I Kissed You Back

Chapter Seven

        I was nervous as hell while I was peeing on the stick. I had Brin look at it for me. The possibility that I was pregnant with Maddox's kid was...terrifying. 

        "Ari?"         

        "Yeah?"

        "You're pregnant."

         "Shit."

        So now, not only did I have a pregnant friend to take care of, I also had my own baby. I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself. 

        "What do I do now?"         

        "You could tell him," she suggested.

        "I don't have enough money to get a flight to Brazil."

        "You could give him a call."

        "I'm not going to tell him something like this over the phone," I said firmly.

        "You just want to hide this from him," she accused, "That's always going to backfire, and you know it."

         "I don't want to go through all that drama," I lied.

         "No, you're scared he'll reject you and the baby."

          Damn, she was good.

         "Please, please, please, don't push me on this subject," I begged, "I'd rather just be a single mom than have to share custody. Remember how bad it was for you when your parents split?"

           "Fine," she said, the last part finally getting to her.

           "One of us has to get a man," I said, "We're doomed without at least one."

            "Fine, but don't push it. If you force love, it always ends up badly."

**

**

**

Every month I waited was torture. I knew it. Being in love with someone like Maddox, it just wasn't a healthy thing. 

I didn't regret it.

But I had one, soon to be three people to take care of. I had to make sure everything was okay, that everything was okay. That everything would be comfortable for both Brin's baby and my baby. Maddox would just have to be a dull ache in the background.

I thought my heart was literally shattering into a million tiny pieces when I saw Maddox getting married on the news. His bride, Aurelia Rose, was gorgeous. She had long shiny blond hair and piercing blue eyes. They were a perfect couple.

I guess I was only so hurt because I had secretly been hoping he'd change his mind and come back to me.

Just like I had come back to him.

Nothing could describe how awful I was feeling. I wasn't feeling like shit, I was feeling way beyond that and way beyond what was way beyond that. I hated the feeling of being hurt, so I guess you could say I became a bit(and by that I mean a ginourmous) workaholic. I never stopped to think about anything except what to buy, when to buy it, and how to get the money to buy it. 

I think Brin noticed how sullen I had become, but she didn't say anything. I mean, I was like this before Maddox came. I was kind of turning back to normal now. This was how I had been before he came into my life and...changed it. 

Love can do so much to a person.

Bad things.

Good things.