Miranda
I’m a hot mess today. I can’t believe how sick I’ve been, and to make matters worse, I’m late for my period. The combination of the two things has me believing that it can only mean one thing, and I have no idea how the fuck I’m going to tell Stone. We’ve talked about wanting kids, but we are in no place to have them now. We’re not getting married until February, and our apartment is way too small for a child. We only have one bedroom. The thought causes my stomach to get queasy all over again. Fuck, this needs to stop. I take a few deep breaths before exiting the bathroom.
When I get to the kitchen, Stone is hard at work making me breakfast. I really don’t feel like eating, but I don’t want to upset him, either. “Good morning, baby,” he says as he puts butter on my toast. “Breakfast will be ready in a minute.”
“Um, I’m not really hungry today. Can I just have the toast?”
His head snaps around and his brows shoot up. “Are you sick again?”
“Not really, just not that hungry.” I try to shrug it off, but he’s not buying it. He knows something is up because he reads me like an open book. I take a deep breath. “Listen, I promise to tell you if I start to feel sick again, okay?” He nods, but his eyes narrow and I can tell he’s not sure if he believes me or not. He hands me my toast and I thank him. I grab a cup of coffee and quickly eat my breakfast. The second the first bite hits my stomach I know it’s not going to be good. My stomach starts to roll like a gymnast doing back flips over and over again, but at this point I have to eat this or he’ll be really suspicious.
As soon as I’m done, I kiss him goodbye and tell him to have a good day before I practically run out the door. As soon as I’m in my car I start it up and head off to work with the security detail following behind me. I’m taking deep breaths the entire way, because at this point I know I’m going to be sick as soon as I run through that door. I’m so focused on getting to the bathroom before I embarrass myself I don’t even notice that I run straight past Katie. No sooner am I in the stall than I gag and empty my stomach. God help me if I’m pregnant, because I can’t take much more of this. I’m sitting back on my heels when I suddenly hear, “Miranda? Are you okay?”
I take a deep breath. I can hear the concern in my best friend’s voice. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Are you sick again?” she asks as I walk through the stall door. I feel bad because I can see she’s worried about me.
“I don’t know.” I start to cry. “I think I might be pregnant.”
She wraps me in a hug, not knowing what to say. “Have you told Stone?”
I shake my head no. “I just realized it yesterday and I don’t know how to tell him. I mean, we’ve discussed this, but we’re not ready for it.”
“I’m willing to bet if you just give him a chance he’ll be fine with it.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. I’ve been taking the pill to avoid this. I swear I’ve never missed even one, so I have no idea how this happened.”
She gives me a warm smile. “It was your time.”
I walk over to the sink, shaking my head. “I don’t know.” I turn on the water to rinse my mouth and she hands me a paper towel so I can dry myself off, and then we both head toward the office.
“Listen, get some work done, and at lunch we’ll sneak out for a little bit. We’ll go get a test and find out for sure, and then you can talk to Stone.”
I nod my head in agreement as we both walk into our offices to start work.
I spend the entire morning trying to focus, but I’ve really done next to nothing. The only work related business I’ve managed to do is answer some emails that needed my immediate attention. Once that was done, I did some research on pregnancy while on the pill and discovered it really isn’t uncommon to get pregnant while taking it. There are so many things that can make it less effective. I sigh, thinking about how I’m going to bring this up at dinner tonight. I need to figure this out, because the Halloween party is coming up, and if I am pregnant, I can’t drink.
I get up and storm out to Katie’s desk. I cross my arms over my chest. “Are you ready?”
She grabs her purse and follows me as I march to the door. “So much for sneaking,” she mumbles behind me.
“I’m sorry. I can’t wait anymore. I’m a mess and can’t focus. If I don’t do this, I’m going to go crazy.”
She grabs my arm and spins me around. “Calm down. It’ll be fine.” She gives me a warm smile.
I sigh. “I haven’t been able to think about anything else all morning. I’ve gotten nothing done today, and Higgins is waiting for an update on his event, and all I have are masks. At least if I know, I can stop guessing and make some decisions.”
“Well then, let’s do this.” She grabs my arm and pulls me the rest of the way to her car.
We get to the pharmacy and go straight to the aisle we need. There are so many tests to choose from I don’t even know where to begin. We start looking through them all and I pick the two brands that say earliest detection. I head to the cashier, pay a ridiculous amount of money for some sticks I’m about to pee on, and make my way back out to Katie who’s waiting at her car. She pulls away, but I notice she isn’t heading back toward the office. I look at her in panic. “Where are you going?”
“My place. Shane is out, and I’m not letting you take this test in the bathroom at work. You can do it there and then we’re going to talk,” she demands.
“About what?”
“Why you’re really afraid to tell Stone.” I stare out the window contemplating her words. What is it that I’m afraid of? I know Stone loves me and I have no doubt he’d make a great father, but I really wanted to be married before we went down this road.
We pull up to her house and hurry inside so we can get this over with. I go straight to the bathroom. Thankfully I have to pee, so we should know shortly if I am or not. Nothing is said between us as I open the package and quickly read the directions before taking the test.
A minute later she knocks on the door and asks, “Are you okay?”
I don’t answer but I open it to let her in. We both sit and wait for the results to appear.
“It can take a few minutes,” I say as we stare at the stick. Suddenly results appear and a tear escapes me. I’m pregnant with Stone’s baby.
“Don’t cry,” Katie hugs me. “It’ll be okay. I promise you. Stone is such a great guy and he loves you so much.”
“I know. I love him too. I know he’ll make a great father. I just…” my words trail off. “I don’t want him to think I did this on purpose.” I sigh.
“Oh sweetie, he won’t. He knows you better than that. I’m willing to bet some of this emotion you’re feeling are your hormones running wild on you, but now that you know, you need to tell him.” I sniffle and nod my head.
***
Stone
I wish I would hear from Miranda. She’s been silent all day. I’ve sent her a few texts and have heard nothing from her. I know she’s keeping something from me. I could tell by her behavior the last two days. She’s been quiet and she keeps telling me she feels fine, but she’s been eating next to nothing and I’m worried sick. I swear if I can’t get her to talk to me tonight I’m going to lose it.
I look at the clock. I’m so nervous. She should be home any minute now. I spent the last few hours making her favorite meal. Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and asparagus. I made this for her when we first started dating, and it became one of her favorites. I’m hoping it will encourage her to eat something, and maybe she’ll talk to me. I’m putting the finishing touches on our meal when she comes walking through the door, although it’s more like she’s dragging herself through it. This isn’t a good sign. She looks sad and she’s slouched over. This is not my Miranda, my Miranda always has her head held high, with bright eyes and a beautiful smile on her face. She looks like someone stole her puppy. “Baby, what’s wrong?” I question, my voice laced with concern.
“Nothing, let’s eat,” she says, sounding so sad.
“Miranda, please, talk to me. I’ve been so worried about you, and now you come home looking so sad and lost. It’s killing me.” I practically beg her. A tear escapes her and it breaks me. I quickly wipe it away. “Baby, please. I promise you that no matter what it is, we’ll get through it.”
“I’m pregnant,” she says in barely a whisper.
“You’re what?” I question.
She sighs. “You heard me. I’m pregnant.” This time her eyes meet mine. A smile spreads across my face.
My hand instantly goes to her belly. “Are you sure?”
“I took a test today with Katie. I wanted to be sure before I told you. I’m sorry I worried you, but I was scared. I wasn’t sure how you were going to react. Our place is too small for a baby and we only just started planning our wedding.”
“Oh baby, I’m sorry you didn’t feel you could come to me. I’m ecstatic. I love you with all my heart, and there’s nothing in this world that would make me happier than to have a baby with you.”
A smile slowly creeps across her face. “Really? You’re not upset?” she questions.
“Why would I be upset? It’s not your fault, and this is something special.” I kneel down before her and press a kiss to her belly. “Is this why you’ve been so sick?” I question as my hands slip under her shirt and over her waist as I stand. She nods her head. “I wish you would have told me. I would have been more careful about what I was feeding you.” Using the back of my hand, I gently wipe away the remainder of her tears and then I wrap her in a hug and hold her close. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” she says with a chuckle. “I’m usually only sick in the morning, hence the term morning sickness.”
“Good, let’s eat. I made you a special dinner tonight,” I pull her toward the kitchen, because I’m starving as well.
We both make plates and take our seats. She begins to eat, but I can still see the cogs in her head are spinning as she takes this all in. I wish I knew how to make her feel better about this. “What are you thinking?” I try asking her.
She looks up with a grin. “I’m happy that you’re not mad, but I’m also thinking about all we need to do now to prepare. This apartment is too small for a baby. We’re supposed to be getting married in February, and I would still like that to happen so we’re married before the baby arrives.” She pauses.
“Baby, I agree. I want to be married too, and don’t worry about the apartment. Logan knows a great agent who I’m sure can help us find a place. I promise we’ll make it work, okay?”
“Okay, but I need to make an appointment with my doctor.” She’s starting to sound a bit more confident now. We finish eating in silence, but at least now I feel like she’s not spinning from trying to take in the news and fear over what I think.
“Let me know when it is and I’ll go with you.”
She smiles. “Thanks, babe.”
Once the kitchen is cleaned up and her lunch is made for tomorrow, we snuggle up on the couch and discuss our future. She tells me she’d like a two bedroom apartment in an area that has decent schools. I had to laugh. Leave it to Miranda to worry about schools when the baby isn’t even here yet. I didn’t tell her this, but I hope to be in a house by the time our first is ready for school. Yes, I said our first, because I hope she will give me at least two more, but we’ll get through this one before I bring that up.