Racing Hearts

Chapter 12- Unexpected

April

Life as we knew it had taken a drastic turn and not for the better. A pandemic, known as Coronavirus or COVID-19 was sweeping the world. After a few weeks, states had gone into lockdown. Stay at home orders were issued and non essential businesses were forced to close, which meant I was out of work. People were on high alert for fear of contracting the virus, and I dreaded walking into the doctors office today because of the crisis going on, but I knew I needed my Depo shot.

"Hi, I'm Kori Martin, I'm here to see the nurse for an injection." I said to the receptionist behind the glass, who had a surgical mask covering half of her face.

She tapped a few things on her computer and looked at the screen. "I'm sorry Ms. Martin, but I'm showing you were supposed to come in last month." She said.

I frowned, I was certain it was today. I was really off. "Is there anyway she can get me in today? I really need my shot." I asked.

"Just a minute, I'll check." She got up and walked to the back. She came back a few moments later. "She'll see you now. You can come on back."

I was led to an exam room to wait. And I tried not to panic. I was nearly a month late on my shot, which means I had unprotected sex. I had even told Ryan that it was okay. A few minutes later, a nurse appeared, dressed head to toe in protective gear. "Hi Kori, I know you're aware you missed your appointment last month. You do realize the shot is 99% effective only if taken correctly, which means being on time with your injections, so I need to ask you a few questions. Have you been sexually active since your last injection?"

I nodded. Very active, I thought to myself.

She tapped a few things down on the computer keyboard then looked at me. "Alright. When was your last period?"

"I tend to skip periods since I started the Depo." I replied, now feeling a bit more panicked. What if my missed periods were not from the shot?

She nodded, and maybe smiled at me, I couldn't tell because of the mask she was wearing. "Alright. We need to run a pregnancy test to make sure. If it's negative, we can give you the shot. You can go into the bathroom, there are specimen cups in there. Just write your name on the cup, and when you are done, just slide it into the metal cabinet on the wall. The lab tech will pick it up and run it. You can come back in here and wait." She explained.

I did as instructed, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach the entire time.

After waiting several minutes, the nurse appeared. "I won't be able to administer your injection today Kori. I got the results of your test, and you are pregnant." She said.

The sick feeling in my stomach grew. Not only was I pregnant, but I had been with Derek the week before Ryan. Fuck! I don't know who the father is. I missed part of what the nurse had said, only when she handed me a paper did it hit me. I was scheduled for a prenatal appointment and an ultrasound the following week. The nurse could not calculate how far along I was, since I was unsure of the date of my last period, so the ultrasound would be needed to date my pregnancy.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

I had only heard from Ryan twice since
I had left him in Vegas. First was the call and text a couple of days after, then a few weeks later was another text letting me know that he had talked to a lawyer about getting our drunken mistake of a marriage annulled, and I should be hearing from him or the lawyer when the paperwork was finalized.

I had not told anyone, not even Tracy about getting married to Ryan. I loved her to death, but Tracy couldn't keep a secret to save her life. Despite how angry I was a Ryan, I didn't want to risk anything getting out that could possibly cause bad press or sponsor issues for him. I just wanted the nightmare to end.

I needed to talk to someone, and no amount of "social distancing" guidelines was going to keep me from my best friend. Tracy immediately knew something was wrong, so I spilled everything, even that Ryan and I had gotten married, the whole ugly aftermath of that realization, then I finally told her I was pregnant.

"Oh my God Kori! Have you told Ryan." She said.

I shook my head. "I just found out. I'm not even sure it's his. It could be for Derek." I cried.

"You still have to tell him. You can't keep this from him. He has the right to know he may be a father."

"I'm just going to wait until after the ultrasound. Maybe I won't tell him at all. Either of them."

"Have you lost your fucking mind Korina Rose Martin?" Shit! She just used my full name. "Has pregnancy fried your brain already?What are you even planning to do about the baby?" She demanded.

"I'm keeping the baby Tracy. I can do it on my own. Ryan doesn't even want kids."

"And what if it's Derek's baby. He may be an ass, but he should know if he's a father." I didn't even realize I only used Ryan's name in my last statement. I hated to think the father was anyone but Ryan.

"I don't want Derek back in my life." I said.

"That's really fucking selfish Kori. Not only for Derek and Ryan, but for the baby as well. You grew up without a father, so you of all people should know. Do you have any clue how hard it is to raise a baby alone?"

"My mom did it. Although my father didn't leave her much choice, but she did just fine. Now I know why she warned me not to get involved with a race car driver. They are only focused on the next race, not a wife and kid. I'm not going to trap anyone with a kid." I argued.

"You know I loved your mother, but she really filled your head with some serious shit about relationships. Totally warped your mind. But you are not your mother, and Ryan is not your father. I never thought I would be the one to say this to you, but Kori, you need to grow the fuck up. This is not just about you anymore, there are three lives affected by this, and you don't get to make the choices based on just what you want."

"I am grown the fuck up Tracy. I'm well aware of the three lives affected, and that is why I am fully prepared to be a single mother. My mom did it with a lot less than I have right now."

"But your mom didn't do it by choice. If given the choice, she would have done things a lot different. Times were different back then."

I sighed. "I honestly don't know what I'm going to do yet Tracy. I haven't thought that far ahead. This is all new to me."

"You'd better start thinking about it Kori. You can't keep putting things off just because you don't feel like dealing with it. You have got to snap out of this funk you have been in for the last month, month and a half. However the hell long it's been."

I wanted to get mad at her and tell her to stop telling me how to live my life, but she was right, and I really did need someone to tell me how to live my life because I wasn't doing a very good job. God I hated that she was always right.

"Just let me see what I find out from the ultrasound, then promise I'll deal with it." I promised.

"Just make sure you don't put it off any longer than that. I may yell at you, but I only do it because I love you and I only want what's best for you. I'm here for you and I'll help out anyway I can."

"I know Trace." I sniffled. I knew she would. Tracy had had my back since we were seven.

After crying on Tracy's shoulder a little longer, I decided it was time for me to go home. Even though it was still pretty early, I just wanted to take a long hot bath and go to bed. It had been quite an eventful day.

I didn't even get to start my bath water before someone was knocking on my door. What the hell. Don't people realize we are under a quarantine and they need to quit with the door to door soliciting.

I flung the door open, fully prepared to give whoever was on the other side a piece of my mind, while maintaining a six foot distance between us. I was not prepared for who was actually standing on the other side.

"Ryan. What are you doing here?"