Page 117 of Set the Moment
“I’ve never had a scare before, get the cheapest one with quick results…” Denver grimaces, downing the last of her drink as I scan the aisle of pink, white, and blue boxes.
If the Sienna of two years ago could see me now, she’d have an aneurysm.
Heaving a deep breath, I pick up three identical tests, them all guaranteeing an early result, and head to checkout.
“I don’t know, girl, I highly doubt you're pregnant…I mean, do you use protection?” Denver’s voice echoes loudly as I approach the register.
The cashier, an older woman with short, grey curls, purses her lips as I slide the three tests to her. My cheeks and neck feel warm as she eyes me from head to toe, her eyes lingering on my black coils for a little too long.
“$21.72,” the woman blandly announces just as I tap my card awkwardly on the screen. “Good luck.” I hear her words trailing after me as I race to the bathroom in the back of the pharmacy.
“What if it’s positive, Den? I can’t raise a baby…I’ve barely just started having sex—I haven’t even used a vibrator yet! Oh my gosh…I don’t even have my own place! Let alone a degree. What am I going to—”
My rant is cut off by Denver’s soft sigh. She’s been the more levelheaded friend out of the four of us, always seeing all sides of the coin before making a rash decision or freaking out.
“We’ll worry about all of those things when the time comes. As of right now, you just need to worry about taking the test and whether or not it’s positive,” she answers, her voice resolute.
I gulp, looking at myself in the cracked mirror of the pharmacy bathroom and sigh.
It’s okay. You got this, Sienna.
Denver and I wait for three agonizingly long minutes. My skin is hot to the touch as anxiety gnaws at my throat and ears.
Never in my life would I have thought that I would end up in this type of predicament. I mean surely if I am pregnant, then maybe it won’t be so bad. I’ll have Jace by my side and we’d have miniature geniuses on our—
“Time's up!” Denver’s voice snaps me out of my stupor and immediately my shoulders slacken.
“Oh, thank heavens…”
Negative.
I’m not pregnant.
That’s good, right? Me, not being pregnant right now. I mean I have my entire life to have a family. I wouldn’t want to bring a kid into the world while I’m still learning it myself. I’m young. Besides, Jace and I aren’t ready. We’ve barely been together for three months, but, why do I still feel like there’s everything's about to go wrong?
forty-six
Jace
Windbillowsaroundme,ice kicking up off the rink floor as I whizz around, tracking the puck back and forth between SFU and Brighton.
I’m on cloud freaking nine tonight. Everyone is in the stands, my friends all wearing the jerseys I’d given them, and we’re up by two points on Brighton.
When I skate past the box where my friends are, my mood dampens for a minute when I remember that Sienna has to work on her dance for the Showcase tomorrow. I wish she could be here to see me kick some ass on the ice.
I skate harder and faster, my eye on the little black puck and that only. Eyeing my surroundings, my gaze locks on Blake’s, and right when I shoot the puck to him, a motherfucker the size of Goliath checks me.
Now, I’m not a small guy by any means, but when a tall kid from Russia checks you, it’s bound to leave a bruise, no matter how soft the hit is.
“Dude! What the fuck!?” I call out, my annoyance growing as I focus my eyes back on the puck.
I’m so close to it that I can see the high and low lights of the small disk.
We’ve worked so hard for tonight’s game and all that training is damn sure going to pay off. Racing to the puck, I can almost taste the stellar shot I’m going to make when the air is knocked from my lungs and the room spins like shooting stars.
The world is a mix of colors. Orange, blue, dark purples, and then it’s black as pain laces through my bones, sharp and unyielding. My arm hurts so bad I can barely breath. Everything around me is a cacophony of sped up heartbeats and hushed whispers.
Someone screams, loud and guttural, cutting through the silence. The sound alone is something that’ll keep me up at night, only I don’t realize that it's coming from me.
