The Own Goal ✔️

part 13

Pregnancy Tracker 🤰
9 weeks 👶

I've tried calling Jack twice now, but he hasn't picked up. There's no option to leave a voicemail on his phone.

He's either just totally flat out ignoring me, or he deleted my number and doesn't answer to unknown numbers.

I wait until Friday, Ive got the afternoon off.

I've somehow managed to carry on at work despite the sickness.

I'm pretty sure no one suspects anything.

I sit down for lunch and pick up my phone and send a text.

'Hi Jack, it's Chelsea, from Mykonos. I hope you're ok? I really need to talk to you. Please can you call me? X'

I press send. Then cringe, Chelsea from Mykonos, fuck sake hopefully he's not forgotten me to that extent.

I potter around. I keep checking but he hasn't even read the message.

What if I've got his number wrong? What if he's changed his number?

No, calm down I tell myself. Worse case, Layla can get a message to him via Ben.

At 5.40pm he's read the message, finally.

I wait, but nothing.

I feel sick. And not just pregnancy sick. Like proper rejected feel sick.

Finally, just after 6pm my phone rings. It's him.

"Hello, Jack?"

"Hi, Chelsea?"

"Yeah" I laugh.

"Ya ok?" His voice sounds as lovely as I remember.

"Where are you?" I ask. "I mean, can you talk, privately?"

"I'm in me car, we've just finished at the gym, I'm about to drive home"

"I tried ringing you, before, the other day?"

"I'm sorry, I changed me phone, lost the most recent numbers, sorry Chels, ya wheren't saved on me SIM....." I can't help wondering how true this is.

My tummy lurches. I just need to say it. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"Jack I'm pregnant".

Silence.

"Jack?"

I hear lots of muffled sounds, a clicking. I think I hear him swear, but he sounds really far away.

I hear a loud click.

Suddenly he comes back and sounds really clear.

"Er, I just knocked the phone takin' it off loud speaker" he says, his voice shaky.

"Did you hear me Jack?"

"Yeah, but are ya sure?"

"Yeah, I'm 9 weeks. I've got blood tests next week and a scan in 3 weeks, it's all happening really fast" my voice cracks as I say this.

I hear Jack exhale loudly.

"Right, erm, yeah no, I didn't know ya 9 weeks ago though Chelsea......" He stumbles over his words. "The holiday was wot, 7, nearly 8 weeks ago?"

"Jack it's calculated from the first day of my last period......it's weird I know, but that's how they do it"

He sighs. Then silence.

"Jack?"

"So wot, are ya sayin' it's mine?" He sounds annoyed, abrupt.

"Yes......."