I take a deep breath. “Okay.”
She pulls me up from the floor and grabs some sweats for me to change into. I make sure there’s enough food and water in Nacho’s bowls, and we leave.
As soon as we’re in her car, Hadley starts giggling. “Girl, I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”
I have no idea why this is the first time I’ve thought about the three men on the other side of this pregnancy. One of them is the father of this baby.Fuck.
Hadley prods a little more. “Areyou seeing anyone?” When I hesitate, she adds, “Shit. That was nosy. You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“I think I need to talk about it.”
She nods. I’ve put off talking to her about the entire situation because I knew it wasn’t going to last, but mainly because it involves her older brother.
Right now, though, I don’t care that Grayson is her brother. I just need to talk to my friend. So I do.
I tell her the entire story. I start with everything that happened with Grayson two years ago to everything that’s transpired in the last couple of months.
Hadley pulls up the long, gravel driveway that leads to her house. She puts the car in park and turns to stare at me with wide eyes.
“I’m just going to try to forget that Grayson is my brother for the sake of this conversation. Deal?” she asks, cringing.
“Deal,” I say, letting out a small laugh.
“You’re telling me you have not one but three friends with benefits who have been showing you how fun sex can be for two months, and you never told me about it?”
“Brother, remember?” I say.
She rolls her eyes. “Ugh… fucking Grayson.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing.” I genuinely laugh for the first time in hours.
She looks horrified. “Fuck me,” she groans, getting out of her car. She marches up the steps to the front porch. “I mean, get yours, girl. Being with three guys is…” She pinches all her fingers together and kisses them.
“Yeah, I know. All that sex is what led to this.” I point to my stomach.
“Right,” she says, cringing as she opens the front door. “Too soon.”
I make myself comfortable on their huge sectional. Hadley grabs a couple pints of ice cream from the freezer and holds them both out to me. I choose strawberry cheesecake.
“Did you guys use protection?” she asks.
“Not condoms, but I’m on the pill.”
She nods. “Did you ever forget to take it or anything?” she asks, taking a big bite of her chocolate ice cream.
I dig my spoon around to get the perfect bite. “No, I always took it.”
We both sit there in silence, trying to figure out what happened. Hadley gasps. “You were on antibiotics when you got strep, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you guys use condoms after that?”
“Uh, no…” I say, not understanding where she’s going with this.
“Antibiotics can make birth control less effective,” she says sympathetically, like it will do anything to help at this point.
My eyes widen. “That’s a thing?” I ask, my voice louder.
