Page 9 of Need You To Choose Me

Panic shines in Becky’s eyes. She quickly schools her features, but there is no hiding her pink cheeks. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.” Kate gives her a knowing look. “He’s been on your ass for carrying those boxes all day long. It kind of reminds me of how Emmett was when…” The pot fallsinto the drawer with a loudbang. Kate’s lips part in a perfect ‘o’ as she straightens to her full height and points her finger at Becky. “Oh my God!”

I look between the two women, clearly missing something. “What?”

“Oh my God!” Kate repeats, shaking her head.

A guilty expression flashes on Becky’s face as she nibbles at her lip.

“Will somebody explain what the hell’s going on?”

“She’s pregnant!”

She’s…I turn to Becky. “What?!”

If possible, Becky’s face turns even redder. “I’m going to kill him.”

“You are! Oh my God, Becky!” Kate rushes toward her best friend, pulling her in a hug. “Congratulations! How long?”

“Eighteen weeks,” Becky pulls back and smooths her hand over her shirt, revealing a small bump. “It wasn’t that we didn’t want to tell you guys, we just wanted to make sure that everything was okay. We were actually planning to invite everybody over once we were moved in to share the news, but then Miguel had to go and ruin it with his constant worrying!”

“He’s just being overprotective.” Kate waves her off. “You better get used to it; it only gets worse from here on out.”

Becky turns from Kate to me. “You guys aren’t angry at me?”

“Of course not!” I go to her and wrap my arms around her. “This is amazing news, Becky. I’m so happy for you. After everything you’ve been through, you guys deserve this. When did you find out?”

A relieved smile spreads over her lips. “After the Super Bowl.” She turns to Kate. “You remember how we were talking about Kaylee and how you got a go ahead from your doctor and all? Well, that’s when it clicked that I hadn’t had my period in a while, and when I told Miguel he just freaked.”

Becky’s comment has me pausing.

Because when was the last time I had my period?

My period was usually all over the place. Sometimes, a few days early; other months, a few days late. It was unpredictable, to say the least, but it always came.

Not last month, though.

I frantically search my mind for the last time I had to buy tampons. Or hell, the last time I had cramps. My cramps were so strong some days that I could barely function, and oftentimes, if I didn’t take some pain reliever, I ended up spending that first day in bed.

Kate and Becky are still talking, their voices a distant buzz in my mind. I turn my back to them, trying to focus.

I remember having to leave school early in late February because my period snuck up on me, and I was in so much pain I could barely think. That was shortly before Grams…

I shake my head.I was not going there.

But if that was the last time I had cramps, that would mean I didn’t have my period for two months.

No. I lift my shaky hand, running it through my hair.That couldn’t be right. Because if I didn’t have my period for the last two months, that would mean that…

“Anyway, he all but dragged me into the store, and we bought the pregnancy test. How somebody hadn’t seen us, I’ll never understand, but here we are. Then the next morning I thought it was all just a dream, so I sent him to the next town over to buy a few more tests just to make sure I was actually pregnant.” Becky shakes her head, a soft smile playing on her mouth. “After I took the third one, he confiscated the rest of them away from me so I wouldn’t get tempted to do it again. But the whole situation just felt surreal and…”

“Do you have any of those left?”

Both women turn toward me, matching confused expressions on their faces at my interruption.

“Yeah.” Becky’s brows pull together. “They’re up in the bathroom. I remember putting them under the sink last ni?—”

I spin on my heels, not waiting for her to finish.

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