something's wrong
1483 Words
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Aria woke up Saturday morning and immediately knew something was different.
Wrong.
She lay very still in her narrow bed, taking inventory. Her stomach felt strange. Not sick exactly. Just... off. Like her body was sending signals she didn't know how to interpret.
The morning light filtered through her thin curtains. Downstairs, she could hear Victoria moving around, the sharp click of her heels on hardwood.
Aria's phone showed six-thirty AM. Too early to be awake on a Saturday. But sleep was impossible now.
Sophia's question from yesterday echoed in her mind.
When was your last period?
Three weeks. Maybe four.
That wasn't normal. Even for her.
She sat up slowly, and the room tilted. She gripped the edge of her mattress until the dizziness passed.
This had been happening every morning for a week now. She'd been blaming stress. Exhaustion. Lack of proper nutrition from skipping meals.
But what if it wasn't stress?
What if Sophia was right?
Her phone buzzed. Damien.
Good morning. Lunch today? Or are you too tired?
He'd noticed. Of course he had. She'd been canceling plans, making excuses, picking at her food during every meal.
I'm okay. But can we do dinner instead? I have some errands to run.
Of course. Seven? I'll pick you up.
Perfect.
She set down her phone and took a deep breath.
Okay. She needed to know. Today. No more avoiding it.
But first, she had to get out of this house without Victoria interrogating her.
Downstairs, Victoria was in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading something on her tablet. She looked up when Aria entered, her eyes immediately critical.
"You look terrible," she said flatly.
"Good morning to you too."
"Don't be smart. Are you ill? Because if you're contagious, I need you to stay in your room. Melissa and I have the gallery event this afternoon."
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine. You look pale. And you've lost weight."
Aria poured herself a glass of water. The smell of Victoria's coffee made her stomach turn, but she kept her face neutral.
"I'm just tired."
"Well, don't expect sympathy from me. We all have responsibilities." Victoria stood, smoothing her designer dress. "Melissa and I will be gone until late. Don't make a mess."
"I won't."
Victoria swept out, leaving Aria alone in the kitchen.
The moment the front door closed, Aria sagged against the counter.
She had maybe six hours before Victoria returned. Six hours to buy a test, take it, and figure out what to do.
She pulled out her phone and texted Sophia.
Can you meet me? I need you.
The response was immediate.
Already on my way. Meet you at that drugstore on Amsterdam in twenty minutes?
Thank you.
That's what best friends are for. Love you.
Aria changed quickly, grabbed her bag, and slipped out of the house.
The drugstore was three blocks from campus. Far enough that she wouldn't run into anyone she knew. Anonymous.
Sophia was already there when she arrived, leaning against the brick wall outside.
"Hey," her friend said softly. "You okay?"
"No."
"That's fair." Sophia pushed off the wall. "Come on. Let's get this over with."
Inside, the feminine care aisle felt like a spotlight. Aria stared at the rows of pregnancy tests, overwhelmed.
"Which one?" she whispered.
"The digital ones," Sophia said, grabbing a box. "Clear results. No guessing."
"What if someone sees me?"
"Then they see you. You're an adult buying a legal product. There's no shame in this, Aria."
But it felt like shame. It felt like her entire world was about to implode.
Sophia added two more boxes to her basket. "Get three different brands. Just to be sure."
"Three?"
"Better to know for certain than to spend another week in denial."
Aria nodded mutely.
At the register, a bored teenager rang them up without even looking. Sophia paid before Aria could protest.
"I'll pay you back," Aria said as they left.
"Don't worry about it. Where do you want to do this? Your place?"
"Victoria's gone until late. We can go there."
They walked in silence for several blocks. Aria's mind was racing, spiraling through every possible scenario.
If she was pregnant, what would she do?
She couldn't afford a baby. She had no money, no real job, no way to support herself, let alone a child.
And Damien. What would he think?
They'd known each other for two weeks. Two weeks. He was a billionaire CEO. She was a broke college student living with her abusive stepmother.
Would he think she'd trapped him? Would he accuse her of trying to get his money?
Would he want nothing to do with her?
"Stop," Sophia said.
"What?"
"Stop spiraling. I can literally see you catastrophizing. One step at a time, okay? First, we find out if you're actually pregnant. Then we deal with what comes next."
"What if I am?"
"Then you have options. And you have me. And you have Damien."
"I barely know him."
"You know him well enough to sleep with him. And from everything you've told me, he's a good guy. He deserves to know."
"What if he doesn't want this?"
Sophia stopped walking and turned to face her. "Then he's not the man you think he is. But Aria? I've seen the way you talk about him. The way you light up when you get his texts. He cares about you. Give him a chance to prove it."
Aria felt tears sting her eyes. "I'm scared."
"I know. But you're not alone. Okay?"
"Okay."
They started walking again.
Back at the Mitchell house, Aria locked them in the bathroom.
Three boxes of pregnancy tests sat on the counter. Three different brands. Three chances to find out if her life was about to change forever.
"Do you want me to stay?" Sophia asked.
"Please."
"Okay. I'll be right outside the door. Just... call me when you're ready."
Sophia left, closing the door behind her.
Aria stared at the boxes.
Her hands were shaking as she opened the first one. Read the instructions. Follow the steps.
Simple. Easy. Terrifying.
She took the first test.
Then she sat on the edge of the bathtub and waited.
Three minutes. The instructions said three minutes.
She set a timer on her phone and watched the seconds tick by.
Each one felt like an hour.
Her mind kept circling back to Damien. To the way he looked at her. To the way he made her feel safe. Wanted. Cherished.
Would he still look at her that way if she was pregnant?
Would he think she'd done this on purpose?
Would he run?
Her phone buzzed. Timer done.
Aria stood on shaking legs and walked to the counter.
The test sat there. Innocent. Damning.
She picked it up with trembling hands.
Read the display.
Pregnant
2-3 weeks
The test slipped from her fingers.
Clattered into the sink.
No.
This couldn't be real.
Maybe it was wrong. False positive. Those happened, right?
She grabbed the second test with shaking hands. Tore open the package. Took it.
Another three minutes.
Another eternity.
She didn't sit this time. Just stood there, staring at herself in the mirror. Her face was white. Her eyes too wide.
She looked terrified.
She looked pregnant.
The timer went off.
She picked up the second test.
Pregnant
2-3 weeks
A sob caught in her throat.
No. One more. She had one more test.
Maybe this one would be different.
Maybe this one would say she was fine. That everything was fine.
She took the third test with trembling hands that could barely hold it steady.
Set another timer.
Waited.
This time she closed her eyes. Couldn't watch the seconds tick by. Couldn't think about what this meant.
A baby.
Damien's baby.
Growing inside her right now.
Real. Alive. Impossible.
The timer buzzed.
Aria opened her eyes.
Picked up the third test.
Pregnant
2-3 weeks
All three tests sat on the bathroom counter in a neat row. Three different brands. Three identical results.
All saying the same impossible thing.
She was pregnant.
Twenty years old. Broke. Living in her stepmother's house.
Pregnant with a billionaire's baby after knowing him for two weeks.
The sob that had been building in her chest finally broke free.
Then another.
Then she was crying so hard she couldn't breathe.
"Aria?" Sophia's voice came from outside the door. "Aria, what happened? Can I come in?"
Aria couldn't answer. Could only cry.
The door opened. Sophia took one look at the three tests on the counter and understood immediately.
She wrapped her arms around Aria and held her while she shook.
"It's okay," Sophia whispered. "It's going to be okay."
But Aria didn't see how that could possibly be true.
Because in a few hours, she had dinner with Damien.
And she had no idea how to tell him that everything had just changed.
- Writer
