Chapter 12
ONE WEEK LATER
Marley
“Marley?” The nurse called my name as I sat in the waiting room.
Grabbing my purse, I stood from my chair and followed her into a room.
“I see you missed your Depo shot last month,” she said.
“Yeah. I put my appointment in the wrong month on my phone. I don’t understand why someone didn’t call me to confirm my appointment. Your office always calls.”
“A new receptionist started last month and obviously didn’t confirm all the appointments. You’re not the only one who didn’t get a confirmation call.”
“Your periods have ceased since being on the shots, correct?”
“Yes. I haven’t had one since I started them.”
“Okay. Dr. Gregario will be in shortly.” She smiled.
I sat on the table, swinging my legs back and forth and looking at the pictures on the wall of the growing stages of a baby.
“Marley.” Dr. Gregario grinned, stepping inside. “How are you?”
“I’m good, Dr. Gregario.” I smiled.
“Let’s see.” He sat on the stool and typed away at the computer sitting on the counter. “Oh boy. You missed your Depo shot last month. Have you been sexually active?”
“Yes.”
“Any unprotected sex?”
“Nope.”
“Okay. Good. But since you missed your shot last month, we do need to draw your blood and run a quick pregnancy test just to be sure there isn’t a little peanut growing inside you.”
“I can assure you, Dr. Gregario, that there is no little peanut inside me.”
“I believe you, but we still have to check. Our lab only takes about ten minutes to run the test. I’ll send my nurse in to draw your blood, and I’ll be back in with your shot.”
He walked out of the room. I hopped off the table, grabbed my phone from my purse, and checked my emails. After the nurse drew my blood, I waited.
The door opened, and Dr. Gregario stepped inside empty-handed. He walked over to the table and gripped my hand, which I thought was odd.
“Marley, you’re pregnant.”
My heart started racing faster than the speed of light, and dizziness swept over me.
“Excuse me? That’s impossible. Oh my God. I’m going to pass out.” I quickly lay down on the table.
“Slow, deep breaths, Marley. You said you didn’t have unprotected sex.”
“I didn’t!”
“Either you did, or the condom broke. You did skip your shot last month. Are you okay?” he asked as I started hyperventilating.
“No, I’m not okay!” I shouted. “Your test is wrong. Run it again.”
“I’m afraid the test is right. Perhaps you don’t remember having unprotected sex.”
“No. No. No.” I placed my hand on my forehead. “I DID NOT HAVE UNPROTECTED SEX!”
“Breathe, Marley. This isn’t good for you or the baby.”
I stared at him when he said that, and suddenly, tears poured from my eyes.
“It’ll be okay.” He patted my hand. “You have options. You realize that, right?”
I slowly nodded as he helped me sit up.
“That a girl.” He squeezed my hand. “You’re around five weeks. So, I’ll tell the girls to squeeze you in for next week, and we’ll officially start your OB care.” He smiled. “That’s if you plan on carrying the baby.”
“What do you mean, Dr. Gregario?” I started to cry again. “I could never have an abortion, no matter how bad things are.”
“Phew, I’m so happy to hear you say that. I’ll see you next week, Marley.”
I walked out of the room, scheduled next week’s appointment, and walked down the street, all dazed and confused. How could this have happened? I hailed a cab and took it back to my apartment. I was grateful Penelope and Olivia were still at the café because I needed time alone to think and clear my head. The baby had to be Charlie’s because of the timeline.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” I smacked the sides of my head with my hands.
Although it was only four o’clock, I took a bath, changed into my pajamas, and ordered an extra-large pizza. When the pizza arrived, I took a couple of pieces over to the couch and turned on The Notebook, my go-to movie when I was upset.
The door opened, and the girls walked in, laughing about something. They stopped when they saw me on the couch.
“She’s eating pizza and watching The Notebook,” Penelope whispered. “This isn’t good.”
“Mar?” Olivia walked over, sat next to me, and placed her hand on my arm. “What’s wrong?”
“Yeah, sweetie. Did something happen?” Penelope took a seat on the other side of me.
“No. I’m just pregnant,” I blurted out.
“WHAT!” They both shouted at the same time.
“You’re kidding, right? Tell us you’re kidding around,” Olivia said.
“I wish I were.” Tears streamed down my face.
“Oh, Marley.” Penelope hugged me.
“Who’s the baby daddy?” Olivia asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I cried.
Her jaw dropped. “No way. Is it McBillionaire’s? You have a baby McBillionaire inside you?”
“Olivia, can you not?” Penelope said. “How far along are you?”
“Five weeks. My life is over. A kid never even crossed my mind. I can’t be a mom. I don’t know how to be a mom. I don’t know shit about taking care of a kid. I can barely take care of myself.”
“You have options,” Olivia said.
“OLIVIA!” Penelope shouted. “I can’t believe you.”
“I wasn’t referring to an abortion. There are a lot of couples out there who can’t have kids.”
“She’s not giving up her baby,” Penelope said. “Right, Marley? You wouldn’t do that, would you?”
“I don’t know.” I cried, covering my face with my hands. “What kind of life could I give this kid?”
“An amazing one with all that money Daddy McBillionaire is going to have to pay in child support,” Olivia spoke.
“How am I going to tell him? He couldn’t even be bothered to call me in over a month.”
“You go over to his place and say, ‘Charlie, I’m pregnant. What are you going to do about it?’” Olivia said.
“No, she is not,” Penelope said. “You’re going to calmly tell him in a nice way.”
“He doesn’t like kids. Hell, I’m not sure I even do.” I threw my hands up in the air.
“She’s right. You should have seen him at the Lake’s birthday party. A little girl walked up to him, tugged on his pant leg, and he shooed her away, telling her that little hands are not to touch his expensive designer pants,” Olivia said.
“Oh shit! How the hell am I going to tell my parents?”
“You’re twenty-seven years old. Your parents are the least of your worries,” Olivia sighed.
“We’re here for you.” Penelope rubbed my back. “Right, Olivia?” She cocked her head.
“You know it, babe. Everyone else in the world may turn their backs on you, but we won’t and never will.”
“I need to find out how this happened. It must have happened the night we were both drunk—the night of his housewarming party.”
“You don’t remember if he used a condom?”
“I don’t really remember having sex with him! But yet, he said we did three times that night.”
“All I can say is that you have to tell him tomorrow and get some answers. You can’t put it off. Like my mom always says, putting off the inevitable makes it ten times worse,” Penelope said.
“I just want to go to bed. Maybe I’m trapped in a horrible nightmare, and everything will be okay when I wake up in the morning.”
“You’ll still be trapped in that nightmare for the next eighteen-plus years,” Olivia said.
“OLIVIA!” Penelope scowled.
“Sorry. Sorry. Come on.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me up from the couch. “Slumber party in your bed tonight.”
The Next Day
Charlie
It was eight o’clock when I stepped off the elevator and into the foyer. Setting my briefcase down, I changed out of my suit and poured a glass of scotch. After the day I had, I needed it. I was about to head to the kitchen for something to eat when my penthouse phone rang.
“What’s up, George?” I asked the doorman.
“There’s a Marley Monroe here to see you, sir.”
I furrowed my brows momentarily. Why would she be here?
“Send her up.”
I stood in front of the elevator, waiting for it to come up. When the doors opened, she flew out and into the living room without so much as a hi.
“Marley, what are you doing here?”
“I have one question for you, and you better tell me the truth.”
“Okay. What’s your question?”
“Did you use a condom on the night we had sex after your housewarming party?”
My heart started racing with fear, and I suddenly broke into a pool of sweat.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Don’t answer a question with a question, Charlie. You said we had sex three times that night. Did you use a condom all three times?”
Fuck. Why was she asking me this?
I inhaled a deep breath as I finished my scotch, walked over to the bar, and poured another.
“You want the truth?” I asked her.
“Yes, I want the truth!”
“I know we used one. As for the other two times, I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure!” she shouted.
“What is going on here, Marley?” I asked nervously as I sweated bullets.
“I’m pregnant, Charlie, and you’re the father.”
“How is that possible? Aren’t you on birth control?” My voice raised.
“I put my shot appointment in the wrong month on my calendar. I missed it last month.”
“A shot? You’re not on the pill? Something you could take every single day instead of having to remember to get a shot every three months or however the fuck it works?” I shouted.
“I didn’t want to have to remember to take a pill every day!” she shouted back. “The shot is easier.”
“Obviously, not for you!”
“Stop yelling at me!” she shouted.
I put both my hands up and tried to calm the fuck down.
“Okay, I’m sorry. But you really caught me off guard,” I said.
“You? You’re caught off guard? How the hell do you think I feel?”
“Well, you have options. There’s always an?—”
She held up her finger. “Say it, and your balls will be hurting for weeks. I am not having an abortion.”
“Okay, Marley. What the hell do you want me to do? Because if you’re asking me to be a father to that kid, the answer is no. I don’t want kids. Fuck,” I rubbed the back of my neck, “I can’t even commit to a relationship with a woman, let alone be a father. No. Absolutely the fuck not. I’m sorry, but if that’s what you’re looking for, it won’t happen.”
She stood there and stared at me as tears streamed down her face.
“This—this is all your fault! You and those little sperms of yours! Do you think I want this any more than you do?”
“You’re a strong woman, Marley. You’ll figure it out. If you keep the baby, I’ll support you financially. But a kid doesn’t fit into my lifestyle.”
“Really, Charlie?” She cocked her head. “You’re basically a kid yourself, sitting around playing video games all day!”
“It’s my job!” I shouted. “My business. A business that makes me a hell of a lot of money! A company I started and grew to the top. How many thirty-year-old men can say that?”
“Ladies and gentlemen. The award for the biggest douchebag in the world goes to Charlie Stone.” She began clapping.
“Like I said. You have options. If you choose not to explore those options, that’s on you.” I pointed at her.
“Enjoy the rest of your life, asshole!” She stormed past me and to the elevator. “By the way. Everything that happened between us never did. We never met, slept together, nothing. Keep walking when and if you see me on the street because I know I will. You’re nothing but a stranger. And do yourself a favor. Go get a vasectomy if you don’t want kids.”
“I most likely will now,” I said.
She shook her head as she stepped into the elevator. The doors shut, and I stood there trying to catch my breath.