Page 97 of Embracing the Beat
“That’s crass.”
I shrug. “Might be. But it’s also the truth.”
She stares at me, hurt mixing with anger, anxiety written all over her face. I refuse to consider how she must be feeling. I’m too caught up in my own emotions to focus on hers.
“Are you really not going to take that until I leave the room?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Fucking Christ,” I groan, but spin around and take one step outside the bathroom. “Happy now?”
“Ecstatic,” she deadpans, and the door closes with a snick behind me.
It’s not a slam, but it has the finality of one. She doesn’t lock it, but I don’t bother to turn around and open it.
I like to think I’m respecting her need for privacy, but I’m also so overloaded with emotion I don’t know which way is up. Jealousy. Anger. Hurt. Regret. Anxiety. They all jumble with painful memories.
The pregnancy test. The subsequent doctor’s appointment. And the slashing ache of betrayal. All of that freezes me in place, my body quivering between fight and flight.
The door opens again, and I turn in time to see Michaela retreat to the closed toilet seat. The little wand sits on top of the box, face down.
“Three minutes,” she whispers, her fingers laced together so tightly they turn white.
This is going to be the longest one hundred and eighty seconds of my life.
You’re a bastard, Abbott.
Either I’m a bastard for keeping my distance or I’m a pussy who forgets how I feel just so I can comfort her. And at the moment, I’m choosing self-preservation, gripping the doorframe as my eyes stay locked on purple words.
6 Days Sooner.
I can’t make out the rest, the print too small at this distance. My attention shifts to Michaela, who nibbles on her lip, the normally pale pink now red under the continued pressure.
Fuck. I need to quit being a dick.
“Michaela—”
Her eyes meet mine, and her anxiety punches through my chest.
“I’m—”
My apology is interrupted by an alarm from her phone.
“I-I set an alarm.”
“Oh.” I snap my mouth shut, my emotions taking hold of my throat once more.
She takes a deep breath, her hand shaking as she reaches for the wand, flipping it over and blinking several times before holding it out to me.
I take it from her, eyeing the results at the same time the words tumble from her lips.
“It’s positive.”
