His Lovable Klutz (Completed)

Segment Forty.

♥ Tampon Call ♥

      Coby was deep in sleep, nestled under her covers, when the persistent ringing of her phone on the nightstand began to pull her out of her slumber. She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut in a futile attempt to ignore it, but the sound was relentless. Finally, she reached out lazily, her hand fumbling for the device before she managed to grasp it.

      Bringing the phone to her ear, she answered groggily, her voice still heavy with sleep. "Hello?"

      "Cobes!" Charlotte's voice burst through the line, loud and insistent. "I need a favor. Can you send me some cash? I need to buy tampons, and Mom's being difficult about giving me money. She's being such a pain!"

      Coby rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off the lingering fog of sleep. "Tampons?" she repeated, still trying to process what her sister was saying.

      "Yes! Tampons!" Charlotte replied, exasperation evident in her tone. "I just started my period, and I'm out of everything. Mom's saying I should've been more prepared, but I wasn't, okay? Can you just send me some money?"

      Coby sighed, her brain slowly catching up. "Yeah, sure. I'll send you some cash," she said, her voice still thick with sleep.

      "Thanks, Cobes! You're a lifesaver!" Charlotte said, relief flooding her voice. "I'll pay you back when I can, I swear."

      "It's fine, Charlie. Don't worry about it," Coby mumbled before ending the call and setting her phone back on the nightstand.

      As she settled back into her pillows, her mind began to drift, the remnants of sleep slipping away. Her sister's mention of her period suddenly triggered a realization in Coby's mind. She frowned, her thoughts shifting gears. When was the last time she'd had her period?

      She reached for her phone again, this time opening the calendar app. Scrolling back through the days, she felt a small jolt of unease. She was a few days late.

      A furrow formed on her brow as she stared at the dates. It wasn't like her to be late—she was usually quite regular. As the realization sank in, a wave of concern washed over her. What could be wrong?

      She tried to push the thought aside, telling herself it was probably just stress or the recent chaos of everything that had been going on. But no matter how she tried to rationalize it, a small seed of worry had been planted, and it was growing with every passing second.

      Coby sat on the toilet, her leg bouncing uncontrollably as she stared down at the pregnancy test in her hand. Her heart was pounding in her chest, each beat louder than the last. She gnawed at her thumbnail, the taste of anxiety sharp in her mouth.

      The tiny plastic stick felt heavy in her trembling fingers, even though it weighed almost nothing. The seconds dragged on, each one stretching into what felt like an eternity as she waited for the result to appear.

      The air in the bathroom was thick with tension, her breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps. She could hear the faint ticking of the clock on the wall, each tick amplifying the dread that was building inside her.

      Finally, the small screen on the test flickered, the faint lines gradually coming into focus. Coby's breath hitched in her throat, her eyes widening in disbelief as the result became clear. Two lines. Positive.

      Her heart seemed to stop for a moment before it started racing again, even faster than before. She blinked, hoping she was imagining it, but the lines remained stubbornly there, glaring up at her as if mocking her disbelief.

      "Shit," she cursed under her breath, the word slipping out before she could stop it. Panic surged through her veins, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts at once. This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not like this.

      Coby's hand trembled as she lowered the test, her mind reeling from the sudden, life-altering news. She sat there, frozen, staring blankly at the wall, as the reality of what she'd just learned began to sink in.

      Coby was pacing back and forth in her room, her bare feet slapping against the floor as she muttered to herself. 

      "How the hell did this happen? This can't be real!"

      Her voice was shaky, rising and falling with each frantic step she took. She was holding the crumpled pregnancy test in one hand, clenching it so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

      She paused, running a hand through her tangled hair, and then resumed pacing, her thoughts racing a mile a minute.

      "I took the pills! I took them every single day, just like you're supposed to!" she hissed to herself, her voice trembling with disbelief. "What's the point of taking Tri-Sprintec if it doesn't work?" She threw her hands up in the air, shaking her head in frustration.

      Coby stopped in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection as if it might somehow hold the answer.

      "This is a nightmare," she whispered, her eyes wide with panic. "What am I going to do? What will my family say? What will Mom say?"

      The thought of her mother finding out sent a fresh wave of terror through her. She could already hear her mother's voice, dripping with disappointment, scolding her for being careless, for getting herself into this situation. The shame of it all made Coby's stomach twist into knots.

      And then there was Stefan. Coby's heart sank at the thought of telling him. "How is he going to react?" she wondered aloud, her voice laced with fear. "Would he even believe me? Or would he think I'm trying to trap him or something? God, he might fire me on the spot. Toss me out like I'm nothing."

      Her anxiety began to spiral, and she started stomping her feet in frustration, pulling at her hair with both hands as if she could physically yank the stress out of her body.

      "This is a disaster! An absolute disaster!" she shouted, her voice cracking with desperation. She stomped in a circle, her mind a chaotic mess of worry and fear.

      "What the hell am I supposed to do? Do I even tell Stefan? What if he laughs in my face? Or worse—what if he doesn't care at all?" Coby's thoughts were spiraling out of control, each one more terrifying than the last.

      She threw herself onto her bed, burying her face in the pillow and letting out a muffled scream of frustration.

      "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she groaned, punching the mattress with her fists. "How could I let this happen? How could I be so careless?"

      Coby rolled over, staring up at the ceiling as tears welled up in her eyes. She felt utterly lost, caught in a storm of emotions she couldn't control.

      "I'm so screwed," she muttered to herself, wiping away the tears that had started to spill down her cheeks. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do."

      She pulled herself up to a sitting position, hugging her knees to her chest as she rocked back and forth. The room seemed to close in around her as she battled with herself, her thoughts a jumbled mess of fear, confusion, and regret.

      "Do I tell him? Do I keep it to myself? What if he never finds out? But what if he does?"

      Coby's mind was spinning, her heart racing with the overwhelming weight of her situation. She felt like she was caught in a whirlwind, unable to find her footing, unable to see a way out.

      Finally, she let out a long, shaky breath, her head dropping into her hands. "I'm so screwed," she whispered again, her voice filled with despair.

      She felt like she was drowning in a sea of anxiety, with no lifeline in sight. All she could do was sit there, rocking back and forth, hoping for some clarity to break through the storm raging in her mind.