Chapter Fourteen

Troy

Work had been more tedious, and more painful, than I could remember it being in a very long time. Normally I loved owning my own company, knowing lots of work was part of that deal, but that day I would have traded my soul for an easier profession. When the elevator opened up to the top floor, I dragged myself off and toward the penthouse. I slid my card in the door and opened up, almost stumbling into the house. I dropped my things right there in the entryway and shut the door behind me, glad to finally be home instead of worrying about deadlines and meetings and angry shareholders.

I untied my tie and untucked my shirt, tossing my suit jacket on the back of the chair as I walked straight to the fridge to grab a beer. I picked it up and held it to my face, thankful that my housekeeper knew to always stock my favorite beer in the fridge. I knocked the top off with the bottle opener on the fridge and tilted it back, taking a long, deep sip. When I pulled it away from my lips, I sighed, relaxing my shoulders and embracing my freedom for the night.

I could have seriously gone to bed right then and slept through the entire night, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, since the sun was still up. Instead, I sauntered down into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, reaching in my pocket and pulling out my cellphone to check for any messages that might have come from Melinda.

She had texted me earlier, telling me that for the first time ever she was being sent home for being sick. She said she had some kind of terrible stomach bug, and when I asked if there was anything I could do for her, she suggested shooting her to put her out of her misery.

I was so used to the girl who was on top of everything that thinking about her sick made me really worried. She had a tendency to ignore what was best for her and just keep moving forward. I was really hoping that she had decided to take it easy. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but think that maybe this was for the best, since she had been killing herself for years without taking any time to just relax. Of course, I hated the idea of her being ill, but something needed to eventually slow her down.

I fiddled with my phone for a minute, really wanting to call her and check in, but instead I decided to leave her be. The last thing she needed was to be falling asleep and have me calling and bugging her. I would just wait until she had the chance to call me instead. I looked at the time and reached over for the remote, so I could catch up on the news or something to get my mind off of everything from the day.

Before I could set my phone down, it started to ring. I looked down and smiled, seeing Melinda’s name flash across the screen. She must have felt me thinking about her, and I was more than happy to see how she was doing. It sucked that there was nothing I could do to make her feel better.

“Hello there, sicko,” I said cheerfully. “How are you feeling?”

“Terrible.”

Her voice sounded awful. I sat up on the couch in concern, put down my beer, and switched off the television.

“Why don’t I get some soup and bring it over to you? I could grab ginger ale and crackers too,” I said, trying to figure out how to help her. “Tell me what you need.”

She sounded nervous and shaky, which was something I had never experienced from her before. Melinda was the strong woman who knew what she wanted and went out of her way to get it. She never let anything stand in the way, especially not some virus. It was strange hearing her sound so scared and vulnerable; I wasn’t sure how to react. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms and comfort her, regardless of what was wrong. If I caught it too, so be it. I would handle that when it came.

“Troy, something has happened,” she said.

“What? What is it?” I asked, growing more worried by the moment.

“I don’t want to talk about it over the phone,” she replied, sounding near tears. “I need to see you in person. Can you come over?”

“You need me to come over right now?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I really need to see you, and this can’t wait.”

This was getting stranger by the second. Melinda never admitted to needing much of anything. “Okay. I’ll be right there. But I need you to take a deep breath, though. Whatever is going on, it can’t be the end of the world. You’re going to make yourself feel even worse if you can’t calm down.”

“I know,” she replied.

“Okay, just sit down and I’ll be there as soon as I can get there,” I said.

“Thank you,” she said, before hanging up.

I sat there for a second, staring off into the distance, unsure of what could be that important, nervous that there was something really wrong. I shook my head and jumped up, not wanting to leave her waiting for too long. I grabbed my coat and my wallet and headed out the door, not even looking back to turn off the lights.

My driver was already gone for the day, since I hadn’t thought I would be going anywhere. I hailed a cab and jumped inside, giving Melinda’s address in Brooklyn. He looked at me strangely for a moment, not used to men like me traveling to Brooklyn, and then nodded, pulling out into traffic and heading that way. In reality, I had only traveled to Brooklyn maybe twice the entire time I had lived in Manhattan. Melinda usually came to my place, not the other way around, because my penthouse was closer.

As the cab moved through the traffic, I looked out the window, feeling a boatload of nerves pushing through my stomach. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but hearing Melinda’s voice, it sounded terrible. What if she was really sick? Like not flu sick, but something way more serious that we hadn’t seen coming? We had been dating for such a short amount of time, but I knew no matter what illness it was, I would be there to help her through it. She was way too strong to allow anything to get to her like that.

When the cab finally pulled up in front of the apartment, I paid the driver and stepped out onto the sidewalk. I stood there looking up at her apartment for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts and my nerves. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t a mess when she answered the door. She needed to feel like I was taking care of her, like I was the rock that she needed in that moment. No matter what she told me, I wanted to be able to keep my wits about me and take her in my arms to let her know that everything was going to be okay.

I walked up the steps to her apartment door and knocked, standing back and waiting for her to answer. At first there was no sound on the other side, but after a second knock, I heard her inside, shuffling around. There were butterflies in my stomach going wild and I swallowed hard. As the sound of the locks clicking echoed into the hallway, I stuck my hands in my pockets and closed my eyes, giving myself a quick pep-talk.

The door slowly opened, and Melinda peeked out at me before opening it the rest of the way. I smiled at her as she stepped forward, pale, and looking as if she had been crying. Her eyes were red, and her hair was pulled back behind her ears. There were small streaks of dried tears on her cheeks and her hands were clutched together in front of her. She didn’t smile, turning around and walking forward into the apartment. I followed her inside and closed the door, lingering for a moment before turning back around.

When I did, she was standing there looking at me, her hands shaking, the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. I immediately walked forward and wrapped her in my arms, kissing the top of her head. I had no idea what was going on, but having come to know Melinda the way that I had, it must be serious for her to be having this kind of reaction. Most things she took in stride, not letting them get the best of her, but whatever this was, it was obvious that it was seriously kicking her ass.

“Are you okay?” I asked worriedly.

She pulled back and looked up at me. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

She let go of the embrace and took in a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She turned and walked to the counter, where she grasped something in her hand and stood there for a moment, lost in her own thoughts. Finally, she shook her head and turned back, walking over to me and staring deep into my eyes. I looked at her curiously, not understanding what in the world could have her so upset.

She reached her hand out and I looked down and then back at her face. She shook her hand and I put mine underneath it. I watched as her fingers unfolded, dropping a white stick into my hand. I lifted it and examined it. As I realized it was a pregnancy test—a used pregnancy test, at that—my heart busted into full-out panic and I looked up at her with fear and confusion.

“I’m pregnant,” she said, starting to cry again. “I didn’t even realize I had missed my period until my best friend said something. I didn’t think it could be true, but I took a test anyway. I just found out.”

I shook my head and looked down at the test, staring at the little screen with two blue lines. It wasn’t the first pregnancy test I had ever seen, but it was definitely the first positive one I had ever held that was my own. I grasped it tightly in my hand for a moment looking up at the ceiling.

“I need some time,” I said.

I turned back to her and kissed her on the forehead before racing to the door and throwing it open. I couldn’t even look back at her; I was too blown away by the entire thing. My mind was running wild and I was in complete disbelief. Melinda was pregnant, which meant that I was going to be a father. I wasn’t ready to be a father, was I? I had plenty of plans, but none of them included a child. How could this have happened?

When I got out of the complex, I took off down the block, needing to feel the cool air on my face. My commitment fears, long dormant since Melinda and I started dating, roared to life again. A girlfriend was one thing. But a baby? A baby?

I had no idea what I was going to do, so I just kept walking.