Page 87 of Heatwaves

“Lila? Honey?” Even without opening my eyes, I recognize the sound of my dad’s worried voice. “What’s wrong?”

A small hand lifts to my forehead before Mom sighs. “No fever. Come on, let’s headinside for a minute before your mates realize you’re not feeling well.”

Why wouldn’t I want them to realize I’m not feeling well?

Blinking my eyes open, I cling to my mom’s arm as she leads me into the house, telling everyone we’ll be right back.

“Mom?”

She glances at me with a tight smile. “Let’s get inside first, hon. I’m going to bring you up to my room and then we’ll talk about what’s wrong, okay?”

“Does that mean you know what’s wrong?” I can’t help asking her.

“I might, but it’s probably best if we wait until we get inside.”

Since I get my stubbornness from my mom, I know better than to argue with her, so I allow her to pull me inside and up the stairs. She leads me over to the bed and helps me sit before taking my face in her hands.

“I need to ask you some questions, Lila.” She waits for me to nod before continuing, “What are your symptoms?”

“I can’t seem to shake this damned headache. I’ve had it for the last three or four days, and nothing seems to help it. I’ve also been exhaustedfor the last week. I’ve gone to bed every night just after we finish eating. The dizziness is new, though.”

Mom hums. “That all sounds very familiar, so I’m going to ask you one last question, and I need you not to freak out.”

“Just get on with it, Mom.” I almost roll my eyes but somehow stop myself.

“Did you use protection for your heat?”

Now, I do roll my eyes. “Of course I did. Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Far from it, actually. But stay with me.” Mom’s voice remains patient. “What kind of protection did you use?”

“You know I have the implant. You’re the one who took me to get it.” Frowning, I don’t understand what she’s getting at.

Mom hums again. “I did, and have you been back to get it replaced since you got it?”

My eyes go wide as I realize I haven’t. My doctor had called to set up an appointment just before my heat, and I hadn’t had the time. “Fuck…”

The fact that Mom hasn’t gotten onto me for my language just goes to show how seriously she’s taking this.

“It’s okay, Lila. Let’s get you to take a test before we jump to any conclusions. It’s been over a month since your heat, which means this is around the time the symptoms would start, but let’s not freak out until we know for sure.”

“How am I supposed to not freak out?” I ask her as she tugs me to my feet.

I can’t be pregnant—I mean, technically, I could be, but we’re not ready for that. I’ve just started these relationships with these men. The last thing we need is the stress of an unplanned pregnancy on top of everything else.

How could I be so stupid?

“Breathe, honey. In and out for me, okay?”

My eyes jerk up to my mom, and I suck in a deep breath. I don’t know when I stopped breathing, but the room is spinning again.

“That’s good, Lila. Let me grab the test.” Mom ducks down, shuffling under the sink. When she stands back up, she’s holding a box in her hand. Not just a box—a pregnancy test. “This is the blood test one, so it’s very simple. Just a little finger prick and then we put it on the strip. We should have results within a minute or two.”

I nod numbly, watching as she opens it up and takes out the finger pricker. I’ve never takena pregnancy test before. I didn’t even know how they tested it at home.

I think I’m going to be sick.

Mom grabs my hand, pressing the pricker to my index finger. I hiss at the small bite of pain that’s over before it really began. Then, Mom is pressing my hand to a strip of paper-like material.

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