Page 67 of The Ruckup
“Sorry.” I turn, crossing both arms over my chest as I wait. The soft sound of tinkling has my heart beating even faster, because it means the timer has started. In two minutes, I’ll know if Maddie and I are going to have a baby. If the house I bought is finally going to be one step closer to holding the family I imagined when I signed the papers.
“Well.”
I turn to find Maddie still sitting on the toilet, hands at her ankles as she stares down at this test. “I guess two minutes was an estimate.” She lifts the test, turning the plastic covered viewing screen to face me.
Right there, bright pink and clear as day, are two lines crisscrossing the window.
“You’re pregnant.” I take the test, bringing it closer to my face, just in case what I saw was a weird reflection.
The two pink lines are still there.
I lift my eyes to find Maddie’s wide panicked gaze fused to my face. I don’t want her to be afraid. I don’t want her to be anything but as happy as I am in this moment. I want her to know everything is going to be okay. That I’m going to take care of her.
That I’m going to take care of our baby.
So I say the only thing I think might come close to accomplishing that.
“You should marry me.”
23
Potty Proposal
Maddie
IS HE SERIOUS?
He looks serious.
“Did you just propose to me holding my pee stick while I’m sitting on the toilet with my pants down?” It sounds even worse when I say it out loud.
“To be fair…” Leo starts to motion with my uncapped pregnancy test, then seems to realize what he’s doing and sets it on the counter. “I was planning to propose to you before any of this happened. The opportunity just presented itself.”
I narrow my eyes, trying to tell if he’s being serious or just trying to make me feel better. “You were?” Holding up a hand, I stop Leo before he can start. “Wait. I want to have this discussion not sitting on the toilet.”
I quickly wipe before flushing and pulling up my pants, my earlier weirdness about Leo being around while I do my business obviously the least of my worries now. After quickly washing my hands, I take another look at the pregnancy test and it’s still positive.
So there’s that.
“I need to lay down.” I stumble into the bedroom and collapse onto the mattress.
I can’t believe I did this. I mean…
I kind ofcan, because I know how babies are made. I knew I wasn’t on the pill. I understand that unprotected sex can result in this exact scenario.
I just wasn’t really thinking about it. I had about a million other thoughts taking up most of the space in my brain.
And honestly, feeling close with Leo was one of the brightest spots in my life. I’m sure it would’ve been just as great with a condom between us, but I wanted all of him. I wanted to give him all of me.
And on some fucked-up level, I liked knowing that if I died, Leo would have been the last one to touch every part of me. That he’d erased—or maybe negated—any claim Drake could make about possessing any inch of my body.
Leo comes to my side, gently pulling off my shoes before stretching me down the mattress and climbing on beside me. He pulls me close, and I don’t even care that he stinks.
Idocare a little bit that he’s lying on our bed covered in dirt and probably other people’s blood, but I’m too tired and nauseous and twisted up to do anything about it.
“Talk to me.” Leo strokes down my hair. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking our parents are going to shit a brick sideways.” Imagining what they’re going to say has me wanting to throwup all over again. Or maybe that’s the tiny little gag goblin upheaving my insides.
