Chapter One
He practically dragged me out of the hotel, he didn’t even give me a chance to dry my hair. Liam acted as if time was of the essence. I should have asked him what the hurry was, but I just wasn’t in the mood. He was acting like a man on a mission, I hadn’t realized that he could be so cruel, until we got to the pharmacy. The compassionate guy had left the moment I’d told him what was on my mind. The thing that he’d been begging me to do ever since we went to the Prom.
Then, we went to the pharmacy and bought a test. I say, ‘we’, because the man was picking up all different types as if he was buying candy or something. As we got to the counter the cashier dashed her eyes at him, at them, and finally me, the one who would be peeing on the sticks.
“How much?” he blurted out as he took out his wallet, ready to pay.
“Errh,” she said while blowing gum up in the air and playing with her loose strand of dark hair. “You only need one. They’re ninety-nine percent reliable. You really don’t need five.”
Exactly what I’d tried to tell him. He wasn’t listening to reasoning. I had been trying to look at the back of the pack, but he saw that we were in the pregnancy section and just grabbed as many as he could with his two hands. The last thing that he was going to do was listen to any sense of reason.
“Are you here to serve or give advice?”
Damn!
Liam was not to be messed with. Her eyes darted to me as if to say, ‘You poor thing.’
I looked down at the ground thinking that if he didn’t change his attitude, He’d be peeing on the stick alone. I wouldn’t be bullied by him to do anything, including finding out if I was pregnant or not.
“Forty five dollars!” She stuck out her hand and this time she was no longer chewing on the gum, but looked him directly in the eye as if she hated the sight of him.
He ignored her stare as he dropped the notes on the counter and then started to head out of the store.
“You poor thing,” she said as I turned to leave the store, but not with him. No way. I had money I didn’t need him to pay for the ride. I could do that by myself. I didn’t need him for anything, just for support and the way that he was acting, it was clear that I wasn’t going to get that from him. How had it gone so wrong?
“Adele, you coming?”
Wow!
At least he’d realized that I wasn’t standing next to him, but that didn’t make up for the crappy attitude. I was tired from last night, and the events this morning had my stomach in a turmoil. It had left me wondering why I’d got myself into this mess in the first place. I put on a fake smile and said, “Yes, dear.”
I walked up to him and he was tutting as he rolled his eyes, not appreciating my sarcasm. Which was ironic, because I really wasn’t appreciating his shitty attitude.
‘Yes, sir. Three bags full, sir. Anything else you want?”
I bowed down to him. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “To grow up. We’re not shopping for fun. We’re checking to see if you’re pregnant.”
“Really?” I said innocently, “I never knew that was why we were in the pharmacy. After all you’re the one that was picking up all the tests. I thought that they were for you.”
“Adele, stop making a scene. We came here for it. We got it. Now, you need to find somewhere to find out the truth. No WE need to find somewhere for you to do this. So, we’ll know what to do next.”
He used the word, ‘we’ as if he meant it. I knew that everything that was going to happen next, was out of my control. I had a quick vision of us being in a gas station and him handing me the tests and telling me to pee on the stick.
I didn’t have anything to say, so I walked away from him with a tear in my eye. We didn’t even know if a baby was coming and he was being horrible. This was too painful for me to even think about peeing.
“Adele, wait!” he shouted after me, but his legs weren’t moving. It was as if he said it, but really didn’t mean it as he stood outside the pharmacy still holding the door. I didn’t know if he was expecting anyone else to leave. There was no one else in there apart from us and the cashier.
“No, so you can say something really crappy to me again? Just leave me alone, Liam.”
I expected him to chase after me, but just like that I heard him shout out, “Fine.”
I turned to see that the man I expected to check to see if I was pregnant with, just leave. Just like that and he didn’t even bother to let me take my dress out of the damn car.
What the heck was I thinking hooking up with someone like him? I looked around trying to figure out how to get home.
Do I call Mom?
No, I needed to know if I was pregnant, before she found out. Besides, trust my luck that she was dating his dad. If she came, then she would have us all sitting down and discussing it. The way Liam was behaving there was nothing to discuss. I knew what was going through Liam’s mind, his expression and actions said it all. Find out if I’m pregnant and then he’ll have me at the clinic so fast I wouldn’t even have a chance to think about what I wanted to do next.
Do I call Chanel?
I could call my best friend, but she was at the Prom and I was sure that she was going to be at a hotel too until this morning. But, I didn’t know which one. Besides, she didn’t drive and I didn’t want to freak her out.
I was right back at my first option; Mom. I’d call her and tell her that she had to stop dating Henry because his son had not only knocked me up, but was a complete jerk. Liam must get it from one of his parent’s and it must be from his dad’s genes, because his mom was fantastic. I absolutely loved her, everyone did when she was alive. That was when Liam turned into a dark horse and I’d given him the benefit of the doubt and thought that he was a human being. A descent one that was misunderstood. How I’d been so wrong about that.
I found a bench and decided that I would sit and work up the courage to call Mom. My mind was telling me to call her, but something was stopping me. I toyed with the idea so many times, and then out of nowhere, I felt a friendly hand on my shoulder.
“Hey.”
I looked up to see the pharmacist staring down at me.
What was
she doing here?