Falling for Trouble

Well, shit. She was saying sorry, and now he was the one who felt like crap.

“No worries, Soph.”

She gave him a small smile. “Enjoy your beer. I’ll see ya later.” Her voice was low and distant, and when she turned away, he found himself calling out to her.

“Kid?”

Looking over her shoulder, she waited for him to continue. What was he supposed to say, though? He had called her, because he didn’t want her to go, but now that she stopped and was looking at him, he was speechless.

When he didn’t say anything, she lifted her hand in a wave and turned back around to slip behind the bar. Abe let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and turned to look at the beer in front of him. He picked up his draft and drank the smooth, golden liquid.

He cut his eyes back to Sophia, saw Hunter back behind the bar again, smiling and resting his hand on her lower back, and he snapped. He slammed his mug down on the table. Glass shattered and drew the attention of all the patrons nearby.

He threw some bills on the table, stalked toward the front door, and pushed it open without a backward glance.17A couple weeks agoSophia blinked over and over again as she stared at the little stick that showed two pink lines. No, this is sooo not happening. She threw it away and grabbed another one, this one made by a different manufacturer. This was her third test, and they all said the same thing.

Pregnant.

She was in denial, pure and simple, but she was scared as shit most of all. Ever since the day Abe seemed to disregard her when she approached him at the bar, she had seen less and less of him.

The phone calls or texts they shared had been short and to the point. She hadn’t gone over and made him breakfast, and there was a part of her that felt like she was going through withdrawal from not seeing him. Any time she did reach out to him, tried to get together for lunch or just to talk, he seemed aloof and distant, acted too busy to have anything to do with her. It pissed her off, but most of all, it hurt her.

What had she ever done to make him treat her like this? True, she had started keeping her distance first, but she never acted so nonchalant when they spoke or saw each other.

Her heart had completely broken in two, and she’d not only lost her best friend but her other half. For years, years, they had been Sophia and Abe, Abe and Sophia. Now they were just two separate people, and it felt wrong.

She set the new test on the counter after she peed on it and tapped her foot nervously. How stupid could she have been? Hadn’t she attended health class in sixth grade to learn how babies were made? Didn’t she understand that when people had unprotected sex, this could happen? She let her head fall into her hands and felt tears prick behind her eyes.

Sophia had been seeing Hunter for the past three weeks, but they hadn’t done anything more than kiss. The one and only time she had given herself to a man was five weeks ago. That man had been Abe, the same man who no longer wanted anything to do with her.

Several minutes passed, far more than the allotted time for the test to work its magic. She picked it up without looking at it and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked at the test.

PREGNANT.

The lone word on the digital screen had her pulse pounding in her ears. They could be wrong, right? Oh, who was she kidding? She was so screwed. How in the hell was she going to explain this to Abe? If things were different between them, this would have been a joyous time.

She loved Abe, but their fallout and the way it transpired made this the worst possible situation. Of course, she didn’t want to keep this from him, but how did one go about telling a man he’d knocked her up when he didn’t even remember sleeping with her?

God, this was so freaking bad. She threw the test in the wastebasket and stood on shaky legs. The mirror showed a girl she didn’t even recognize. Her eyes traveled down to her belly, and she gripped the edge of her shirt, slowly raising it up.

She was only a few days late, but her boobs had been so swollen and sensitive, far worse than when her period was going to start. There had also been a little voice inside her that poked her, telling her that maybe, just maybe, there was something more going on than just her period starting.