KANDY

“This is fucking insane,” I huffed, sitting on the counter. Lora was standing beside me, reading over the instructions of the pregnancy test.

“It’s really fucking simple, Kandy Jennings. Just pee on the stick.”

“I don’t mean that—I just mean, all of this.” She peered up, and I focused on her eyes. “The doctor told me I had an 85 percent chance of not carrying a child. I don’t want to take this test and be disappointed.”

Her gray eyes shimmered as she studied mine. She then blinked quickly, taking a step back and sighing. “Look, Kandy…I understand why you’re afraid. I would be, too, but you can’t let that fear stop you from dealing with the situation. You’re going to hate me for saying this, but I really think you should tell Cane now. He’d find you the best doctor in town to make sure you don’t lose the baby.”

“If there is a baby,” I corrected, “and even so, that’s my point. Cane has overbearing tendencies. If he knows, he won’t rest until he’s spent every dollar and sought every option possible to make sure this works out.” I ran a hand over my stomach, lowering my gaze. “I don’t want to put him through that.”

“Well, you have to tell someone else you trust, Kandy. Someone who can get you an appointment with a good doctor, who will give you good advice and protect that little bean.”

There was only one person who came to mind that I knew wouldn’t judge me but would move heaven and earth if she knew there was a fighting chance for me to have a normal future. My eyes shifted over to my cellphone beside me and I picked it up, exhaling.

“There’s only one person I can think of.”

“Who?” Lora asked.

“My mom.”

“Well, call her! Moms like to help. But first,” she said, ripping the plastic of the pregnancy test open, “piss on the stick so we aren’t jumping to conclusions.”

I jumped off the counter, and she handed it to me. She turned for the door and closed it behind her, and I glared at the stick, as if it were a foreign object I’d never seen or heard of.

Walking to the toilet, I lifted the lid. Deep inside me, I knew something was going on. After I thought about it, I realized I’d had a collection of odd symptoms for a while. I was sluggish, fatigued, and everything smelled horrible. Not to mention my boobs started aching really bad last week, but I thought it was because my period was about to come on.

It was best to get this over with.

I pushed my pants and panties down, then squatted over the toilet. My body resisted the urge to pee, probably sensing the stick and refusing to give it an answer. I closed my eyes and breathed, and finally did what I had to do, capped the end and placed the stick on top of the commode. I flushed and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

When I took a peek, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Two pink lines. So bold and absolutely clear.

“Holy fucking shit!” I screamed.

“What?” Lora’s voice was loud, and she pushed the door open, barging into the bathroom. She rushed to my side, but I couldn’t stop staring at the stick, and when she noticed too, she gasped and hugged my shoulders, hopping up and down a little. “Holy fucking shit is right! Bitch, you’re pregnant!”