“Maybe you should see a doctor,” I tell her when we walk into her house. The scent of lemongrass fills the air, welcoming me home.
Because that’s exactly what this feels like.
“I’m just tired,” she says. “I don’t feel sick or anything.” The cats come running, rubbing on Sierra’s legs. She scoops up Tinkerbell and goes into the kitchen to feed them a can of food. “I know we just ate but I’m already craving more fried rice,” she says with a laugh, but the humor dies really fast and she pales.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I just realized something. I, uh…” She trails off, eyes going to the floor.
“Sierra?” I reach for her, feeling alarmed by the horror on her face.
“I canceled my OB appointment when you were in the hospital. I haven’t had my period in a long time. I’ve been craving fried rice for days and can’t seem to catch up on sleep. I’ve been having cramps all week and I keep thinking it’s going to start, but it hasn’t.”
Holy.
Fuck.
She looks up, face mirroring the same trepidation that’s on mine.
“There’s only one way to know for sure. Let’s go get a test.”
“Yeah. It might be nothing. Just PMS.”
“Right. Want to go now?”
“Yeah. I have to pee anyway.”
“Good thing the drugstore isn’t far.”
Sierra nods then quickly shakes her head. “I can’t go there! People will see me buying a pregnancy test and you know how this town talks!”
“I’ll get it for you.”
She cocks an eyebrow. “They’ll still know it’s for me.” She puts her hand to my mouth, eyes wide. “I’ll order from Amazon and pay for next-day shipping.”
“You can wait a full day without knowing?” I ask. I can’t. Not at fucking all.
“You’re right. It’s killing me now.”
“Isn’t there a Wal-Mart on the outskirts of town?”
“Yeah, there is.”
“They have self-checkout.”
Sierra lets out a nervous laugh. “You’re a genius. Let’s go. But we have to be sneaky with how we grab it. Let me make sure no one I know sees.”
“I’ll use my ninja skills.”
“Right. Just slip it in your pocket or something.”
Sierra grabs her purse, fingers trembling. We keep making lame jokes the whole way to the store, trying to deflect the we’re fucked vibe we’re both feeling at the moment. Silence falls over us when we get to the store. Sierra gets a basket and fills it with random things. I go down the aisle with the pregnancy test for her only to come back a second later.
“There are a million different types,” I inform her. “What kind do you want?”
She shakes her head. “I have no idea. What’s that one in the commercial?”
“I need more to go on than that.”
“I…I don’t know.”
“It’s okay. I’ll just grab one.”
She nods, nervously pulling on her necklace and paces up and down the vitamins on the opposite side of the aisle. I add a pregnancy test to the basket and we make a beeline for the checkout.
And then we run into the last person I want to fucking see: Judy Henson.
Chapter 27
Sierra
“Oh, hello, Sierra,” Mrs. Henson says, stopping short, holding onto an empty shopping cart. Her eyes linger over Chase, resentment obvious on her face. Then she looks back at me and for a second I think she’s going to pretend he’s not there. Chase told me she’s done that before when he’s around. Panic flashes through me and I look down at the basket I have clutched in my sweaty hand. I hid the test under a plaid shirt I grabbed off the clearance rack as we walked by. It’s a 3XL, but I doubt she can notice that from where she’s standing.
“Funny,” she starts, flicking her gaze back to Chase. “You can go shopping but can’t work. Convenient too, since my grandbabies were just born.”
“A five-minute shopping trip isn’t the same as an eight-hour shift,” I snap and Chase grabs my wrist, pulling me to him in an attempt to curb my temper. It’s not the first time this week I’ve uncharacteristically snapped at someone. “And it’s Chase’s friend who’s been helping until Chase is better.”
Mrs. Henson doesn’t know what to say. Her nostrils flare and she narrows her eyes, looking at Chase.
“If only you could see what he’s done to you,” she harshly whispers. “So many people in this town look up to you, Sierra. You’re disappointing all of us.”
Chase steps forward. “Get over yourself, Judy. Sierra’s more of a role model than you’ll ever be. She’s smart and kind and knows when to let shit go. Every time you see me, you’re reminded that your husband cheated on you. We all fucking get it, but it’s time to get over it, leave me alone, and stay the hell away from Sierra.” With that, he walks forward, tugging my hand so I follow. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Judy sputtering, and then shaking her head as she pushes her cart forward.
If there weren’t a more pressing issue on hand, I would have been upset over Judy’s harsh words and the fact that she’s going to go run her mouth to everyone about Chase telling her off…and will make it ten times worse. Though right now, all I can think about is whether I’m pregnant or not. And how bad I have to pee.
I read over the instructions as we drive home, though it’s not like I need to. You pee on the stick, wait, and read your fate. Nervous, I read every word. Even the words in Spanish. Chase doesn’t say anything on the way home and stays quiet when we go into my house and into the bathroom.
“It says to wait three minutes before looking,” I tell him. “So I’m going to pee on it then flip it over.”
“Okay.” Chase lets out a breath and steps outside the bathroom door. “I feel like I should tell you good luck.”
“Right? I think I need it.” I shut the door and sit on the toilet, thinking about the past week. I chalked the tiredness up to the stress of Chase getting sick. I get cravings every now and then, and it’s actually irritated me before when people jump to the ‘are you pregnant’ question whenever I mention I want a certain food. The moodiness and heightened sense of smell…yeah, that’s out of the norm for me.
I cap the test, flip it over, and put it on the closed toilet lid. I wash my hands and open the door. Chase is already looking at his watch. My fingers tremble and I feel sick.
“It’s going to be okay,” he tells me. “Whatever it says, we’ll get through it.”
I nod, trying hard not to let myself get ahead. Being pregnant with Chase’s baby is the last thing I thought would happen, but actually isn’t the worst. I look at him, admiring his physical beauty. Then it hits me how there’s still so much about him I don’t know.
“What’s wrong?” Chase asks, then quickly shakes his head. “Stupid question. You’re anxious, I know.” He looks at his watch again. “Two and a half minutes to go.”