“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I blurt out.
“It’s okay.” Jordan pulls out of the parking lot and heads toward the highway. “Until we know for sure, don’t panic. No matter the results, we’ll get through this together.”
“I thought we were careful. I didn’t think I needed a morning-after pill.”
“You’ve only been with one man,” she points out. “You didn’t know.”
“I should have, though. It’s not like I haven’t had sex before.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Jem. You can’t change the results.”
My body trembles from the fear rocking through me. Jordan holds my hand once we’re on the highway. We drive silently, and my stomach churns when we park in front of the barn.
My mom is in the kitchen when we enter the house. Jordan says she’s taking a shower before dragging me upstairs. We rush into the bedroom and lock the door behind us.
Jordan dumps the pregnancy tests on the counter. She opens two boxes and unwraps the plastic sticks before handing them to me.
“Pee on both of them.”
A wave of panic rocks through me, sucking the air from my lungs.
“You seem to have experience with this.”
She rolls her shoulders. “I’ve had a few wild nights since I moved to Philly.”
I glance down at the sticks in my hand and sigh.
“Take the tops off the sticks,” she instructs. “After you pee on them, it takes about two minutes to see a result.”
She flings open the door, her back to me. “Good luck, Jem.”
My heart sinks into my stomach when she closes the door. I hover over the toilet, grip the sticks awkwardly in my hand, and pee on them.
I place the tests on the sink and lean out the door to call Jordan back in the bathroom.
She glances down at the tests, a dark expression crossing her face. “Shit, that was quick.”
The first test has two faint pink lines.
“Please tell me that means not pregnant.”
She shakes her head. “You’re very pregnant.”
Chills roll down my arms.
She points at the second test that mow has two pink lines.
I rip open another box. “The tests aren’t one hundred percent accurate, right?”
Jordan stands behind me, her hands on my shoulders as she looks at me in the mirror. “You’re pregnant, sis.”
“Maybe it’s a false positive.”
“I doubt it.”
I drink a bottle of water and take the rest of the tests, all with two pink lines. Tears spill down my cheeks. Jordan wipes them away with her fingers, but they keep soaking my shirt. Once I start, I can’t stop crying.
My entire life is about to change.
