Page 23 of Roommates
“What's the problem?” Conner asked, one hand on my back and voice going soft as he sensed my distress.
“It's just um... Adam didn't notice that I'm omega, but my pills failed me in a different way.” I turned to look at my friend. “I went to a party with Adam and he got drunk and he kissed me... and when he did, I went into heat.” By the look on Conner's face, I knew I didn't have to say more than that for him to understand.
“You had sex with Adam,” he concluded.
I nodded. If only my problems ended there, though.
“There's more, isn't there?” Conner continued when I didn't say anything.
“Yeah.” I licked my lips. “I didn't just have sex with Adam. I had... unprotected sex with Adam.”
There, it was out, and I knew my friend was smart enough to figure out exactly why I was in trouble now.
“Oh, Lucas,” he said, rubbing my back. “What are you going to do? Do you have any plans?”
“Not really. I only just found out.” I'd discarded the pregnancy test at the bottom of a trash can in the bathroom, but I couldn't get the image of it out of my head. It would probably stay burned into my retinas forever. “I need to talk to my parents, I guess. They're going to be so disappointed.”
“But they'll help?”
“They will. They'll... find someone who can help me with this. The same way they found someone to supply the scent suppressors. There's this huge underground network.” I looked up at the ceiling, digging my fingers into the sheets beneath me. If only my parents didn't have to go through illegal means to get me the help I needed... if I only I hadn't pissed that all away with some stupid decisions.
“What kind of help are you looking for?” Conner asked, almost tentatively, as if he was a little scared what I might say.
“What help do you think I'm looking for?” My shoulders slumped. “You know I can't keep it.
Everyone would know. My whole future would come crashing down around me.” Even if I wanted to keep the baby, it just wasn't an option—I couldn't imagine any way that would work out. Unless I gave up on all of my goals.
“You know abortions are risky, right?” Conner asked. There was no judgement in his voice, but I could tell that he was worried and that he wanted me to reconsider. As if I had a choice.
“I know it's risky.”
“Especially those underground places. They're—”
“I know, okay?” I cut my friend off and he backed away. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. It's just a lot.” I was pregnant from a guy I really liked, but because of who I was, who I wastryingto be, that was a total disaster. In that moment, I honestly hated my life. “I just don't know what else to do,” I admitted to Conner. “The school might even kick me out if my secret came to light now. I'd probably lose my scholarship too.” Just thinking about it, I was starting to feel queasy again, and this time, I was pretty sure that had nothing to do with the baby growing inside of me—at least not physically.
“Wow, this sucks ass,” Conner said.
I stared at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. It's just that I hardly ever hear you curse.” I almost had to laugh, glad for the momentary distraction from my own problems.
“Oh, shut up. I'm allowed to expand my vocabulary, and we're not talking aboutmenow, so back to the topic at hand. I really do think you need to talk to your parents. Maybe even Adam. How do you think he would react?”
“I honestly don't know.” I ran a hand back through my hair. “He tells me he likes children.” I had to chuckle at my own misfortune. How was it that I met the perfect alpha to have a child with and when he got me pregnant, I couldn't keep it? “I can't tell him that I'm having his baby and terminating the pregnancy. It might just kill him.”
“I'm so sorry. That's awful, but I still think you shouldn't be facing this by yourself. Maybe just take a few days to think about it before you do anything. At least until the weekend. You're probably not thinking clearly now.”
I nodded. There was a good chance Conner was right about that. Thinking about my situation now, I was just running in circles, and it was always the same circles. “Did I ever tell you why I wanted to be a lawyer in the first place?” I asked Conner.
He shook his head. “You hadn't mentioned. Wait, no, maybe you did. Was it something to do with a relative of yours?”
“Yeah, my uncle. He was brilliant, you know?Brilliant.His only curse was that he was omega.”
“What happened to him?”
I shrugged. “You know things were different when he was growing up. Even just twenty years ago, it was nearly impossible for an omega to get a college education. There were hardly any scholarships because no one thought omegas needed to go to college. We'd all just end up pregnant straight out of school anyway, right?”
