troubled teachers

Chapter 26

There was a long silence. Regina waited, holding her breath.

"What?" came the whispered response after almost thirty seconds.

"The doctor rang with my test results," Regina said. "I'm pregnant."

There was another long pause.

"I … um … I don't know what to say," Emma said eventually.

"Me neither," Regina admitted. She hadn't known what to think, let alone say ever since the doctor had told her. The only conclusion she had reached was that she needed to talk to Emma.

"Can I um … phone you back?" Emma said. "I can hear Henry calling me and I need to check everything's alright."

"Sure. I'll be -,"

Regina stopped talking when she heard a click. Frowning, she pulled the phone away from her ear and stared in shock at the smug white letters. 'Call Ended'. Emma had hung up.

What now? The moment Regina herself found out she was pregnant, she had sank onto the sofa in a daze. It had taken over an hour for her to slowly digest the information. Digest, not accept. As soon as her brain had finally computed that she was pregnant, Regina had called her girlfriend at once, wanting, no needing, to talk to her. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised if Emma didn't know what to say in response to the news just as she hadn't known what to say to the doctor, who asked repeatedly if she was alright after she fell silent on her end of the phone call.

Emma just needed time, that was all. She needed time to process, to understand. And then she would call Regina back and everything would be fine. They would talk this new development through and come up with a way to move forward. Together.

But when Regina finally slid into bed close to midnight, her phone was still silent. Not a text, not a return phone call, nothing. Her fingers had hovered over the keypad a dozen times, so tempted was she to contact Emma. But she hadn't. Emma would call her when she was ready and Regina didn't want to push her. It took the brunette a long time to fall to sleep that night, a hand resting subconsciously on her flat stomach.

~

Four days. That was how long it had been since Regina had spoken to Emma. All she had heard from the younger woman was a text the morning after the short-lived phone call.

I think we should talk properly when I get back. Very busy up here. I'll see you on Sunday. E x

Regina had replied at once. She didn't even care how needy she felt or how it would come across.

Emma, I need to talk to you now. Please, I'm freaking out about this too, believe me. I can't wait that long to speak with you. R xxx

There had been no reply.

Regina had spent the days that followed gardening, reading, and cleaning every inch of her cottage. Her lonely evenings in front of the television or with her nose in a book stretched out endlessly as she waited for Sunday to draw nearer. Despite everything she did to keep busy, she was unable to distract herself from the colossal, life changing news she had received. It was on her mind every second of every day, her emotions twirling around in a messy soup of confusion. But there was one emotion she was sure she felt. Anger.