As Long As You're Mine

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Nick

      “Nick!” I heard being yelled from across the hall. I groaned, not wanting to leave the comfort of my bed. The noise continued, and I knew I would have to part with my place of slumber. “Nick Fucking Ross!”

      I hopped out of bed less than enthusiastically, and stumbled my way over to the door, impressed that I hadn’t tripped over anything. Slowly, my hand twisted the knob of the door and I sleepily hobbled into Elle’s room after passing through the space about as long as a baseball bat between.

      “What?” I whined, deeming it too early to do anything, especially communicate.

      “Nick Ross get in here right now!” Elle screamed again. It was too early to dissect why she was calling for me, or the fact that she hadn’t talked to me in over a week, so I ignored it, pretending everything was normal.

      I quickened my tired pace, almost positive that her voice was coming from the room in which people cleanse and preform various bodily functions. As I got closer to the secondary room, I noticed a few things. For starters, the bathroom door was wide open, which was odd for Elle, considering she normally liked privacy.

      An even stranger sight met my eyes as I advanced towards the doorframe. Elle was in sweats and a T-shirt, her hair a frizzy mess, but that wasn’t what was weird; in her shaking hand was a stick. Her jaw hung down, while her vision was focused on the slender piece of plastic.

      “Elle-” I began.

      “Nick, I’m- I’m pregnant!” she interjected, breaking down completely as she threw the object that was previously occupying her hand at me. I looked down at the item that had landed in my possession and understood why she was looking as she did.

      It was a pregnancy test. In the center was a large, green plus sign. The sign of positivity, though not in a good way, plummeted to the ground as it slipped out of my grasp in absolute shock.

      “This is a joke, right?” I choked out nervously.

      Elle shook her head slowly, droplets of water formulating around her eyes. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered softly.

      I sighed, walking over to her and did the only thing I could: hug her. My arms clasped around the limp girl, and she allowed them to. Her head rested on my chest, and in any other circumstance, it would be a lovely, rather affectionate scene… just not this one.

      “Is it…” I began, but couldn’t finish the question for fear of the answer.

      “Yours?” I nodded solemnly, wondering how it had happened. On New Years, we had been so careful! I was sober and knew for a fact that I had used protection. Besides, Elle told me she was on birth control to add to it! This shouldn’t have happened. “Yes.”

      I let out a breath of gratitude, thankful that it wasn’t Jake’s. “How do you know for sure?” I questioned suddenly, pondering whether or not she was simply telling me this so I wouldn’t also break down in hysterics.

      “We, uh, Jake and, uh I, um, haven’t had, uh, sex,” she voiced softly.

      I resisted the urge to laugh, replacing it with a relieved smile. “How far along do you think you are?”

      “A week and a half, so, not too long,” she said, trying to pull herself together.

      “Elle, don’t get ahead of yourself, maybe it was a faulty test,” I suggested, hoping that it was true. I was a still a kid; there was no way I could be having one of my own. It was crazy to even grasp the fact that there was a possibility of me being a father. I wasn’t ready.