The Loneliest Stars

Chapter 41

And here we have the last chapter of this story.
I hope you all enjoyed my tale of two unlikely people falling in love.

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Gabe was in a good mood after his mid-afternoon nap.

It wasn't something that he normally did, but between the pain, the drugs and Natalia's inventive pain management methods, he found himself sleeping a lot more than he usually did. Correction: than he ever did. But he felt a lot more rested than he had in decades. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt truly present in the moment.

In the kitchen, Gabe made himself some fruity tea that Natalia swore by and ate leftovers before he took his antibiotics. The box he found was empty already but he knew Natalia had picked up a refill that she had left in her handbag. She hoarded a ton of interesting and random things in her oversized bag.

When he stuck his hand inside the bag he found a white branded paper bag from the pharmacy, inside it were his antibiotics but there was also another rectangular box, with the words pregnancy tested printed neatly on the side.

He stared at it with a myriad of conflicting feelings. It was no grand secret that his and Natalia's relationship was serious. So serious that he could envision a lifetime with her and everything that a lifetime entailed.

"Gabe I can explain..."

He didn't even know when she had silently padded down the stairs and crept into the living room.

"Please do," he requested and he internally winced at the tone. It had a tinge of asshole about it. He was hurt that she had neglected to mention this before.

His tone has nothing to do with the actual risk of pregnancy. In his subconscious, he knew that they had been behaving a bit recklessly.

When he was going away to Mali, with no real guarantee about his return. It made sense, it had been romantic even. But now in the cold light of day, the reality was starting to sink in.

"Okay, I only said that because that's what people always say. I have nothing to explain."

Gabe had to bite his cheek to stop himself from laughing. This was a serious conversation that could change the course of their lives. He couldn't derail it with their usual bickering and to and fro banter.

"Start with the basics, why are you in possession of a pregnancy test?"

"I'm not one of your little suspects you can interrogate, you know," she replied tersely.

It was definitely in response to his initial tone, Gabe couldn't deny that. "It's not rocket science. My period is late so I got worried, ergo, I bought a test."

"Were you going to tell me?"

Natalia looked away, avoiding his eyes. It told him what he needed to know.

He dumped her handbag on the couch, bringing the pregnancy kit with him. He grabbed her by the forearm and led her to the downstairs toilet in long strides.

He felt his temper rising and threatening to overspill.

"Sit."

"I'm not a — "

"Can you not make this difficult? I want to do this without arguing."

"Okay." She rolled her eyes at his bout of seriousness.

She held her hand out expectantly. Gabe ripped the box open and handed her the test.

She stared at him with wide eyes. "You're just gonna watch me, you perv?"