Webs And Wishes - Tom Holland

Chapter 22.

Day 22.
Lily's POV.

I retched again, pulling loose strands of hair away from the toilet bowl.

Waiting a second to see if I was going to throw up any more, I breathed in carefully. I picked myself up gingerly, glancing in the mirror. I looked dead. And slightly green. Not a good look, that's for sure.

I hadn't had a drop to drink last night and I hadn't eaten anything weird, so why was I throwing up? It could be a stomach bug, that would explain the weird behaviour yesterday.

I sighed, returning to the bedroom. Yet I was greeted with an empty bed, a note nestled in Tom's side of the sheets.

It read:

Gone for food then to work - see you there darling ♡

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be seeing me there at all. I knew I was only in for a half day today, but that didn't look likely now.

"Hello?" He answered the phone in a second. "What's wrong?"

"Guess who has a stomach bug."

"Be there in ten minutes."

Call ended.

Tom's POV

I practically burst in through the door, slamming her with questions.

"Are you ok? How many times have you thrown up? Have you eaten? Are you laid down? Does it hurt? Do you have any other symptoms? Do you need anything? Do you want soup? I'll get soup."

"Tom! Calm down." She laughed at me, ruffling my hair. "I feel okay, I was just going to take the day off. You didn't need to come over here, as much as I appreciate it."

"Oh."

She shook her head fondly, then dragged me through to the kitchen.

"In answer to your questions, I guess so, six, no, no, no, yesterday I did, I'm ok and you can finish off the soup I already started." She grinned at the confused look on my face as I mentally rewound to check her answers to my questions.

"Um."

"Ok well, I'm going to shower and then get changed into something a little less restrictive. Then I'm watching a movie. You can join me if you like, but really you should go back to work. It's up to you." With that she left, brown waved bouncing as she moved.

Wow. I love that girl too much.

I smirked at the tiles under my feet just at the thought. She was right though, I should go back to filming, or the director will get more frustrated than he already is at the constant events and interferences.

With a shrug at no-one, I made sure the soup was hot and poured out a bowl. I stuck a slice of unbuttered toast on a plate and left.

Lily's POV

As much as I would never want to tell Tom, I had come to a startling conclusion that scared me to death.

It could be a stomach bug, but I already felt fine so that didn't really work out. I wouldn't be too worried but...

My period was late.

I could be pregnant.

The realisation hit me harder than a bullet as I stood in the shower. I hardly noticed the water droplets sliding off my pale skin or the hot steam slowly enveloping the room in its gloomy depths.

But I'm not pregnant am I? No. That can't be true. It just... Can't.

Yet I knew there was a very good chance. And that terrified me.

Once again I glanced down at the smooth skin covered my stomach. It seemed far too flat to potentially house another human. I ran one hand over it, a sharp electricity running up my arm, an emotion I couldn't quite recognise take over me.

I guess there was only one way to find out, wasn't there?

I replaced the water with a towel, then casual clothes before flying out the door. It took less than ten minutes for me to half-run to the nearest pharmacy (one perk of living in the city I suppose). My heart hammered so loudly I thought the cashier would tell me to be quiet. I browsed the shelves, totally aware of the fact that I was the only customer.

Why were there so many? Surely pregnancy tests aren't that complicated...

My breath was coming up short now, and in the face of developing panic, I just grabbed the nearest box and left.

***

I stared down the small plastic stick in my hand. I knew that it might not be right, but after some research, if this showed up positive, it would be...

Well.

I would be pregnant.

My heart beat so fast I thought it would stop, and I began to shake, the fear taking over every inch of my body. I really couldn't do this. Although I was surrounded by those significantly older than me, I was still sixteen. I giggled bitterly, almost manically at the irony of the situation.

My parents had never wanted me, that much was clear. My mother had been a teen mum, and I told myself that I would never get in the same position for fear that my child could feel as unloved as I did.

Yet here I was.

And I knew that if there was a baby growing inside me, I couldn't kill it. I just... couldn't.

In a second, I threw the test to the ground, just far enough away for it to be impossible to read. This was such a mess. My head fell into my arms, loose hairs curling protectively around my eyes.

I had to. I had to look.

Crawling over to it, my eyes finally met the stick in front of me.

Positive.