Page 78 of If the Stars Align
She’s holding a pregnancy test in her hand.
“It’s negative,” she tells me, mere seconds before I start hyperventilating.
She gets back in bed, and Dr. Keller completes his physical exam.
“I feel a lot better after throwing up,” she says to him. “It must have been food poisoning.” She turns and gives me a tentative smile, like she’s trying to gauge how upset I am.
I honestly don’t know what the fuck to feel—but I’m not having this conversation with Ava until we’re alone. I can’t react like a normal person would in this scenario, because I’m nota normal person. I’mDex Oliver. My life isn’t mine anymore. It’s entertainment. This doctor might be the most trustworthy person on the planet—but one of Ava’s staff could be listening outside the door, for all I know. She has twenty-four-seven security at her home after a disturbing experience with a stalker a couple of years ago.
No, there’s no such thing as privacy when you’re a celebrity. So I do what I do best. I act. I play the role of the devoted boyfriend who’s taking everything in stride.Notthe one who’s fucking freaking out because the world-famous supermodel he’s been sleeping with for two months tried to trick him into knocking her up.
“Based on the rapid onset of your symptoms, and the duration and location of the pain, I believe you had a gallbladder attack,” Dr. Keller says. “Attacks are triggered by foods that are high in fat. Now, I know you keep a strict diet?—”
“I cheated this weekend,” Ava tells him. “We were in Saint-Tropez, and I ate cheese, and…” She looks over at me. “We hadice cream.” She whispers the words with complete and utter shame, like she’s confessing to a felony.
The doctor nods. “We’ll do an ultrasound first thing in the morning to confirm. In the meantime, sticking to low-fat foods should prevent another attack. But call me if your symptoms return.”
“Thank you, Dr. Keller,” I say, standing up to walk him out.
When I get back to Ava’s bedroom, her eyes are pleading. “Dex, let me explain. This isn’t what you think, I promise.”
I sit beside her on the edge of the bed, my body turned to faceher. “What the fuck is going on, Ava?” I ask, my voice thin and raspy. I’m exhausted, and desperate for an answer that doesn’t make her as diabolical as I fear.
“Nothing, Dex, I swear. Dr. Keller just freaked me out with all those questions about pregnancy. Birth control pills aren’t 100 percent effective—even when you take them religiously—so my mind started spinning, and I thought maybe there was a slight chance, that’s all. I keep some tests in my medicine cabinet and wanted to take one to be sure.”
My heart sinks. I prop my elbows on my knees and let my forehead rest on my palms.
“What’s the matter, Dex?”
I turn to her and sigh. “I found your birth control pills in your drawer, Ava. You haven’t been taking them.”
Her eyes widen. “No,” she says, shaking her head. “No, Dex, you have it all wrong. That’s an old prescription. I switched pills a while ago.”
“Prove it,” I say. “Where’s the new pack?”
Ava coils her fiery hair on top of her head and secures it with an elastic band. I can tell by the way her eyes shift back and forth that she’s thinking. Finally, she shrugs. “It must be in my luggage somewhere.”
I turn to her packed suitcases, stacked in a corner of her bedroom. I walk toward them, then start to unzip the one on top.
“Dex, wait?—”
When I look back at her, she’s crying. I watch as she sweeps her long manicured fingers over her eyes, wiping tears from them. “Okay, fine. I lied. But…let me explain.” She bites her lip. “I’m in love with you, Dex.”
My fingers start tingling.
“Webelongtogether,” she continues. “Can’t you see it? I mean, we’re the two most beautiful people in the world. Would it be so terrible if we had a baby?”
The room’s spinning. I sit in a chair across from her bed and close my eyes. “You tried to trick me into fathering a child,” I say after a minute. “Don’t you see how fucked up that is?” I pause for a beat, then shake my head. “You were insatiable, too. You were all over me, morning, noon, and night. Now it makes sense. You just wanted to get pregnant.”
She sighs. “I think you’re missing the point here, Dex. Iloveyou.”
My palms are sweating. I can’t speak. All I can do is stare at her. Time starts to slow, and I don’t know how long I’m silent for.
Her eyes narrow, and her expression hardens. “Dex, what the fuck? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
My chest tightens.
I need to get out of here. At this point, I’ll say anything to end this conversation, so I can go home. She’s not going to listen to reason, anyway.
