Unsaid, but felt

Chapter four: Two lines

Catherine’s POV

The knock at the door was soft. Not loud or angry just... careful. But there was something about it. Like whoever was out there knew she was inside, knew she was standing in her bathroom with her whole world paused. And they weren’t going to leave until she opened the damn door.

She didn’t move.

Her fingers dug into the edge of the sink, knuckles white. The plastic stick in her hand shook even though she wasn’t cold. It had been sitting there for minutes, maybe longer, and she still hadn’t looked. She couldn’t.

Her reflection stared back at her. Pale. Eyes wide and rimmed with red. Her hair was shoved into a bun that was more of a tangle than anything functional, and the sweatshirt hanging off her frame felt too warm, too tight. Like it was trying to smother her.

Another knock. Louder this time.

“Catherine? It’s me.”

Rina.

Relief hit her like a wave brief and shallow, but enough to remind her she wasn’t totally alone. She quickly shoved the test into the bathroom drawer, stuffing it under a mess of receipts and makeup she hadn’t used in weeks. As if burying it could make it go away.

She opened the door.

Rina stood there in a sweatshirt three sizes too big, curls shoved into a loose ponytail, and a look on her face that said you can’t lie to me right now. “You didn’t answer your phone,” she said, already stepping inside. “I called, like, five times. I was about to call the police.”

“I was... napping,” Catherine said, her voice dry, brittle.

Rina gave her a once over. “You look like crap.”

Catherine almost smiled. “Glad to know I’m still killin’ it.”

Rina kicked off her sneakers and didn’t say anything for a second. She looked around the apartment like she was expecting to find a fire burning in the middle of the floor.

Honestly, that might’ve felt easier to explain.

“Is this about him?” Rina asked eventually. “The guy from that night?”

Catherine turned away. Walked to the kitchen. Reached for two mugs and filled the kettle like it was any other Tuesday and her life wasn’t currently flipping inside out.

“It’s not just about him,” she said.

Not exactly a lie. But nowhere near the truth.

Rina leaned on the counter, arms crossed, watching her. “You’ve been... off. Ever since. And I don’t mean sad or whatever. I mean scared. You’ve got that look in your eyes again. Like the world’s closing in and you’re pretending it isn’t.”

Catherine’s hands were shaking again. She set the mugs down harder than she meant to.

“I think I’m pregnant.”

There it was.

The air went still. The silence hit like a slap.

“I’m two weeks late,” she added, voice barely audible. “I took a test just now. But I couldn’t.”

Rina did not speak right away. She just moved. Walked straight to her and wrapped her arms around her like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Warm. Solid. Safe.

Vanilla shampoo. Peppermint gum. Rina.

Catherine stood frozen for a second, then let herself lean in. Her fingers curled into the back of Rachel’s sweatshirt, gripping like it might stop her from falling.

“What if it’s positive?” she whispered, her throat tight.

“Then we deal with it,” Rina said softly, like it was that simple. “Whatever happens, you’re not alone.”

Catherine pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Rina gave a small, sad smile. “It never is.”

There was a long beat.

Then Rina asked, gently, “Do you want me to look?”

Catherine hesitated. Her stomach twisted. Her chest ached. But in the end, she nodded.

Rina didn’t say anything else. She just gave her hand a squeeze and disappeared into the bathroom.

Catherine stood in the kitchen, unmoving, like one wrong breath might crack her in half. Her eyes drifted toward the window. The city outside looked the same cars, people, lights but it felt impossibly far away now. Like her world had shrunk to this one room, this one moment.

What if it’s positive? What if it is real?

The thought kept circling back, tighter each time.

Jason’s face flashed in her mind just for a second. His hands, his mouth, the way he’d looked at her like he couldn’t get enough. Like she wasn’t just a one-night stand.

But then she’d left. No name. No number. Just... gone.

And now this.

The bathroom door creaked open.

Catherine turned around, heart lodged in her throat.

Rina stepped into the hallway slowly. Her expression was soft, unreadable.

“Well?” Catherine asked, voice shaking.

Rina crossed the room and nodded. “It’s positive.”

Everything inside her tilted. The floor felt unsteady. Her knees gave out and she sank onto the couch without thinking, gripping the edge like she was afraid the earth might fall out from under her.

Rina sat beside her, close but not crowding. Waiting.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Catherine let out a breath that sounded too much like a sob. “No,” she whispered. “Not even close.”

She stared at the floor, her mind spinning.

“I don’t even know his last name,” she said after a while, dazed.

Rina blinked. “Wait, seriously?”

“I didn’t ask. I didn’t think I’d ever need to. It was just supposed to be one night. No strings. No regrets.”

Catherine gave a hollow laugh. “That went well, huh?”

Rina did not judge. She just reached out and covered Catherine’s hand with hers.

“I don’t even know how to find him,” Catherine whispered. “I don’t know if I should. What am I supposed to say? ‘Hey, remember me? We had s*x once and now you’re a dad’?”

Rina was quiet for a moment. “Do you want to find him?”

Catherine stared ahead, unsure how to answer. Part of her wanted to run. Another part... wanted to see him again. Even if it broke her.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t know anything right now.”

Rina nodded. “Then don’t decide today.”

Silence stretched between them. Catherine leaned back on the couch, her head resting against the cushion, eyes stinging.

She wasn’t ready.

Not for this.

Not for motherhood.

Not for the panic in her chest that wouldn’t let go.

She placed a trembling hand over her stomach. There was no bump. No flutter. Nothing tangible.

But still, she knew.

Something had changed. A life. A heartbeat. A truth she couldn’t run from anymore.

Whether she was ready or not… the future had already started.