Page 90 of Nanny for the Doctor

Neither one of them listened to me as I tried to stop them, and it took me entirely breaking down to even get Johnny’s attention.

They’re, like, fucking cavemen or something.

Sniffling, I wipe under my nose, feeling so damn small. God, Johnny actually found the pregnancy test.

Embarrassment and misplaced shame zip through my nerves even though I know I have nothing to feel bad about.

It’s my situation, and like I told Johnny, I didn’t plan on getting pregnant.

Who do they even think they are, arguing like that about something that’s one hundred percent my decision?

“Hate to break it to you, but this is not, in fact, the nineteenth century!”

The highway is so busy, like everyone is hurrying home to get out of the storm, and I hate how no one ever bothers to drive carefully when it’s raining.

“It was my news.” My heart aches, a literal pang deep behind my sternum. “I’ll never be able to tell him the way I wanted. This is always going to be how Reed found out.”

Traffic slows as a bottleneck starts to form near an upcoming exit. I merge into traffic on the left to pass around them, but some people are clearly too impatient tonight.

A car whooshes around the left side, and I have to swerve to avoid getting sideswiped.

I glare out the window at them. “Ah! Asshole!”

But then my tires lose traction, and it’s so much worse.

I slide across the road, the car hydroplaning across the wet asphalt. Abruptly, I get traction again, but it’s only because the vehicle hits a patch of gravel.

It’s too much for the momentum already flinging the car to the side.

Oh my God.Unwelcome certainty grips my chest.I’m going to flip.

And I do.

The sedan rolls once, twice, and then I lose track of everything.

Tossed around like a rag doll, my head smashes against the window, and I’m flailing like a crash test dummy. My hands and arms hit various places within the interior.

There’s a terrible, weightless feeling that swirls in my stomach like a roller coaster, and I feel the hair fly up off my neck and tangle around my face.

A horrendous crunch echoes around me as I come to a sudden halt, the car landing on the roof.

Pain roars through me as the world finally stills, and I look around, trying to process what just happened.

I’m upside down, hanging from my seatbelt, and I think I must be in the ditch at the side of the road because I can see dirt and tall grass outside the window.

Unfortunately, I also notice flooding water from the runoff streaming inside.

It starts to fill the car, and panic grips me as I worry it might flood the entire thing, fighting with the buckle to free myself.

More water pours in, but I can finally grab the steering wheel with one hand as I unbuckle the seat belt. It slows my fall to the roof as my hips are released, and I splash down into the cold puddle.

Thankfully, it’s stopped streaming in, and I won’t be submerged.

Shakes assault my body, making my limbs and head ache all the more, and my gaze snaps to the cracked driver’s side window.

I can’t stay in this water, and I have to lean back to kick the glass. Shifting onto my elbow, the frigid water soaking new parts of my clothes, I smash my foot into the window.

After a few tries, it breaks, and I do my best to kick away all the little pieces at the edge. Switching to my hands and knees, I crawl out, still managing to cut myself a few times as I do, and fresh pain wells across my skin.

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