Page 194 of Bride By Coronation

Fiona

Twenty Days Later

Sweat drips down my face, and I grip the toilet bowl, heaving a final time. I sit back on the cold tile when I'm convinced there's no more.

Mom's voice cuts through the air. "Fiona, are you pregnant?"

My heart beats faster. I turn my head, staring at her.

She arches her eyebrows and softly asks, "Are you?"

I slowly shrug my shoulders, and my eyes fill with tears. I answer, "Maybe."

She walks to the sink, pulls a towel off the rack, douses it in water, and wrings it out. She holds her hand out. "Let's get you off the floor."

I take her hand and rise.

She steers me into my bedroom, toward the sitting area, ordering, "Sit down, sweetie."

I take a seat.

She sits next to me and presses the wet towel against my forehead. "How long have you been getting sick?"

I think back, and more tears form as I shake my head. "Every day since I've been here."

She nods. "I see. Do you think we should take a test?"

My pulse pounds between my ears. I look away, gripping my thigh.

She puts her hand on mine, sternly pointing out, "Fiona, if you're pregnant, you need to know."

I turn my head back toward her, confessing, "I wanted to be. But now… I don't know, Mom." Another round of tears falls.

She pulls me into her arms. "Shh, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

I freak out. "How? If I'm pregnant and I'm not even talking to my child's father..."

She pulls back. "Whose choice is that?"

I gape at her.

"Answer me," she demands.

I look away.

"Fiona, who's choosing not to speak the other?" she repeats.

I pull at my fingers, mumbling, "Me."

She continues, "You need to talk to him."

I sniffle and turn away.

She questions, "What are you mad at him about?"

My lip trembles. I blink, and more tears run down my cheek and off my jaw. I turn back. "How can you ask me that?"

She pins her gaze on me. "Tell me exactly what you're mad about so I'm not assuming anything."

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