After being separated in a dramatic move, Connor Harding is moving back home. His ex-best friend Hope Stryker, is terrified and torn. After three years without contact and lots of family drama, the two have fallen off. Their friendship isn't the sam...
"Hope, you just need to drop him," Layla demanded. "Once and for all."
"I agree," Connor mumbled as he shoved a handful of french fries into his mouth.
The three of us had met for dinner at the diner, and all they wanted to talk about was Jack and I's fight. It had almost been two weeks since the day that I had seen him and Shelby together, but we had yet to formally break up.
The first couple of days, Jack kept calling my phone and dropping by my house, and every time he brought a dozen roses. But as the days passed and it was inching closer to two weeks, our communication had dropped. Everyone in town, and especially at our school, had heard what happened and everyone assumed we had broken up. Mentally, yeah we probably were. But the words never came out of either of our mouths, so technically we were still together.
"I know guys," I muttered.
"Hope, I know you love him. I know, but you can't let him walk all over you."
"I know." Layla raised her hands in surrender and went back to eating her burger. Lately, even the thought of greasy foods made me want to throw up all over the place. It was the weirdest thing.
"We have to wear white uniforms for the first football game, and I'm going to be on my period." Layla groaned from across the table.
"TMI, Layla." Connor made a face and fake gagged.
That's when it hit me. I hadn't gotten my period yet. I had never missed a period in my entire life. I wasn't the person who fluctuated either.
My hand came up to my mouth, and I started biting on my nails. What if I was pregnant? I mean my period was late, and I wanted to constantly vomit. Holy shit.
"What's that face for, H?" Connor's arm was across the back of the booth and he squeezed my shoulders.
"I'm late," I whispered.
"You're what?" Connor had no clue what I was talking about but Layla 100% did. Her mouth slowly dropped open and her eyes got wide.
"Layla," I trembled.
"Okay, okay. I'm sure it's fine. Nothing to worry about." She grabbed my hand from across the table and gripped it hard. We were both scared. Nothing was fine.
"What is happening?" Connor was as clueless as ever. I swear to God, he knows absolutely nothing.
I turned to him and looked him dead in the eyes, "My period, Connor. It's late."
His mouth made an 'o' shape and he finally understood the severity of this conversation.
"How late are we talking about?" He asked.
"At least two weeks."
Connor whistled and threw his head back, "Fuck, Hope."
"What do you mean? This is not my fault." I was getting defensive. I did not want a baby. Maybe in ten years after I have a degree and financially stable and possibly have a husband. But now? No fucking way.
"Everybody calm down," Layla said sternly. "We just need to go in and get a test. Simple."
That was obviously what we needed to do, but the only issue was that if either Layla or I walked into the cornerstone and bought a pregnancy test, the gossip mills would run wild. So that meant, our only option was to convince Connor to go buy one for me.
Both Layla and I slowly turned our gaze in his direction. "Please?"
"What? You want me to buy one?"
"Connor, please," I begged.
He sat still for a minute, and my heart dropped. I was so scared. I was starting to sweat and my hands were shaking.
"Why the hell not," he sighed. "Let's go."
The three of us rushed out of the diner and climbed into Connor's truck. The short ride to the corner store was silent, and it only made me want to puke more. I needed this to not be true.
I could not be pregnant. Jack and I were pretty much broken up, and I was not going to bring a baby into the world with someone who didn't love me. Jack couldn't even be faithful to me, so there was no way he would be responsible enough to care for a child.
"I'll be right back," Connor kissed my forehead and then made his way into the store.
"Layla?"
"Hmm?"
"This is bad," I looked into the backseat where Layla had an empty expression on her face. "Like really bad."
"I know."
That was all she said. There was no reason for her to try and comfort me, we both knew that this was a shit situation.
Connor was out of the store a few minutes later with a brown paper bag tucked underneath his arm.
"Okay," he started, "Do you want to do this at my house? Nobody should be home." I nodded and took the bag letting out a long sigh.
I could not even wrap my head around the fact that I had a pregnancy test in my lap. If I was actually pregnant, my parents were going to kill me. I could already picture my dad screaming at me, and my mom sitting with a shocked expression while I sat there crying.
For fucks sake, I was a child myself. There was no way that I could have a kid. This couldn't be happening. I was supposed to be enjoying the last few weeks of summer, and beginning to worry about applying to colleges. Instead, I was worried about whether or not I was carrying a baby.
When we got to Connor's house, Layla and I walked into his bathroom and shut the door. As soon as the door was closed, she wrapped me in a tight hug and I started to cry.
"We're going to be okay, okay?" She pulled back and wiped my tears that had fallen. I closed my eyes and nodded. It is what it is.
I quickly peed on the test, and Layla and I went to join Connor in his room. He was pacing the length of his bedroom, his hands pulling at his hair. He even looked scared. Connor was always levelheaded and calm, so seeing him worried made me even more anxious.
The timer that Layla set rang through the thick air. It hurt my ears and I wanted to cover them, but I couldn't summon the energy to even do that. All of my focus was on Connor. He was staring directly at me with the same intensity as the night of Jack and I's fight.
He slowly walked over to me and sat down beside me on his bed. Layla and Connor had me sandwiched between them, and I held the pregnancy test in my hand. I let out a deep sigh and flipped it over.
Pregnant.
----
uh ohhh. what's going to happen? is hope going to keep the baby? will she tell jack? will she tell her parents?
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