Chapter 18 || "Another Statistic"

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"Julia," I begin carefully. I know I have to choose my words wisely right now to avoid setting her off even further. "What do you mean you think you're pregnant?"

"My period is almost two weeks late." she says. My heart drops for her, but there's still one positive to this right now, and it isn't a pregnancy test.

"So you mean you haven't taken a pregnancy test yet?" I ask.

"No," she says, and I let out the loudest sigh of relief in my life.

"Oh my God Julia, then what are you waiting for? You need to drive to a pharmacy right now!" I yell. "I'll pay for the Uber. Hell, I'll pay for the test myself!"

I stand up, grabbing her arm and trying to yank her up.

"Helaina, stop!" she screams, smacking me in the arm. "I'm not doing that!"

"And why not? Do you want to be pregnant or not? If you really are, you need to know immediately so you can figure out what you're going to do with it."

I don't care if I'm coming off as harsh right now. I mean, it's her entire future at stake right now and I seem to care more about it than Julia does.

"I'm scared." she whimpers, her bottom lip trembling as she tries her best not to cry. "I mean, we've used protection every single time, but that doesn't mean accidents can't happen."

"I know you're scared," I begin, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into a hug. "but you need to take a test. It's not an option."

I hear my phone buzz inside my purse, but I ignore it. I assume it's nothing important; I mean, right now nothing is important besides Julia.

"Can you come with me? When I buy it and when I use it?" she asks quietly. I nod.

"Of course," I smile. "Here, let's go right now."

"Right now?" she asks, the fear evident on her face. "Helaina, I don't know if that's a good idea..."

"Why not?"

She doesn't answer; she doesn't have to. We both know that the only reason now isn't a good time is because she's scared of possibly finding out she's pregnant. In reality, the only thing holding her back is her own fear and worry.

"Does Caleb know?" I ask, but I already suspect the answer is no.

"Of course not. The last thing I need right now is for him to break up with me."

"You really think he would do that?"

She shrugs.

"I don't know. I doubt it, but there's still a tiny part of me that worries he will. I mean, we're only in college."

"At least you're not in high school. You won't technically become a statistic." I smile, trying to ease the mood. It doesn't work; I don't know why I thought it would.

"I'm only eighteen, Helaina. Caleb's only nineteen." she reminds me. My smile fades as I nod.

"Right."

"Besides, not becoming a statistic on a technicality is just as bad as becoming one in the first place. It's the losers club for people who were too lame to even make it into the original losers club." she says, her voice bitter and full of resentment.

We sit there in silence for a moment, neither of us sure of what to say to the other.

"So besides your period, why else do you think you're pregnant?" I ask.

"I've felt kind of nauseous the past few days."

"That could be from training for your meet today." I point out.

The Heartbreaker [DISCONTINUED] || S.M.Where stories live. Discover now