1. It Could Let In A Child
Chapter 1
It Could Let In A Child
Darcy || 6 weeks later, July
G od, I feel like I’m dying. The piece of plain toast I was able to force myself to eat this morning is currently being flushed down my toilet. I feel clammy, and the blue Gatorade I managed to grab in between puking sessions, sits barely touched on the floor beside me. I’m going on twenty-four hours of this and I realize I have to call Sinclair because I refuse to go to a walk-in clinic in these conditions.
“Darcy, baby. What's up?” Her effervescent peppy attitude comes through the phone when she picks up on the second ring.
I’m about to answer but my stomach resumes roiling. “One sec.” I mute my phone and heave for what feels like the millionth time.
“Darcy? Hello?”
I hit the unmute button. “Ugh, I’m sorry. I had to barf.”
“What’s wrong? Do you have a fever? When was the last time you ate?” Nurse Sin has taken over the body of my friend, rattling off questions like I’m running for President and every answer that I give is going to determine if I get her vote or not.
“I don’t know, but I need you to come fix me. No fever, at least I don’t think so. I don’t have a thermometer. I tried a piece of toast this morning but almost everything I’ve eaten or drank in the past day has not stayed down.”
“I’ll be there soon. Drink something, preferably with electrolytes.”
“Thank you.”
She hangs up the phone and I make myself comfortable on my bathroom floor, letting my eyes fall closed. My best friends all have keys to my apartment so if I fall asleep, Sin will be able to let herself in.
Sure enough, I wake up to a gentle hand rubbing circles on my back, and when I crack my eyes open. I am not only greeted by Sin but also by Harley and Kodi.
“Why is everyone here?” I groan.
“Well, in case these come back positive.” Sin drops a white and pink box in front of me, pregnancy tests.
“That’s funny, Sin. I just have the flu, and because you’re the nurse friend, I knew you could bring me all the remedies to make me feel better.”
“Have you had a cough, fever, sweats, runny nose, sore throat?” She adds. “Body aches, nausea, fatigue, migraines?”
“Ummm, no.” I think about it. “I had some nausea last week, but I thought Harls and I had bad sushi. I’ve been pretty tired, too, but I blamed that on being burnt out from work.”
“When did you have your last period?” Kodi asks gently from beside Sin.
I scramble for my phone, opening my period tracking app, and panicking because I think they might be right. I should have had a period recently. The last one was right before the wedding. Looking down at my tracking app, my period was due just over two weeks ago.
Shit.
Fuck.
Oh no.
They don’t know that I slept with Tatum, and there’s been no one since. I cannot be pregnant, and if I am, this tiny human cannot be Tatum’s. This is a disaster, and despite my dehydrated state, tears are now spilling down my face like a dam broke.
“Darcy—hey—what is it?” Harley asks, placing a hand on my knee. I turn my phone screen towards the three of them because all of my words are stuck in my throat.
“You gotta pee on the stick, babe.” Sin prods, already opening the box and getting a little set up with a plastic cup and the test ready for me on the side of my vanity.
“Do you want us to stay, or go?” Kodi asks.
“Stay, please,” I say, sniffling. I lift myself off the ground to sit on the toilet. Once the cup is semi-full and my hands are thoroughly cleaned because aiming is harder than it looks, we dip the stick as instructed. Then we sit and wait those three dreadful minutes in silence until the timer we set on Sin's phone starts going off.
“Alright, the moment of truth. Who's looking?” Sin asks.
“Kodi.” I groan looking towards my best friend who is spinning her fidget ring like crazy.
“Oh no, no thank you. I think Sin should look, she’s the nurse and looks at these all the time.” She rapidly says.
“I work in a children's unit, I do not look at these all the time.” Sin butts in.
“Ko, please. I need you to do this for me.” I interrupt before Kodi can say anything in response to Sinclair.
“Ugh, okay, fine.” She gets up, turns the test over, and looks at it. Time slows down as she shouts, “Holy shit! Darcy, you’re pregnant!”
A collective gasp echoes across my bathroom and I bolt upright to look over her shoulder and sure enough, the little screen says “Pregnant”.
“Oh my god. This cannot be happening.” And I’m crying again. What the fuck is wrong with me? I never cry like this, when my childhood dog passed away, I was sad, sure, but I didn’t bawl like I am right now. Oh, wait, I’m pregnant by a man I have only seen at two dinners since we’ve slept together so these tears are totally fine and valid. My mom would be planning a wedding if she knew about this. Oh my god, I’m going to have to tell my mom—she’s going to be livid. This will be the icing on top of the cake of disappointment that is me being her daughter. “I need to take another one. That one is wrong.”
Sin slides over four more tests and I pee on every single one of them, at one point begging someone to go and buy more—which is quickly shot down. When they all say pregnant, there’s no use trying to deny five positive pregnancy tests.
“Maybe we should go sit on the couch and talk.” Harley gently suggests, ever the almost licensed mental health counselor. “I love you, Darcy, but it reeks like vomit in here.” We move into the living room, Kodi stopping to light a candle on the way out.
“So how the fuck did this happen?” Sin as always is getting right down to business.
I don’t even know where to start. They know I haven’t been on a date or hooked up with anyone in a while, except for Tatum—one I was going to take to the grave.
“Well, you remember how Kodi got married, right?” I open, wearing a sheepish grin.
“Uh yeah. We were all there,” Kodi says with a laugh, wiggling the fingers of her left hand, her ring brightly shining at us.
“Duh.” I laugh nervously. “Well, have you ever heard the jokes that the bridesmaids and groomsmen should sleep together at a wedding? Like more specifically the Maid of Honor and Best Man?”
“No.” Kodi is staring at me shellshocked.
“Fucking.” Sin’s eyebrows might as well be part of her hairline.
“Way.” Harley is so red, I can’t tell if she’s embarrassed, angry, or confused.
“Tatum was being flirty, and we were having fun that night. We took an Uber back to his place, and I maybe fell into his bed…” I pause. “And his dick maybe fell inside me after he fingered me into oblivion.”
“Darcy Marie Whitestone!” Kodi practically squeals. “You slept with Tatum, didn’t tell us, didn’t use protection, and are now pregnant with his child?!”
“Yes, that is exactly what happened.” I sigh, dropping my head into my hands. “It was supposed to just be a one-night thing and I swear that it has been. I’ve only seen him at the family dinners we’ve had since then.”
“You didn’t use a condom?” Sin questions. I think back on that night and honestly, I can’t remember it even being a suggestion. I don’t bother using my words, just shake my head back and forth.
“What were you thinking Darcy? You’re like the most level-headed one out of us all.” Harley asks.
“For the first time in a long time, I felt wanted and beautiful and confident. I was thinking that Tatum is fucking hot and exactly my type.” I laugh in disbelief. “And now I’m thinking that Kodi was right when she said that he and I needed to stay away from each other.”
“What are you going to do?” Sin asks.
“I’m not sure. Maybe I need to have Tatum come over, and we have to figure that out together. Can you guys hang out? I’ll call him, and then we can watch Twilight while I eat crackers and Gatorade for dinner.”
I get confident head nods from all of my friends as I pull up Tates contact in my phone.
“I brought some food that I hope you can keep down, but yes.” Sin says. “And wine, but for the three not-pregnant people in the room.”
He picks up on the last ring, sounding out of breath. I can hear weights clinking and grunts in the background. “Darcy, what's up?”
“Tate, we need to talk.”
“Everything okay?”
“To be determined.”
“That’s ominous, but okay.” He sounds a little uneasy and I hate that I am the cause of that feeling but I’d feel worse if I just blurted out that he is the father of a child he probably doesn’t want. “I have to put out some fires this afternoon and have some meetings lined up for tomorrow. I could swing by after?”
“That would be great actually. I’ll send you my address. Just text me when you’re heading over tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.” I barely hear an exhale on his end of the phone. “Hey, Darcy.”
“Yeah, Tate?”
“Whatever is going on in that pretty head of yours, it’ll be okay.” He says that until he finds out I’m carrying his spawn, we have to decide what steps to take next.
“Thanks, Tate. See you tomorrow.” I hang up the phone and cuddle in with my best friends, but I barely make it through the first movie before I pass out. I wake up a few hours later and find myself alone with a few texts in the group chat.
Sin
You passed out and you need the rest. Gatorades are in the fridge, the candle was blown out, and the toilet was cleaned. Call your doctor in the morning and us if you need anything else. Love you to the moon and back.
Harley
I’m off so if the conversation with Tate doesn’t go well, call me! Lots of love.
Kodi
The guys have an out-of-state game that we leave for the day after tomorrow but call if you need to talk. Love you guys most.
Me
Thanks, babes! I appreciate all of your support and can’t tell you enough how much I love and appreciate you guys. Will update you tomorrow.
* * *
I would love to say I’m pacing my apartment waiting for Tate to come by, but I am once again glued to my bathroom floor. I think you’d need a spatula to separate me from it at this point. Through my brain fog, I think I hear some soft taps on my front door. Peeling myself off the floor, quickly brushing my teeth, and doing my best impression of a zombie, I drag myself down the hall to my front door to let Tate inside.
Opening the door, I’m greeted by the man of the hour, looking as if he just came out of a business meeting, not a hair out of place. He also doesn’t look miserable, which pisses me off considering his swimmers are the reason I’ve taken up residence in my bathroom and haven't brushed my hair in three days. As I meet Tate’s eyes, I can see him holding back a grimace. I won’t hold it against him, he's never seen me in this condition but this is my new form, a pregnant gremlin. He’s going to have to get used to it.
“Come on in.”
“Darcy, are you sick? I really can’t come in if you’re contagious. Being sick is not an option right now.” He says, retreating a few steps back—a valid fear considering how closely he works with the guys on the team.
“Trust me, Tatum. What’s wrong with me is not contagious. Just come in and sit down. Please?” I can feel my exhaustion trying to rear its ugly head and I would love to not be upright. So I add, “Before I pass out.”
This lights a fire under his ass, he makes his way to the couch and, after grabbing a Gatorade from the fridge, I sit on the opposite side tucking my legs beneath me.
“So what did you want to talk about?” He asks and I think I can tell that he may be connecting the dots. His leg is bouncing lightly as he waits for me to speak, his eyebrows furrowed and gaze honed on me.
“I don’t know how else to tell you this gently, so I’m just going to spit it out.” I take in a deep breath attempting to calm the nausea whirling in my gut. The combination of pregnancy sickness and anxiety makes a deathly cocktail. “I’m pregnant, Tatum, and the baby is yours.”