Pregnant? I can not be pregnant.
Colton is going to have a heart attack and Mom is going to whoop my ass. How could we have been so stupid? Unprotected sex?
FUCK.
What were we thinking?
How am I supposed to tell him that I went and got myself knocked up? From the very start, he would accuse me of being just like the other girls who come around here looking for their meal ticket and wanting just this to claim a piece of the Carrington fortune.
Fuck going to college now. I guess that was all an epic waste of my time.
I see it happen all the time to girls. They get pregnant and scared, wondering how the hell they’re going to survive but it's one of those things where you always think ‘no, that wouldn’t happen to me.’
What am I going to do? I’m only seventeen. I haven’t even had a chance to live yet. I know Colton will support me but he’s always going to wonder if I did it on purpose, always assuming that I was trying to lock him down. He's going to hate me.
“Holy fuck,” I groan, pacing the bathroom once again with the test in my hand. I glance down at it and double-check the instructions. Maybe I read it wrong. There has to be some kind of mistake.
I can’t be pregnant. I have too much to do. Too much is at stake.
I drop back down onto the toilet seat and tear at the test in my hand. My whole life is going to change. I'm not ready to be someone’s mother. I'm not even ready to be responsible for myself.
Panic surges within me and before I know it, it’s nearly eight in the morning and I’ve spent far too long pacing the bathroom. I have to go and figure this out. I have to talk to Colton. He’ll know what to do.
I grab my phone and tuck the test safely into my hand before rushing out of the bathroom, leaving Colton’s blanket right on the couch. I can come back for it later.
I race down to Colton’s room and as I push through the door, I find him stepping out of the bathroom with the steam from the shower blowing out behind him, making him look like some kind of exotic God. He stands before me with only a towel wrapped around his narrow waist and drops of water slowly trailing down his muscled body.
My mouth instantly waters.
Shit. No wonder I so willingly jumped him without protection. This is how I ended up in this situation in the first place.
“There you are,” he says, giving me a warm smile that hits his eyes in just the right way, leaving them sparking with warmth. “I was starting to worry. Where did you disappear to?”
I gape at him for a moment, my mind too distracted by the test in my hand to be capable of forming a proper response. He steps toward me and I find myself hiding the test behind my back, unsure why I didn't just come right out and tell him. “I, umm … couldn’t sleep,” I tell him. “I was just chilling upstairs.”
His brows pinch together as he walks over to me and snakes his hands around my waist. He pulls me against him, the fresh smell from his shower overwhelming me with need. “You should have told me,” he grumbles, dipping his face into my neck and kissing me there. “I’m sure I could have found something for us to do.”
“I’m sure you could have,” I say with a laugh that sounds fake coming out of my mouth. “But no, you need your rest. It was a big day for you yesterday too and now you need to get dressed and start your day.”
“Get dressed?” he questions. “In all the time I’ve known you, not once have you told me to get dressed. In fact, I was starting to think that perhaps you preferred me with no clothes at all.”
I roll my eyes, this time the laugh so much more real. “You’re an idiot, Carrington,” I tell him. “But you’d be right. I do prefer you without any clothes but if you drop that towel right now, neither of us is going anywhere today and I kinda need to go out this morning.”
“Out?” he questions. “Where to? It’s Friday morning. You have school starting in just over an hour.”
“I know,” I say with a cringe. “I umm … just have to go and see someone.”
His brows furrow as he raises his chin, knowing damn well that I'm being shady. “Do you want me to come?”
I shake my head. “No, that’s fine. You already missed work yesterday. I’ll be fine.”
“Do you need a car?” he questions, choosing to trust me rather than continuing to question me, knowing I’ll be back with answers when I’m ready.
“Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” he says slowly, releasing his hold on me and walking toward his closet before getting busy picking out today’s business attire. “You can take the Audi. It was serviced over the weekend so it should drive like a dream.”
I give him a small smile and nod, feeling as though not speaking up right now is somehow lying to him. Hell, I don't even know where I’m planning on going. All I know is that I just need to get out and give myself a chance to think. “Thanks,” I tell him with a soft murmur. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I know,” he says, finally choosing a suit that would make him look like any woman’s wet dream. He walks out of his closet and leans against the door frame, keeping his eyes trained heavily on mine. “Is everything okay?”
I walk into his arms and raise my chin. My lips brush over his and I give him a tight smile. “Honestly,” I tell him, needing to keep him optimistic. “I don’t know. But I’m going to work it out and when I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
“You’re worrying me, Jade. If something is going on, let me help you.”
“I will,” I promise. “I just need to wrap my head around it and understand what’s going on first.”
Colton’s lips drop to mine and he presses the softest kiss to my mouth. His voice drops to a low whisper that instantly wraps around me. “Are you sure?” he questions. “You look kinda freaked out.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m okay.”
“Alright then. Don’t be gone for too long.”
With that, Colton kisses me once again and as he releases me to start getting ready for his day, I slip out of his room and dash down to the pool house, feeling the test still resting so heavily in my hands.
I barge into the pool house and narrowly avoid running into Mom who thankfully overslept and doesn’t have a minute to stop and chat. She hurries out the door while calling over her shoulder that she left breakfast out for me.
I call out a brief thank you as the door slams behind her, knowing that I’m more than likely to skip eating this morning. I don't think I can stomach it right now, but then, if I truly am pregnant, maybe eating and looking after this unborn baby is in my best interest.
Shit. There's going to be so much that I'm going to have to do to get ready for this, but what’s worse is telling my mother that at only thirty-six she’s going to be a grandmother. She’s going to kill me.
I quickly dress in my school uniform, knowing there’s a good chance that I won’t even make it to school today but hey, I need to be optimistic. This might be my last chance at getting an education.
After getting ready and eating a small bite of breakfast, I quickly check in with Milo and make sure that he’s doing alright. I have no idea where I’m going today but had he said that he was having a shitty time, I would have been there in a heartbeat. I can only imagine what he would have to say about the little situation that I've just gotten me and Colton into.