Page 73 of Demo
“I mean, this can’t be …”
Still staring.
I rubbed my hand over my chest again. “It’s just …”
“Just … what?”
I let out a breath through puffed cheeks. “I’ve never been so physically uncomfortable in my life. It’s the pregnancy, right? I mean, I thought that came later. Like at month eight or nine? Not at week eight? I’m a mess. I can’t think about anything but Knox, and his stupid hair sticking out of his filthy baseball cap, and his clunky work boots that I trip over every time he comes over and the way he’s always touching me …”
I looked up and saw Dee grinning.
“Oh, shit.” I put a hand to my mouth.
“There it is,” she said, taking a sip of beer. “Oh, shitis right.”
***
Irony is, that was the night I started to bleed.
At one point I excused myself from Dee to go to the bathroom, and I noticed a tiny amount of spotting, which, as I understood it, can be completely normal during pregnancy. So I ignored it.
Dee and I spent another hour talking about when Knox and I were going to tell our families and how we were going to navigate work and our schedules and childcare. When I got home, there was more than just spotting. I pulled the doctor’s number up on my phone but hesitated.I’m sure it’s fine,I told myself. I felt a little cramping, but figured it was all in my head because I was nervous.
I knew I should call Knox, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to worry him.
As if he could read my mind, a text from him came through.
What’s up, pussycat? Still out with Dee?
Smiling at one of the many feline-related pet names he’d given me, I typed a response to him that wouldn’t let him know anything was wrong.
I see what you did there
???
Trying to sneak obnoxious, offensive language into conversation
???
“Pussy”cat
{gasp} I’m offended
Please
And anyway … you weren’t offended when I used that language in your bed
{sigh} guilty
xoxoxoxoxo
How’s the convention?
Stupid. Utterly pointless. IDK why my dad insists on going to these things
Before I could respond, I was distracted by the unmistakable feeling of wetness between my legs and made a B-line for the bathroom. When I pulled down my pants and underwear, panic set in. I ran to the bedroom and got a new pair of underwear and yoga pants, then ran back into the bathroom to dig around for a pad. Of-fucking-course I was out.I started to sweat. I swear the room got smaller. It was hard to breathe.
I wished Knox were there.
