But no. I get the same stupid excuse there, too. I’m not old enough to buy it on my own. What am I supposed to do?
When I step outside, my head is spinning. I’ve never felt so alone in my life. That’s saying something since I’ve been alone for so much of it.
One thing is for sure: I can’t wait and see what happens. I have to take care of this now.
Which means I need somebody to buy it for me. But who? Salem’s still seventeen. I doubt I could convince her to get her mom to do it. Like she wouldn’t think it was for Salem instead of for me. There’s nobody else I trust.
Including Hayes, but he’s my only option. Otherwise, even if I ask Bridget and made her swear never to tell, I could never trust she wouldn’t. And I would probably have to explain how I ended up in this situation. No, thank you.
Instead of walking to the house, I get an Uber. Fear and frustration are exhausting when combined, it turns out. What if he says no? What if he is a bastard and refuses? He can’t, that’s all. There has to be some grain of self-preservation in him.
Thankfully, Bridget and Lucy are out when I get back to the house. I don’t need to risk either of them overhearing the groveling I’m about to do. His car is outside, so I know he’s home.
“Go away,” he barks when I knock on his door.
“I need to talk to you.”
“I said go away.”
“It’s really important. Like, an emergency.”
“Too fucking bad. Figure it out yourself.”
“I tried to.” Tears are dangerously close to welling up in my eyes, making my sinuses sting and my voice shake. “But I can’t. I need you.”
“Sucks to be you.”
That’s it. The final straw. Everything goes red before I kick the door. “Goddammit, open up! This is all your fault in the first place. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this mess. The least you can do is open your fucking door and listen to me!”
A few seconds pass. He can’t possibly ignore me now, can he? He’s not that heartless. The lock disengages and I let out a sigh of relief before reminding myself I haven’t won, not yet. Not until he agrees to run the errand for me.
He’s still wearing the pajamas he put on last night before going to bed. He must really be in a bad place. That makes two of us.
“What?” he snaps.
I look up and down the hall just in case one of the housekeepers is sneaking around. “Let me in.”
“No.”
“Then come into my room. I need to talk to you in private.”
“For fuck’s sake.” He steps back, opening the door wider and ushering me in with a sweep of his arm.
“Thank you,” I mutter, rolling my eyes.
“So what did I do this time? What mess have I gotten you into?”
“You came inside me last night,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself. “And I’m almost midway through my cycle.”
“Meaning?”
I’m going to kill him. He can’t put it together on his own? No, he’d rather drag it out of me. “Meaning chances are higher that I could get pregnant. Mid-cycle is ovulation time, genius. Even if it wasn’t, I’d still be freaking out—and you should be, too.”
“What do you want me to do? Take my cum back?”
“No, you insufferable prick. I need you to buy Plan B for me. The morning after pill,” I add when he scrunches up his face in confusion.
“What, because it’s my responsibility or something?
“No, because you’re eighteen or something. I just went to two different pharmacies, and they both told me the same thing. I need to be eighteen or have a parent or guardian buy it for me.”
Finally, he gets it. His shoulders slump, his brows knitting together. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. Get it now? If you got me pregnant, I’m not having the damn baby. And don’t think I won’t tell everybody whose it is because I will.”
“Calm down.”
“You calm down. This is all your fault. I told you I didn’t want to do that anymore, and this is exactly why. Maybe you think this is a joke, but it’s my life. I would rather take care of this now than wait until I miss my period or something. By then, I’ll need an abortion.”
“I get it. You don’t need to keep going.”
“Obviously, I do, or else you’d be getting dressed and getting your car keys and going down to the damn pharmacy for me. Not standing there, staring at me the way you are now.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “What’s in it for me?”
“You can’t be serious. Did I not just tell you? Do you want everybody knowing you fucked your stepsister and got her pregnant? You should thank me for doing this.”