I laid my head back against the cool tile of the bathroom in Walgreens, my hand limply wrapped around the EPT, a plus sign stared ominously back at me. "Taz?" the chipped red metal door swung gently open and my best friend's curly head of blonde hair peered around the corner. My eyes lifted slowly to meet hers, my lips thinned, and I held the test out to her with a shaking hand.
She took it hesitantly and looked down at it; her blue eyes glistened with unshed tears, as she looked over at me shocked. "b-but Brent, he's gone, how did this happen?" I shrugged; a numb feeling replaced the shock, the humiliation, and the overwhelming anguish at this discovery.
I rubbed a tired hand over my face and scratched my head, "we um…" I paused and smiled wanly "we had sex a day before the crash happened, that was a month ago; I haven't been with anyone since." I swallowed hard, bracing my hands against the linoleum floor and pushed myself up.
Flashes of the night of Brent's crash came pouring back to me, Brent was my boyfriend of 2 years, we were planning to get married. I looked down at the diamond ring that adorned my left ring finger. I took it off and shoved it into my pocket; he had gone out one night with his friends to a baseball game. He never came home; I got a call from his mother that night, a call that changed my life.
"Anastasia? Is that you darling?" Brent's mother's honeyed voice dripped brokenly through the phone.
"Sandra? Hello, is everything okay?" I leaned against the kitchen counter, watching my popcorn in the microwave.
"Dear, there's been a crash. Brent and his friends," she broke off with a sob, my hands started to shake.
"w-what happened? Is Brent okay?" I stuttered nervously.
"No honey," she broke off again, "he didn't make it, he died on the scene."
"N-no..." I breathed, the phone slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor. I slid down, wrapping my arms around my knees as I stared out the window.
I shook my head ridding myself of the memories and stood. I splashed my face with cold water, turned to Annie, and smiled slightly. "I need some Sunny D."
She laughed, shook her head, and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, "that's my girl."
We laughed and stumbled through the store, we jammed along to eighties hit singles, and I let my long dark curls fly in the wind. As we grew closer to our apartment, I grew decidedly quiet, fiddling with the hem of my shirt. When Annie put the car into park I turned towards her, my brow furrowed, "how am I going to tell my mother?"
She bit her lip, then her face lit up, "I have the perfect plan! Seriously, I should be classified as a genius."
I just rolled my eyes, "well let's hear it then."
She placed her hands out in front of her, "your parents are going to Jamaica for about 2 years right?"
I nodded warily, "they always go around this time. Have since I was old enough to watch myself, you know this."
She nodded vigorously, "right right, and I'm leaving for Colorado in a week…" she trailed off waving her hands, waiting for me to continue her illustrious plan, I drew a blank.
"Yea and?" I cocked an eyebrow.
She huffed indignantly, blowing a loose curl out of her face and continued, "you could come with me, you could say that you haven't seen my family in years, which you haven't, say you're staying with me out there for a couple of years, have the baby, and bam back to normal."
I clenched my jaw, looking down at my hands, "umm Annie, I'm keeping the baby. I mean I can still go with you, but I'm keeping it." I looked fearfully at her waiting for her to blow up and tell me I was being stupid.
She just shrugged her shoulders, "okay so we wait to tell her, but until then you come out there with me and relax, you need time off work anyways. That hospital is running you to the ground."
I swallowed and looked out the window, up at the apartment building, and passed it towards the clear blue sky. She was right, I was worn out, stressed, and in need of a very long sleep. I forced a smile on my face and looked back at her, "okay we'll do it. When do we leave?"
She clapped her hands excitedly, "yes yes yes! We leave in a couple of hours, enough time to call your mom, your work, and pack some clothes" she leapt out of her car and ran towards the building.
I slid my phone out of my pocket, scrolled down to find my mum's name, and clicked on it. With a long deep breath, I closed my eyes, and pressed the call button. The phone rang three times, my stomach twisted into knots, before my mother picked up; I forced my voice not to waver.
"Anastasia is that you? You haven't called in quite a while, is something wrong?" I rolled my eyes,
"No mother, why does something have to be wrong? I was just calling to let you know, that if you need anything, don't call the apartment call my cell." Not that you're going to need anything ever, I stated quietly in my head.
"Why not dear?" her voice was crisp, clear, and perfectly enunciated.
"I am spending two years in Colorado with Annie, you're going to be gone and I'd rather not spend them by myself." The other end of the phone was silenced, I held my breath.
"Well dear, that is your decision. Your father is calling, I'm leaving, bye." The dial tone echoed in my ears.
"Love you to," I muttered. It wasn't as if I expected anything different, they were my parents, yes but only by blood. They were rich, but it didn't make me rich; I had to work for my life just as everybody else. My parents were the perfect socialites, extravagant work parties, amazing holidays, anything that showed off their wealth. I left as quickly as I was allowed and never looked back.
I called my work; my boss was understanding and completely agreed that I needed an extended vacation. I rested my hand on my abdomen, Brent's face flashed before my eyes, tears pooled hotly at the bottom of my lids. I slammed my hand against the dashboard and climbed out of the car, slamming the door shut.
Annie was folding clothes into a suitcase and grabbing shoes, I followed suit. We were fully packed and the luggage in the car in 2 hours.