Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
A week had passed, and I wasn’t any better. Hannah and Austin dropped by a couple of times to check up on me because I hadn’t been in school. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the apartment. All I did was sleep. On a Thursday night, there was a knock at the door. Kara was supposed to come over, so I thought it was her. To my surprise, when I opened the door, I saw Bradshaw standing there.
“We need to talk.” He stormed past me in anger.
“I’m really not up to?—”
“I don’t give a fuck what you’re not up to!” he yelled. “Was this whole engagement a sham? Did you help Max out so he could collect his trust fund and leave?”
“Talk to your son. Now I want you to leave.”
I wasn’t about to talk to him about this.
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me everything!” He walked up to me and grabbed my arms, gripping them tight. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You filthy little whore!”
Suddenly, and out of nowhere, a strength rose inside of me as I got out of his grip.
“Don’t you ever fucking touch me again, or I swear to you that I will call the police. Imagine what the headlines would say. Imagine what Carol and Fiona would say. You disgusting pig! How dare you fucking blame me for Max’s behavior. Because of YOU, he did what he did—always walking in your shadow, expected to be the perfect son. Your dirty affairs with all your whores you’ve had over the years and then threatening your child if he told his mother! What kind of father are you? How do you feel that you’ve scarred your son from the age of thirteen when he saw you in Hawaii fucking another woman who wasn’t his mother?”
The look on his face was complete shock. The door opened and Kara walked in.
“What the fuck is going on in here? I can hear you all the way down the hall.”
“Mr. Hamilton was just leaving,” I spewed.
He turned and walked out the door without saying a word, shutting it behind him. I stood there, trying to calm down, when, suddenly, I felt an intense cramping in my stomach. I doubled over in pain, and Kara ran to me.
“Emma, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I have horrible cramps.”
She lightly took hold of my arm and led me to the couch. “I was talking to a girl at the salon about how you can’t shake this flu, and she said that you could be having appendicitis. That would explain your vomiting and nauseous feeling.”
“Oh God, Kara. It hurts.”
“That’s it. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
I lay in the hospital bed with Kara by my side when Molly entered the room.
“Hey. How are you feeling?”
“Not so good,” I pouted.
“Any news yet?” she asked with concern.
“No. Not yet. I’ve only seen the nurse.”
A few moments later, a woman wearing a white coat walked into my room.
“Hi, Emma. I’m Dr. Edmonds, and I’m going to do an abdominal ultrasound on you. We sent your blood work to the lab, but they’re very backed up, so this ultrasound will let me see what’s going on and whether or not you need to be taken into surgery right away. Can you lift up your gown to right below your breasts, please?”
I did as she asked, and she turned off the lights and placed the wand on my abdomen. She moved it back and forth across me and then suddenly stopped.
“May I ask that your friends step out of the room, please?”
“It’s okay, Dr. Edmonds. They’re my best friends. They can stay. Is something wrong?”
She turned her head and looked at me with a smile. “You’re pregnant.”
I gulped, and Kara’s and Molly’s eyes widened as they looked at me.
“I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. I can’t be pregnant. I’m on the pill.”
“See this right here?” She pointed to the screen. “That’s the embryo, and there’s the heartbeat.”
I was in shock as I stared at the screen. I went numb.
“When was your last period?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I can’t remember. I’ve been so busy over the past few months that I didn’t really pay attention.”
“The pill is only 99% effective if you take it correctly. If you skip a day or two, then double up, it can throw everything off, and your chances of getting pregnant increase.”
SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!
“Have you been under a great deal of stress lately?”
“Yes.”
She smiled as she placed her hand on mine. “It’s important that you cut the stress out of your life immediately. From what I can tell, everything looks fine, and I don’t see any problems. I am going to do a vaginal check, though, just to make sure you aren’t spotting. So I’ll need your friends to step out for a moment.”
Kara and Molly walked out of the room, and I placed my feet in the stirrups. Dr. Edmonds did the exam and said everything looked fine.
“I’m going to go check and see if your blood work is ready yet. Once I confirm everything there, then you can leave.”
“How far along am I?”
“You’re about six weeks. Do you have an OB/GYN?”
“No. I just moved to New York about three months ago.”
“I’ll give you the card of a wonderful obstetrician. I want you to call him and make an appointment within the week. When you do, have his office call the hospital, and we’ll send over your medical file. Is the dad in the picture?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“Well, you have options. I want you to go home, get off your feet for the rest of the weekend, and relax. Your baby was telling you to slow down. I’ll tell your friends they can come back in. You can get dressed.”
Kara and Molly walked back into the room and grabbed my hands.
“You’re going to have a baby.” Molly smiled.
Kara didn’t say a word. She just gave me a sympathetic look. The three of us took a cab back to my apartment. I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed.
“When are you going to tell Max?” Kara asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.
“I don’t know. I still have to process the fact that I’m pregnant. I can’t believe this is happening to me.” I started to cry.
“Aw, come here.” She wrapped her arms around me. “Everything will work out. You have Molly and me here, plus Aubrey will be here in another month.”
“How the hell am I going to tell my mom?”
“Your mom will understand, Emma. You’re twenty-four years old. It’s not like you’re sixteen.”
“Don’t you see? This is history repeating itself. This baby isn’t going to have a father just like I didn’t.”
“You’re not going to tell Max?”
“You read the letter, Kara. He left me. He couldn’t even say goodbye. He can’t even commit to one woman. Do you think he can be a father to a kid? And besides, he’s gone. He’s not even in New York anymore, and I don’t think he plans to return.”
Molly walked into the room and handed me a cup of tea. “Did I hear you right that you’re not going to tell Max? I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t tell that piece of shit, either. You’re going to be fine, Emma. Oh my God, we’re going to have a baby!”
“Who are you going to say the father is when people ask?”
“I’ll just tell them that it was a one-night stand with some guy I met at a bar. Let people think I’m a whore. Whatever. Thank you for taking care of me, but I’m really tired right now and just want to go to sleep.”
“Okay. Text us if you need anything.” Kara and Molly hugged me goodbye and left.
As I lay in bed, sipping my tea, I placed my hand on my belly; still, in shock, there was a baby growing inside of me. I didn’t want to be like my mom and raise a kid alone. I had a vision where I was married, and we’d find out together that I was pregnant. We’d go through the pregnancy together, and the love of my life would be in the delivery room when his child was born. I wasn’t supposed to be a single parent. Was I even ready to be a mom? I could barely take care of myself, let alone a baby, all on my own.