Just a Positive Pregnancy Test - London Casey Page 0,2

father.”

“Silas…”

“Sorry.”

He wasn’t my father. He was the guy my mother married. He was the guy who ruined our lives…

Downstairs more glass shattered.

My mother was numb to it all.

“I better go check on dinner,” she said.

As she turned, I wanted to lunge at her and beg her not to go downstairs.

That wouldn’t have changed a thing.

She went one way, I went another.

I climbed out of the window and slid down the small part of the roof and had no choice but to toss my bag and guitar case.

Then I jumped.

I hit the ground and popped right back up.

I grabbed my stuff and walked away from the house.

I could hear him yelling inside.

I could hear things breaking.

I could hear my mother begging him to stop.

I could hear her begging him to drink.

That was the only way it stopped.

Once he drank enough, he’d pass out.

I walked in the summer heat, not really caring if I passed out from sweating too much.

Each step added distance from that house.

I’d find a place to sit and practice my guitar.

My guitar was the only chance I had at getting out of this hell for good.

My plan was to become rich, semi-famous, and never, ever get too involved with someone and absolutely never have any kids.

And nothing was ever going to change my mind.

Chapter One

MILA

I pulled the winter hat down as far as I could.

Anymore and I’d look like I was going to rob the place.

I had my hair tucked up into the back of the hat. I put a dark red shade of lipstick on my lips. I wore all black, hoping to be forgotten or at least have nothing showing to be remembered by.

To make my point even clearer, I drove forty minutes out of town to a small store. Just to make sure nobody I knew saw me. To make sure nobody my family knew saw me.

When I saw the price of the pregnancy tests, I felt like throwing up.

Maybe that’s just the morning sickness.

I swallowed hard.

I had no choice.

One test showing positive was… it was just one test.

It could have been a dud.

A bad test.

Maybe I had too much pee on the test or something too.

That’s what prompted me to buy ten pregnancy tests.

That’s right. Ten.

Different brands too.

From the generic brand with the lines to the super fancy ones that have the word.

The word…

Pregnant.

I cradled all ten tests in my arms and walked to the counter.

I dumped them in front of the cashier, who looked at me with surprise.

He was a tall man with an aged face and heavy eyes.

He looked as tired as I felt.

“Anything else?” he asked me.

I looked to my right and saw the drink cooler.

I grabbed a few bottles of soda and put them on the counter too.

“Going to need these,” I said. “Need a lot of pee, you know?”

“Right,” the man said.

He scanned each test and put them into a bag.

My face burned red hot.

I looked around, hoping nobody else came into the store.

“It’s just a gag gift,” I blurted out. “For my one friend. She thinks she’s bloated all the time. So I joked with her and said I was going to buy her some pregnancy tests.”

“Maybe she’s sensitive to dairy,” the man said.

“Maybe,” I said. “Once these all come up negative, she’ll have no choice but to listen to me.”

The man told me the total and I swiped my credit card, watching it melt in the machine at the cost.

I need to know for sure…

All I could picture was Silas leaving town. After everything that happened. Of course me bringing home a rock star to meet my family was a risk. I knew that. So did Silas. Yet he did all he could to win them over. Or at least show them how much he cared about me. Then he got accused of stealing stuff. Not just once either. And then the whole necklace thing with Ma. I froze up and threw him under the bus.

So he left.

It wasn’t like we weren’t still together. We texted and talked every single day and night. We were okay in that sense.

But me?

I was far from okay.

Hence the bag on the counter full of pregnancy tests.

I grabbed that bag, plus the bag with the soda in it.

I made it three steps and paused.

No idea what came over me, but I told myself that if this was going to happen… if this was my life now… did I really want my first experience or lesson to my unborn child to be