In The Unlikely Event [updates begin may 3]

08 | heartbeat

a/n everyone say thank you to google, mayo clinic, youtube and the other various websites that sponsored this chapter. I'm just kidding ofc but holy fuck the research i had to do for this chapter and all because i had the audacity to have never been pregnant before. vote, comment, follow and all that fun stuff if u enjoyed this chapter

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After the third insistent ring, I fished out my phone before the pile of discarded clothes that sat in the corner beside my dresser. I placed the call on speaker.

"Do you want large fries or nuggets?" she greeted.

"What?"

"Large fries or nuggets? I've been sewing for the past three hours. I'm going stir crazy, so I'm going to destress the best way I know how to; drive around and spend money I don't have. Large fries or nuggets?" I pulled out the last bobby pin trapped between my teeth and inserted it into my hair to hold down the fake ponytail attached to the ends of my cornrows.

"What? The blue lights weren't working anymore?" Wiping off the last of the Blue Magic hair grease on the back of my hand, I applied it to the two big cornrows I'd done on my hair. Looking into the mirror, they were slightly askew, but my decently laid edges made up for them.

"One more word that's not your order, and I'm hanging up," she warned. I heard the car blinker going off in the background. "I'm pulling into the drive-thru right now. What's it gonna be, Addy?"

"Large fries," I told her. "With the sweet and sour sauce on the side. Check the bag to make sure they gave you the sweet and sour sauce. 'Cause they didn't last time. Also, could you get me a medium milkshake and--"

"Greedy bitch. I asked if you wanted a large fries. Stop reciting the McDonalds menu to me."

I broke into a short laugh. "You said you wanted to destress by spending your money. I'm just trying to help you out." Trapping my phone between my ear and shoulder blade, I hip-checked the drawer back in and moved away from my dresser, checking my reflection for one more fleeting moment.

Making my way through the discarded clothes and Advanced Functions notes that decorated my carpeted beige floor, I headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Ha, ha. I can handle spending my money by myself. So, large fries and a medium, vanilla milkshake?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Sunlight flooded into the kitchen through the patio doors, reflecting off the marble countertops and the greyish veneer cupboards. The kitchen countertops were bare, any evidence of this morning's hectic breakfast erased thanks in part to Aunt Yvonne's tendency to clean when she had a buildup of nervous energy. Sprawled out on the white sofa in the living room, she had her back to me as she flipped through--what I was sure--a baby magazine. She'd subscribed to a few of those a few weeks earlier.

"Addy, you want me to bring it over to your school? We can skip your last period together." I heard Tammy ask in my ear, and I shook my head, absentmindedly, before remembering that we were on call.

"Uh...nah. I'm not at school." I opened the cupboard to retrieve the Nutella container and the fridge to take out the bread.

"You're not at school? Why? What's up? Are you feeling bad or sum?"

"Nah. I had to leave early for Aunt Yvonne's first prenatal appointment today." Trapping my cellphone against my ear, I fished out a plastic butter knife from the top drawer and applied the Nutella onto the sliced bread.

"Oh. What time is that?"

"Around 3. The whole fam is coming." I bite into the bread and almost groaned at the taste of the Nutella.