In the cream-colored office, Charlotte stopped to give Libby her purse. She hopped onto the exam chair, stretched her legs out, and exhaled. A nurse in pink scrubs yanked on a small curtain, separating the bottom half of her body from view. Charlotte’s fingers trembled as she undid the button of her jeans and pushed them down. Dr. Reese slid the stool over to her and snapped her latex gloves on.
“Are you ready?”
Charlotte swallowed. “Sure.”
Dr. Reese squeezed cold gel onto her bare stomach and reached for the transducer. Addison and Mason stood on the other side of the room with their backs pressed against the wall. Libby hovered near the shelving unit in the back.
Charlotte’s heart was pounding loud enough to drown out everything else.
Until the transducer touched her skin, and Dr. Reese began to root around.
For a long moment, nothing happened, and unease began to creep up Charlotte’s spine. She shifted and opened her mouth, all thoughts flying out the window when she heard it. As soon as the baby’s heartbeat filled the room, everyone except for the doctor and nurse burst into tears.
“There it is.” Dr. Reese typed something into the screen and smiled. “That’s the baby right there.”
Charlotte didn’t hear a word after that.
Addison and Mason’s mouths were moving, but her eyes were glued to the screen. She kept studying the image, no bigger than a lentil, and enjoying the swell of emotion in her chest. The nurse handed her a tissue, and Charlotte wiped her stomach,trying to keep the tremor out of her hands. Then, she pulled up her jeans and hopped off the table.
In a daze, she let Addison and Mason lead her outside into the early morning sun. Libby gave her a quick hug before ducking back inside. In the car, she still couldn’t make out what her friends were saying. After dropping her off in front of the school, Charlotte stumbled out of the back seat and found herself wandering into the auditorium.
There, she sat down in the front row and buried her face in her hands.
A long moment passed where Charlotte sat there, trying to take it all in. In the pocket of her jeans, the picture of the baby felt heavy, and it weighed on her. She shoved the thought out of her mind, stood up, and climbed the stairs. Charlotte was rummaging through some of the boxes and frowning at the script when the doors to the auditorium opened.
She grew absolutely still when Patrick appeared.
“I didn’t see your name on the sign-up sheet.” Patrick stopped underneath the stage and folded his arms over his chest. “Are you okay?”
Charlotte’s throat felt tight. “Yeah, I…I came in late today. First ultrasound.”
Patrick’s expression gave nothing away. “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I thought we were friends.”
“Wearefriends—”
“Not the kind of friends who share things, apparently,” Patrick interrupted with a shake of his head. “I thought we had a better relationship than that.”
Charlotte sank onto the stool and swallowed. “I understand you’re upset, but I really didn’t mean to hurt you. This is all new to me too.”
She’d spent weeks trying to come clean to him and imagining every scenario in the book.
But what she hadn’t anticipated was Patrick questioning their friendship altogether. She hadn’t told him because she was afraid of the consequences, of jeopardizing what could’ve been, but as she turned his words over in her head, her heart broke even further.
Was Patrick right?
Patrick unfolded his arms and ran a hand over his face. “I like you, Charlotte. I like you a lot, and I’ve liked you for a while, but the timing never seemed to be right.”
Had she only been thinking of herself when she didn’t tell him?
Had she misread the situation entirely?
Charlotte’s heart jumped into her throat. “I know that things are a little hectic right now, but it doesn’t mean we can’t try—”
“That’s exactly what it means. You can’t just—”
They had to try; otherwise, what was it all for?
She couldn’t stomach the thought that she’d single-handedly ruined it for herself.
