Page 33 of Two Weeks
Elise stared at the image on the screen. Her baby had a heartbeat? And a heart? None of this felt real. She closed her eyes again.If this is a dream, God, wake me up. I can’t take it anymore.Nausea came over her stronger than ever before. The room began to spin. When she opened her eyes she avoided the image of the tiny baby. Instead she looked straight at Cole’s aunt. “Thank you, ma’am.” Elise felt sick. “I’m... I’m finished now. I’ll come back tomorrow to... talk about... about options.” She closed her eyes. “Please. I... I need some time.”
“I understand.” Dr. West turned off the machine and moved the wand back to a tray. Then she grabbed three paper towels and handed them to Elise. “For your stomach.” She paused. “Can I get you anything else?”
Elise couldn’t breathe. Like before, she only wanted to leave out the back door and run. Run as far and fast from here as she could. Instead she wiped the goop off her skin and pulled her shirt back into place. As she sat up, she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her full dark hair pulled back in a loose messy ponytail, stomach flat. Huge blue eyes. She still looked like Belle.
How could she be pregnant?
“Should I get Cole?” Dr. West washed her hands and dried them.
Elise felt her heart skip a beat. No, she didn’t want Cole. As soon as he walked in the room she would have to tell him the truth. There was no possibility of a mistake this time. And then he wouldn’t see her the same. She wouldn’t be Elise the adventurous artist, the beautiful dreamer. Prettiest girl he’d ever known. The things Cole had told her.
She’d be a bad girl who got in trouble.
Dr. West was waiting. Elise had no choice, no way out. She took a deep breath. “Yes, please.” That was all she could say. She felt like she might throw up.
As Cole’s aunt left the room, Elise barely made it to the trash can in time. As if her body wanted to rid her of the terrible news. She vomited three times and she was still wiping her mouth when she heard a soft knock at the door.
“Just a minute.” A couple quick swishes of water from the sink and she was as ready as she’d ever be. She opened the door and Cole stepped in.
“Elise.” He took her in his arms and held her. The sort of strong, protective hug Elise had never known before. He leaned back and searched her face. “Was it... are you...?”
“Yes.” She might as well get it over with. “I’m pregnant.” Her wobbly feet carried her across the floor to one of the padded chairs. She sat down and Cole took the seat beside her. His face was pale. Like the news was still hitting him. “We should’ve known. I mean... the tests you took. They were both positive.”
And there in the silence, in the awkwardness of her not knowing what to say, an idea came to Elise. The perfect idea. Of course! Why hadn’t she thought of it before? The... the little blob inside her wasn’t really a baby, after all. It was a thing. A bit of tissue with a little fluttering in the middle.
Peace came over her. “Cole.” She turned to him. Her nausea was barely noticeable. The room wasn’t spinning. “I know what I want to do.”
Confusion colored Cole’s face. “About the baby?”
The words came then, words she never thought she’d say. “I want an abortion.” She lifted her eyes to Cole’s. “As soon as possible.”
Cole shook his head. “No.” His voice wasn’t loud, but his response couldn’t have been more direct. “Elise, you can’t.”
“It’s my choice.” She was on her feet. Her cheeks felt hot, her tone grew bolder. “And it’s not a baby yet. It’s tissue. So this is the best thing for everyone, Cole. I need to do this!”
For a long few seconds Cole didn’t say anything. He only looked at her, his eyes locked on hers. She didn’t see anger or condemnation or judgment. She saw something she didn’t expect at all.
Compassion.
“Do me one favor first.” Cole reached for her hand. “Please, Elise.”
She didn’t want to make any promises, but she trusted Cole. He truly cared for her. She exhaled. “What?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Talk to my mom.” He waited a few seconds. “Remember how I told you she studied art in Paris? Well, maybe now’s a good time for you to hear the rest of her story.”
Talk to Cole’s mom?Elise’s heart began to race again. It was the last thing she expected him to say. The last thing she wanted to do. Her reality stood like a mountain before her. She was pregnant. It wasn’t a dream or a lie, the test results weren’t wrong. No matter how things had been between Randy and her, she was carrying his baby.
And the worst part was she hadn’t told her mom about any of this. Every week they talked, but Elise had said nothing. Not about her sickness or her fears, and of course nothing about the positive tests from Walgreens.
Deep, dark panic worked its way through her veins and made her start to shake. Maybe Cole was onto something. Elise could talk to his mom and it would be practice for the day she finally told her own mama.
The truth was, she had no real choice now. Cole was her only friend in the world. If he wanted her to meet with his mother, if he thought somehow that would help, then she had just one choice.
She would do it.
10
Up until the minute Cole pulled into his driveway with Elise, he hadn’t felt nervous about the two of them talking with his mom.
