Aliza
Three Months Later
They didn’t pretend it was temporary anymore, even if she still said it out loud sometimes.
Elias came home to find her lying on the couch, a trash can next to her on the floor. “You’re still under the weather?” he asked.
“Yes, and you shouldn’t get too close,” she grumbled. “This stomach bug isn’t playing around. I’ve heard that half the campus has been out, and it seems to only be getting worse.”
“Well, luckily for you, I’m a doctor,” he said, puffing out his chest. She gave a half-hearted laugh, and he deflated some. “Wow, I really thought that would get me more of a laugh,” he griped.
“I just don’t have the strength to find anything funny, unfortunately,” she said.
“How about you let me take a look at you, just to make sure that you’re not dehydrated,” he offered.
“All right, but do so at your own risk,” she mumbled. “I haven’t showered in over a day, and I’ve probably got throw up on my shirt.”
“It’s nothing that I haven’t seen before, honey,” he said. “And if you want, I can help you take a shower later, when you feel up to it.” He bobbed his eyebrows at her, trying to get her to laugh again, and all she could muster was a half-smile. The poor guy looked absolutely defeated.
“Can you sit up, so that I can take a listen to you?” he asked, grabbing the medical bag that he kept on the corner hutch in the family room.
“This is so silly,” she insisted. “It’s probably the stomach bug going around campus,” she muttered, curled on the couch with a blanket while Cat stared at her like she was being dramatic.
“I just need you to sit up for a second, honey,” he said. “I’ll make this a quick check-up,” he promised. Maybe Cat was right—maybe she was being overly dramatic. Surely, she could sit up for a few minutes to let Elias look her over.
He helped her to sit up and listened to her breathing and her heart.
He asked her a few questions about her headaches, what she had eaten during the day, and how much of it she had been able to keep down.
She answered all of his questions, but when he got to the one about when her last period was, she froze.
Aliza couldn’t answer that question because she didn’t have an answer to give him.
She had to have had a period since moving in with him, right? “Give me a second,” she said, trying to think back to the last time she had to pick up feminine products at the store. It hadn’t been since she had her apartment, and that thought had her panic-stricken.
“Aliza,” he breathed, “have you had a period since you’ve moved in here?
” he asked. He looked just as panicked as she felt.
He was as pale as a ghost, and she scooted over, allowing him space to sit down next to her on the couch.
Elias sank into the seat beside her and put his stethoscope back in his bag.
Her heart started racing as she counted backwards in her head. Her periods were usually like clockwork. Stress might throw them off by a day or two—but not this much. The nausea suddenly didn’t feel random anymore, and it didn’t feel like the worst thing that was going to happen to her.
“I had to have had a period since moving in with you,” she whispered. “I just can’t remember when it was.”
“Well, I think that we should get you a pregnancy test, just to be sure. If you’re pregnant, that would explain your symptoms, and this could be morning sickness.” This stomach bug wasn’t morning sickness—it couldn’t be because it was happening morning, noon, and night.
“I can’t be pregnant,” she insisted. “I have to finish school and figure out my life.” Elias pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her body. She tried to tell him to put her down, but she needed his comfort right now.
“How about we figure out one thing at a time? I can run down to the pharmacy and pick you up a test while you wait here. You can take the test tonight, and we can figure everything else out after that.” She nodded, not trusting herself to make actual words without crying.
Elias gently kissed her forehead and promised to be right back, and all she could do was sit on the couch and pray that he’d hurry, because the wait was already too much.
Her hands shook as she held the bag of tests that Elias had brought home for her. She wanted to tell him that she’d take them in the morning, after her nerves settled a bit, for the determination that she saw in his eyes; she knew that he wouldn’t let her wait.
“I’ll be right here by your side, baby. And whatever the test comes back—positive or negative, we’ll figure it out together,” Elias said. She wished that she could be as sure as he seemed, but she wasn’t.
“Do you want me to come into the bathroom with you?” he asked. She looked into the bag of tests that he purchased for her and shook her head.
“It’s pretty straightforward, right?” she asked.
“Yep, just read over the directions to be sure, and yell if you need any help,” he said. She was sure that if she could just get through taking the test without puking, she’d be good.
Aliza padded back to the bathroom and gently shut the door behind herself.
“I’ve got this,” she whispered to herself as she sat on the side of the tub, pulling boxes out, opening them, and reading the directions, one by one.
She decided to go with the test that would give her a clear plus sign. It seemed to be the simplest.
Eliza opened the test and peed on the stick, which was easier said than done since she was most likely dehydrated from being sick for so long.
She put the cap back onto the test and set it on some tissues on the bathroom sink.
Now, all she had to do was wait. It should have been the easiest part of this whole thing, but it wasn’t.
She decided that if she had Elias in the room with her, time might go faster, so she called for him.
She cracked the door and peeked out to find no sign of Elias.
He was giving her space, and she appreciated that, but right now, she needed him by her side.
“Can you come in and wait with me?” she shouted down the hallway.
“I’m right here,” he said, jogging down the hallway.
“I took the test, but now I have to wait. It was harder than I thought it would be to pee on a stick. I think that I might be dehydrated a bit.” She was trying to think about anything other than the test being positive.
“Well, I picked up some drinks with electrolytes to help with that, and if you can’t keep them down, then I can give you an IV.”
“You keep that stuff just lying around here?” she teased.
“Actually, I do,” he admitted. “I’ve had to give myself one, once. I don’t recommend treating yourself, but it worked, and I didn’t have to go to the hospital and deal with the nurses giving me a hard time for not being able to do my own IV.”
“Yeah, I guess that would be a pain,” she agreed. She looked at her phone and realized that the time had passed. “The test should be ready.” The test had come back faster than she thought it would, but she was sure that was because Elias was distracting her.
“Do you want to read it, or do you want me to read it?” Elias asked. Aliza squeezed her eyes shut.
“You can read it,” she breathed, not wanting to open her eyes to look at him or the test.
“It’s positive,” he said. She opened her eyes and took the test stick from him. Aliza sat on the edge of the tub, staring at the little plastic stick as if it might change if she blinked at it hard enough.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered to herself.
“We’re pregnant,” Elias corrected. “Are you okay?” he asked.
She felt as though she should be asking him that question instead.
This was all happening so quickly, and probably wasn’t what Elias thought he was signing up for.
Her chest filled with too many emotions to name—fear, shock, disbelief, and something dangerously close to wonder.
Elias was going to be a father, and she was going to be a mother.
That truth was going to take some time to sink in.
“Hey,” he said. “You look pale. You okay?”
She swallowed hard. “I’m not sure how I feel right now.”
His smile faded just enough to make her heart ache. “Do you feel sick?” She held out the test with shaking hands and gave it back to him.
“I never stopped feeling sick,” she admitted. “I’d like to try something to drink, though. It might help with the nausea.”
“I thought I had a stomach virus,” she whispered. “As he helped her out to the couch, where she had made her little nest. She felt like she was on a loop, and kept saying the same things, but she couldn’t help herself.
“You’ve never said how you feel about having a baby,” she said. He walked back to the family room from the adjoining kitchen and handed her a glass with cold amber colored liquid in it.
“Drink this,” he ordered, sitting down next to her.
“Slow, small sips.” She nodded and took a drink.
Her breath came in short, nervous bursts as she waited for his reaction—terrified of seeing doubt, or regret, or fear in his face.
He waited a beat before taking her hand into his own.
When she searched his face, she saw none of the things that she had been worried about. Instead, she found his beautiful smile.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m happy about the baby.
I mean, everything between us has happened so quickly, so why not this?
” She sat back and thought about what he had just said.
He was right—things between the two of them had moved at warped speed, and this baby would be no exception.
She wasn’t sure if she was actually happy about the baby yet, but with time, she was sure that she’d be able to get there.