Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
It was one.
Pregnant.
Bright.
Bold.
Clear as day to read.
I barely had time to register the results before Livvy crumpled to the ground on my bathroom floor. I immediately pulled her into my arms, and her face tucked into the crook of my neck.
She instantly broke down.
She cried so hard her body was shaking.
I couldn’t control the tsunami of feelings that coursed through her body. I simply held her as tight as I could as if I was going to hold her together.
“It’s okay… I promise it will be okay,” I repeated, hoping she’d listen to me.
Believe in me.
In us.
Nothing I could say or do made her feel at ease, so I just let her cry in my arms. We stayed there like that for hours until I picked her up off the floor and carried her to my bed, where I spent the rest of the night just comforting her the only way I knew how.
Suddenly, she pulled away from me and abruptly stood.
“Livvy—”
“I gotta go.” She snapped around, but she wasn’t fast enough. I jumped off my bed, and I was in her face before she took a step.
Grabbing her face between my hands, I reminded her, “It’s going to be okay. Do you hear me?”
She didn’t say a word.
Her gaze looked lifeless.
Almost like she was numb or in shock.
“I’ll make an appointment with the doctor. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll handle it for us.”
Again, silence.
“Livvy, I need to hear you say you know that I’m not going anywhere.”
Nothing.
Not one damn thing.
I preferred her frightened than like this. It was so out of character for her, which terrified me more than anything.
Slowly, I kissed her lips, and for the first time, she didn’t respond to my touch. As much as I tried, I couldn’t get through to her. She tuned me out. Instead, I reluctantly let her go, watching her leave.
I feared for the worst.
Not that she was pregnant, but that…
We may have ruined our friendship.
Chapter
Thirteen
Livvy
I leaned back against the headrest in the passenger seat of Ethan’s truck. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him for the past week despite how often he reached out, but he left me alone for the most part. I think he needed as much space as I did.
One minute, we’re best friends.
The next, we’re pregnant.
Everything was happening so fast, and I was barely surviving it. Nobody knew what was happening. I couldn’t bring myself to tell my parents. As far as they knew, I was moving next week, and my mom started packing for me last night.
She didn’t give me a hard time. Almost like she knew I was going through something. My guess would be that she thought it was just about Ethan and moving away from him. I let her assume whatever she wanted, too worried about how she’d react to the disaster that my life unexpectedly turned into. I did my best to act like I wasn’t internally flipping out as I watched her effortlessly move around my room like my life wasn’t falling apart.
That morning, everything came to a head. It took a week for the OB-GYN to see us, and I couldn’t have been more grateful to Ethan for handling everything. The last thing I wanted to do was argue with him again. I didn’t have the energy for it. Too much had happened, and I already told him how I felt. He was fully aware of how much this was tearing me up, and nothing he could say or do would take that away.
“Livvy,” Ethan announced, making me realize he wasn’t driving anymore, and we were parked in the lot of the doctor’s office.
Still not looking at him, I spoke the truth, “I can’t do this. How are we going do this?”
He grabbed my hand, causing me to peer over at him.
“Let’s see what the doctor says before we head down this road, alright?”
“How are you still so calm?” I muttered above a whisper until I finally got a good look at him.
He appeared as exhausted as I felt. It looked like he hadn’t slept since we found out, making me feel horrible that I wasn’t there for my best friend.
“Ethan, I’m sorry. I know this affects you too, and I truly appreciate you staying calm. I don’t think I could’ve handled both of us losing our shit.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing. I should have been there for you this past week, but I—”
“I know.” I nodded in reassurance. “How did we let this come between our friendship? We swore we wouldn’t let anything affect that, and now look at us, we’re barely on speaking terms.”
“I know,” he murmured. “But we’re going to be okay, I promise.”
I faintly smiled. “Whatever happens, Ethan. I’m glad it happened with you.”
“Me too, Livvy.”
Once we were inside the office, it didn’t take long for my name to be called and for me to be sitting on the examination table. Ethan sat in the empty chair in the corner of the room with his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. For some reason, seeing him that way broke my heart in ways I hadn’t expected. I didn’t know which one was worse, seeing him calm or seeing him like this.