Fate || BENNIFER

Lifesaver

*8 HOURS BEFORE*

Jennifer's P.O.V

I had known for a while, but I just refused to believe it. I had been feeling nauseous, mostly in the morning. I wasn't able to focus or follow simple dance steps, I had insatiable appetite, and my bones were killing me. I knew what those symptoms meant. But I wanted to be sure. I needed to be sure, and put an end to that incertitude, so I took a pregnancy test. I had always listened to my body, I knew how to interpret what it was telling me, but a part of me wanted to be wrong...

Marc had just come by to pick up the kids to take them with him for the weekend after they were back from school. I was feeling specially emotional, and saying goodbye to them, even if it was just for two days, felt like a torture. Preparing their little bags a while before hadn't been easy either. I felt like saying goodbye forever, and I cried for twenty straight minutes.

Fortunately, I wasn't alone long enough for my thoughts to make me go crazy. Leah arrived shortly after Marc left as the lifesaver that she was.

"How are you? Are you okay?" Leah asked looking at me and touching me as if I were gonna break.

"I don't know." I answered with an evident expression of concern.

"You're lucky I'm here. I have five pregnancy tests, all different brands... just to make sure." She said shrugging. "Now go and pee on all of them."

Five sticks. I couldn't possibly think of peeing just on one of them being so nervous. My hand was even shaking a little. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and Leah wasn't helping.

"I can't pee if you keep pressing me." I said looking at the door.

"I'm not pressing... I'm supporting." She said in a funny tone.

"You're watching me as if were a toddler before going to bed." I said and she held back a chuckle.

"I don't want you to be alone in a moment like this. I can imitate a waterfall." She said finally making me laugh.

"That would help." I said amused.

When you're having a good time, time flies. When you're having a bad time, time slows down. That's the way it works, maybe so we can be more appreciative of the good moments. And there we were, leaning on the wall, sitting on the floor, feeling like a teenager waiting with her best friend for a result that could change her life. Of course it wasn't the case, but all the thoughts that crossed my mind... Someone finding out and the news spreading out of control, having to pause my career at some point after working so hard, going through it without a solid partner...? I really needed to stop overthinking.

"Isn't time going more slowly than usual?" I sighed in desperation.

"It was time like two minutes ago... but girl, you need to breathe, you're going blue." She said placing her hand on my thigh.

"I can't look." I said covering my face with my hands.

"Should I check them?" She asked.

"Please." I answered in a low voice.

"Okay. Mmm... All of them are positive... wait, no, this one... oh there's the second line, sorry." She said and all the blood of my body drained. "Oh my... you're actually pregnant..."

"I'm pregnant..." I said in a tone of disbelief.

"Are we happy? Are we sad?... Are we mad? You're hard to read right now." She looked at me confused.

"I'm... I don't know. This is a lot to process." I answered.

"Take your time." She said sweetly.

"Oh god..." I said, starting to realize how much of a mess it was.

"Are you gonna cry? Because if you cry... then I'm gonna cry, and this will become a hormone fest." She said in a funny tone. "Do you need a hug?" She asked and I nodded. "Oh, come here."

Without her, I would've gone insane over the years. No one understood me the way she did, and she was always there when I needed her the most, to advise me and support me in spite of my decisions.

"Are you gonna tell him?" She asked rubbing my back. "Or maybe you prefer to make a choice before... letting him know."

"I don't want to scare him if in the end my decision is to... I'm scared myself. I don't know how he would react. I mean... this is all we wanted ten years ago but now... we're not even in a relationship, we were just having fun." As I talked, I felt the pressure building in my throat.

"I know you two, and he's never just looked for fun with you. I know he's been wanting a divorce for a while, but they had a son last year, and I guess that bought them some time. You aren't just a good time for him. He loves you, and maybe you're all he needs to come out of that toxic marriage." She said grabbing my hand.

"What should I do?" I asked.

"Tell him."