldn’t completely blame him for this. I shouldn’t have been lax on keeping up with the pill.

“What am I going to do?” I whispered and wrapped my arms around my stomach.

“You have to tell him.”

“Who?” I asked numbly.

“Dmitri,” Theo said gently. “It’s his, isn’t it?”

I bridged my nose. “How did you know?”

“Are you kidding? He couldn’t keep his eyes off you. Besides, the last time you were at our house, I heard you two in the bathroom.” Theo smiled. “It was kind of obvious.”

“Very obvious,” Kenzie agreed.

They had mentioned nothing about it, and I wondered why. “How come you never brought him up?”

Theo popped a hip against the counter. “We knew you were trying to hide it and didn’t want to be nosy.”

Rubbing my forehead, I sighed. “Yeah, I’ll tell him.” Great. What was I going to do now? They had no idea what had happened recently between Dmitri and me. I knew I needed to tell him, but I just didn’t know how.

Sorina

The next day, I smiled, despite wanting to fall apart, and was determined to make it through the day. Only Theo and Kenzie knew what I was dealing with, and I knew I had to talk to Dmitri. Other than that, I wanted to keep it to myself until I couldn’t anymore. Unfortunately, that time came sooner than I wanted.

When I woke up, I stretched my arms and heard a commotion outside my room in the kitchen. It was probably Julian since he was an early riser. Rolling out of bed, I went to the bathroom, washed my hands, and brushed my teeth.

When I passed by my bed, my phone buzzed.

Dmitri:We need to talk.

I know. Setting the phone aside and throwing on some shorts, I stepped out of my room to grab a bottle of water.

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