Page 104 of Call You Mine

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One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five

Six.

The second line is still there. My throat tightens, but I keep counting.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

False positives happen. They do. I read it once—twice, three times—maybe more than that. Tests can be wrong. Evaporation lines. Faulty batches. User error. I’ll take another one tomorrow, and another after that.

But what if they’re all positive?

False positives happen, but do they happen twice?

Eleven.

Twelve.

Thirteen.

My pulse is hammering so loudly it’s hard to think—I canbarely concentrate, so I keep my eyes closed, refusing to see what’s right in front of me.

Fourteen.

Fifteen.

Sixteen.

My eyes snap open, and I look at the test before I can stop myself, just before I reach seventeen.

“Shit.” The word slips out in a whisper, and the count collapses in on itself.

I squeeze my eyes shut and start again, forcing the numbers through clenched teeth—maybe it’ll help me focus.

One. Two. Three…

If I can just make it to seventeen without looking, then I’ll check again.

Then I’ll know.

Then I’ll decide what to do.

CHAPTER 36

ANDERSON

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