Two Pink Lines

chapter 21: one pink line

One pink line. 

I'm not pregnant, Taylor thought to herself, but she didn't get the feeling of relief she thought she would. She felt... disappointed? Did I want to be pregnant?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Taylor said, "I'll be right out."

She tucked the pregnancy test into her pocket, walking back out to the bedroom. Joe could instantly tell something was wrong with her, "What's up?"

Taylor sighed, sitting down on the bed. She wanted to be transparent with him. Keeping things from him never led to any good. "I took a pregnancy test..."

Joe's breath hitched, "Are you-"

"No, no, it was negative," Taylor assured him. 

Joe let out a sigh of relief, and Taylor suddenly had second thoughts on telling him about how she was feeling. Maybe he was on different page from her, and didn't want another kid. After all, they'd been so busy with James, they never discussed it. "Next time you take a test, you can tell me, okay?" Joe assured her, taking his hand into hers. "I want to be there for you, but you need to let me."

Taylor nodded, knowing she was about to lie, "Okay, I promise next time I'll tell you."
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"Taylor, just tell him!" Abigail nagged her through the phone.

Taylor groaned, "But I juts feel like he doesn't want it! And I don't want him to feel pressured to have another kid with me just because I want it."

"Why don't you just hint around a bit, try to gauge whether you think he wants another or not?" Abigail suggested. "Just be subtle."

She sighed, "I'll try. Thanks Abi, I'll meet you for lunch tomorrow?"

"See you there!" Abigail hung up. Taylor sighed, plugging in her phone and setting it on the nightstand. 

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James crossed his arms in a pout, "But that's no fair!"

"James, we decided that seven would be your bedtime," Taylor said firmly. "If you keep complaining, we'll just make it earlier."

He grumbled to himself, but let Taylor carry him to his bedroom and tuck him in. Exhausted, Taylor laid down in their bed next to Joe, who was staring intently at a new script. "How can a one and a half year old have so much sass," Taylor said.

Joe chuckled, "He's taking after his mum."

Taylor rolled her eyes, playfully hitting Joe's arm. "Are you going to sleep now?" Joe asked. "I'll probably turn off the lights here after I finish reading through this scene."

"Yeah, I'll probably write for a bit first." Taylor peered over his shoulder curiously, "What movie is that for?"

"Another one with Yorgos," Joe said, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to take the role as long as scheduling works out. I've been wanting to work with him again since The Favourite. Filming starts late spring, so I think it should be fine."

Taylor nodded, "Looks good." She stood up to brush her teeth. "Speaking of scheduling, my team just sent me tour dates for the next summer. We're starting in California, but only playing about six shows in the states. Then we go to England and Dublin, a stop in Canada, a few shows in India, then Australia, and we end the show in New Zealand. Should be 44 shows in total."

"Sounds fun," Joe mused. "Are you excited?"

"Yup!" Taylor said over the buzzing of her toothbrush.