Andante con Brio

CXLI

It would almost have been ironic, if it wasn't all so scary. He walked around the drugstore that was halfway between their house and the con, and he knew, just knew that this must have been where Brett was yesterday, looking around, feeling awkward as fuck. 
Was it also ironic that he could easily find the lube, right over there in the second isle he walked through, but not the test he was looking for? After five minutes of searching the shop he cut his losses and found a shop attendant. 
"Hi. Can I ask you something?" he asked softly. 
A sturdy looking fourty-something lady with her hair in a tight bun turned around and eyed him up and down. 
"Of course."
Eddy willed his voice to work.
"Erm. I'm er... I'm looking for a pregnancy test?"
Shit, was that a smile, he saw? Or was he just imagining it? Surely, she would be more professional than that? Was this the same lady that Brett asked for the lube? If so, it was probably a good thing she didn't know the whole story here. 
Although that meant she probably thought he was the one who had got a girl pregnant. 
"Of course. They are here, behind the counter."
Right. Well. There was no way he could have found them there, was there? He listened with half an ear as she talked him through the different ones. 
"Erm, just give me what you think is best." he said quietly. 

When he walked back into the studio with the test Lily was lying back on the bed with her eyes closed. Shit, was she asleep? But before he could decide to walk back out she opened her eyes and groaned. 
"Hey." he said weakly, and held out the satchel he was holding. 
Exactly the same satchel as Brett had yesterday, but wow, what difference in contents. 
She sat up slowly. 
"I threw up again while you were gone. This sucks." she said, with feeling. She got up, took the bag and walked off to the bathroom. 
Eddy went with her to the hallway and then he wandered into the living room. Brett was there, and he eyed him with huge eyes. 
"So. You rushed off, I think to the drugstore. And she's been throwing her guts up. Does this mean what I think it means?"
Eddy took a huge breath. 
"Well. If you think it means that my lovely, eighteen year old friend who is in dance school might be pregnant by a cheating arsehole, then yeah, very possibly. We'll know in five minutes, or so the lady of the drugstore said."
Brett kept his face impressively deadpan as he nodded, but Eddy could seen him gripping one of the chairs until his knuckles were white. 
"Jesus." he said then. 
"Yeah. I know."
They didn't say anything else, they just watched the hallway, waiting. Eddy could hear the clock's second hand, but somehow he couldn't quite tear his glance away from where he knew Lily would appear again soon. 
When they heard the shriek they reacted as one, and sprinted to the bathroom. 
"Lily! What's going on? Are you okay? Let me in!" Eddy called through the closed door. 
He heard the footsteps, and he heard the sobbing at the same time. The lock seemed to turn like a huge cog in a wheel and he had to stop himself from yanking the door open. 
But there she was, paler even than before, her eyes brimming with tears. She held out the stick, and he took it before he could realise she'd just peed on it. 
"Is it?" he asked as he looked down, but the next word stuck in his throat. 
Because the word was there on the test, bright as day. 

Pregnant.