A week after seeing the positive result on the pregnancy test, I was starting to come to terms with the fact that I was carrying Harrison’s baby. When he’d told me that I’d be ready when the time came, I’d assumed it wouldn’t be right away. Heck, even he’d thought it wouldn’t be until my birthday. But life has a way of throwing curve balls at you. Luckily, I was starting to think we were going to knock this one out of the park. As a team, with Harrison by my side, just like he’d said he would be. He’d even given up on sleeping separately and moved me into his room. I hadn’t bothered to argue since it was really what I wanted, too.

The only time we weren’t together was when I was in school. That’s when I had to pull my shit together and make it through the day all on my own. Some days were easier than others, and this was one of the worst because my nausea suddenly decided not to be an early morning problem anymore. As I walked into the cafeteria for lunch, the scent of whatever the heck they were trying to pass off as decent food hit my nose. That was all it took to set my stomach off.

I swiveled on my heel and ran for the closest restroom. I didn’t pay attention to who else was in there as I scurried into an empty stall, slammed the door shut, and dropped to my knees. While I emptied my stomach, I cringed at the thought of all the germs surrounding me. The floor, the toilet seat...it made me retch even harder. I was beyond empty when I shakily got to my feet again. I waited a minute or two after I flushed, to make sure I was done, before I pushed the door open and rushed towards the sinks. I couldn’t wait to wash my hands and face. I almost moaned in relief when I squirted several pumps of soap onto my hands and lathered them up. I was so happy to feel clean again that I didn’t notice the person standing three sinks down from me until she stomped over and stuck her nose in my business.

“Did you just puke?” Carrie asked.

I met her eyes in the mirror and nodded, and quickly looked back down when they narrowed suspiciously. “You look different.”

“New outfit,” I mumbled, hoping she would accept the weak explanation and move on.

“No, it’s not the clothes,” she drawled. “Although they’re nicer than anything else I’ve ever seen you in before.”

Dang it. Carrie could be like a dog with a bone when she was curious about something. I really didn’t need her asking too many questions, which meant I’d better give her enough information so she’d leave me alone.

“Yeah, they moved me out of the group home, and the new place is really big on making sure I’ve got everything I need.”

“I bet, since it also comes with a guy who picks you up in an assortment of expensive cars,” she snarked. “Did my little miss goodie two-shoes foster sister go out and find herself a sugar daddy?”

Crap. I straightened my spine as I turned to face her. “Don’t be ridiculous, Carrie.” I resented her characterization of my relationship with Harrison.

“It’s only ridiculous if it isn’t true,” she sing-songed. “What was it? Did the group home scare you so much that you finally decided to give up the V-card and buy yourself a place to live once you turn eighteen and don’t have anywhere else to go?”

I felt my face heat at the reference to my V-card and cursed the fact that I blushed so easily when Carrie’s eyebrows flew upward. “Holy shit, Felicity! I was only joking, but that’s exactly what you did, isn’t it?”

“No, what you were doing was being a bitch,” I muttered.

“You aren’t denying it, though,” she pointed out. “Which means it’s totally true. You aren’t a virgin anymore.”

“I don’t want to talk about this with you, and there’s absolutely no reason why I should. I’m not your foster sister anymore because your parents kicked me out of your home for doing something you’ve done a million times before.”

“Yeah, but I was smart enough not to get caught.” Her eyes drifted to my chest, over to the bathroom stall I’d exited, and back to my face again. The calculating gleam in her eye scared the crap out of me. “And I was also smart enough to not get knocked up. But not you...you ended up pregnant the first time you dropped your panties, didn’t you?”

“Shut up, Carrie,” I hissed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I think I do.” She rubbed her hands together like she was excited. “This is...perfect. I can’t wait until the parental units come home from work, and I get to share this juicy piece of news with them. They’ll feel vindicated in their decision, which will make them happy. And we both know that when my parents are happy, they’re much more generous and lenient with me.”

“You can’t!” I cried. If she told her parents, they’d call my case worker and that would be the beginning of the end for Harrison and me.

“Sure I can, and there isn’t a single thing you can do to stop me.”

“I’ll lose everything,” I tried to reason with her.

She lifted a shoulder like she couldn’t care less about the trouble her actions would make for me. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, considering the things she’d pulled in the past, but somehow it still did. “Not my problem.”

She twirled around and was gone before I caught my breath from the impact her words had on me. My hands were shaky as I dug in my backpack for my cell phone. “Crap,” I mumbled as I fumbled with it. It was a new one, with all the bells and whistles because Harrison insisted I deserved the best. As much as I loved it when he gave it to me, I missed my old one right now when every second counted. I finally managed to pull up his number and lifted the phone to my ear. I didn’t have to wait long. It only took one ring before Harrison picked up.

“Felicity? What’s wrong?” He sounded as frantic as I felt. I rarely called him from school since cell phones weren’t allowed.

“I got sick.”

He didn’t let me finish telling him what was going on. “Hold tight. I’ll be right there.”

“No. I mean, yes, please come get me. But that’s not the main reason I called.”

“It’s not?”

I heard the ding of an elevator in the background and realized he’d raced out of his office before I’d even said a word. It made my heart melt and settled some of my nerves. “Carrie, the daughter of the foster parents who kicked me out of their home the morning after we met—”

He interrupted me again with a growl. “I know who Carrie is, honey. And I know exactly who her parents are, too.”

“Good because then you’ll understand why I’m so freaked out when I tell you that Carrie caught me puking in the bathroom. She guessed that I’m pregnant. And she said she’s going to tell her parents as soon as they get home from work tonight.”

“Fuck,” he groaned.

“What should I do, Harrison?” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut as I tried not to sob.

I heard the roar of an engine, which meant he’d made it to the parking garage and was that much closer to getting here. “Take a deep breath and trust me when I say it will all be okay.”

“But how?” I cried.

“You leave that to me, honey. I’ll figure out a way to make sure that this won’t cause any problems for us. You and our baby are my number one priority, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe,” he promised.

“You guys are mine, too,” I whispered, finally admitting to myself how important Harrison had become to me.

“You what?” Harrison asked. “I couldn’t quite hear that.”

I looked up and remembered where I was standing. A high school bathroom had to be the least romantic place in the world, but I didn’t want to wait. “You and our baby are my number one priority, too.”

It wasn’t quite the L word, but it’d have to do for now.

“I know we are, honey.” His voice softened. “And that’s why you’ll do the most important thing you can for me right now. You’ll stay calm. It’s not good for you or the baby for you to be upset. Pull yourself together and head to the nurse’s office. It won’t be long before I’m there to pick you up.”

“Okay. If that’s what you need me to do, then that’s exactly what I’ll do. See you soon.” It wasn’t going to be easy, but I’d manage. I was young, but I was Harrison’s woman and I wanted to show him that I could hold up my side of our relationship.