Page 77 of Girl Like Me

“I’m so glad to be home.” I say holding my arms out so we can hug it out. The old me never used to be a hugger but now it’s become a habit.

“I bet you are, after all that sun and lounging around the beach for the last two weeks.” she says with a laugh.

“How are things with you and the guys?” I ask and she sighs.

“Really good. Echo and Mossy are amazing as usual, and well, Chev is just Chev,” she laughs just thinking about him. “But I miss Mac, he has set his sights on the commonwealth games and he is that good but I’m worried he's going to burn himself out. Or that he might get injured. There is no back up plan for him. It’s all or nothing.”

“I get it, I do.” I say.

“How about you and your guys? Is everything still as good as it was twelve months ago?”

“Better, even though we’ve all found out the hard way that traveling with Rocky is not ideal. He is like a small kid at Christmas. He always woke up so early and wanted to jet off and do everything. Jam pack our days full of sight seeing and sometimes it was a lot.”

She nods.

I look around, making sure no one is in earshot. There is something else I need to tell her. I haven’t told anyone yet.

“I think I’m pregnant,” I whisper at the same time she says, “I’m late.”

We both laugh, even though it’s really not funny. I know I’ve been constant on birth control, but a couple of weeks ago I was really sick and a google search tells me that throwing up the pill isn’t ideal.

“I have a test in my bag but I’ve been too scared to take it. Chev made it clear that he hates kids, Mac is always gone, Echo and Mossy joke about it but I’ve only just finished my first year at Uni…”

I quickly stop her rambling. “How about we go up stairs and do the test?”

“It’s a two pack,” she says and smirks at me.

“Fine, we will both do one. Let's sneak away before they come and find us.”

Chloe fetches her bag and we head upstairs. I didn't want to say anything to the guys yet, I freaked out the day my period didn’t come and stopped taking the pill a few days ago after my google search. I’ve been faking bad period pains so they don’t question why I don’t want to be intimate.

I shut my bedroom door behind us and Chloe pulls the clear blue box from her bag. She opens it, pulling out the instructions and gives them a read through.

“Ok, seems easy enough, pee on the tip and wait a few minutes. One line is negative and two lines are positive.

“I’ll go first. Let’s sit them upside down on the vanity over there.” I say pointing to the very cute antique makeup vanity set up by the window.

I take the package and go into the bathroom; I tear the plastic open and open the cap. I don't know how long to pee on it, but I hold it there for a few seconds as I empty my bladder. When I’m done, I put the cap back on and slide it back into the plastic sleeve so I can’t peek before Chloe is done.

After I wash my hands, she goes in and does the same. Once we are both done we line our tests up on the vanity face down and Chloe sets her timer.

After a very long few minutes passes we stand side by side staring down at the tests. When the door bangs open, I swipe the tests up and shove them into the front of my shorts. Not the smartest place but they’re trapped between the waist band. We both turn to see Chev walking through the door, followed by Levi.

“What’s going on in here? You disappeared.” Chev asks with a brow raised.

“Nothing,” she squeaks.

“I know when you’re lying Chloe,” he demands and Levi just looks at me, guilt clearly written over my face. His lips pull into a straight line, worry flashing across his face. Rocky bounds through the door next and looks around the room, unsure of what's happening. Within minutes, all of my guys and three of Chloe’s are standing in my room, all confused as to what the stare off is for.

A test slips and falls through the leg of my shorts, hitting the floor with a thud. Eight sets of eyes dip to the ground as I swoop down quickly and pick it up, shoving it back in my pants.

“JD,” Rocky says playfully. “What are you hiding in your shorts?”

“Nothing,” I snap.

He steps closer, closing the distance between us. “Come on, just show me.” he says with a devious grin on his face, clearly oblivious to the fact that this could potentially change all of our lives. He pounces and tickles me, making me lose the grip on my pants. He gets a hold of the tests and holds them into the air.

“What the fuck!” Chev roars. “Who do they belong to?”