“You can’t just shut me out when you don’t need me, and then dump all of your problems on me when it’s convenient for you. It’s not fair.”
That slowed Nicole down. She was gripping the plastic bag that held the answers to a burning question, gripping it so tightly her knuckles were white. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a bad friend. I don’t want to be, and I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me—I’m grateful, Danielle. But right now—“
“Right we are going to sit down and talk about Kane Wright. You can’t go through with this trip to the Caymans. What if he rapes you?”
Nicole couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s the least of my concerns, honestly.”
“It shouldn’t be,” Danielle said, pointing at her. “He wants you, he’s doing anything he can to get you alone with him somewhere far away from any witnesses.”
“I think he’s just a very rich man used to getting what he wants.”
“Exactly. What if he decides he wants to have sex with you one night?”
It was a valid point. “I don’t know. My instincts tell me he’s not that kind of guy. Yes, he’s sneaky and entitled and I don’t like him much as a person. But rapist? I just don’t see it.”
“Well maybe you don’t, but I’m putting my foot down this time, Nic. You’ve gotten me involved now. I need you to call Kane and tell him you’re backing out on the deal.”
“I think he’s already made arrangements to pay off all your debt,” Nicole said. “So even if I back out, he’ll have paid close to a hundred thousand dollars on your behalf. We’re going to owe him either way.”
“Maybe I’ll call him and deal with it myself.”
“Look, Danielle, I don’t have time to argue. I’m sorry for dragging you into this—seriously, I am. But I need to get ready for work.”
Danielle glanced down at the bag.
For a moment, Nicole was sure she’d seen through the plastic and realized that Nicole had come back to the apartment with a bunch of pregnancy tests. But then she realized she was just being paranoid.
“Okay, do whatever you want Nicole. I’m just getting really tired of you treating me like an afterthought.”
“I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you.”
“I’ve heard that one before.”
Nicole didn’t know what else to say. Danielle was right, of course, but Nicole had bigger problems. Like finding out for sure if her fears were unfounded or if she was going to be having a major life crisis.
She got to the bathroom and closed the door, even locking it behind her.
She’d never had to take a pregnancy test before. This was the first time. There had been a lot of firsts since she’d started working at Jameson International. Most of the firsts had been things she’d never imagined herself going through and this was certainly one of those instances.
Nicole sat down on the toilet and opened the first pregnancy test kit. Pulling out the directions, she read them carefully—even though she knew they were so simple a seventh grader could follow them (and she supposed in this day and age, many did).
She was heartened to read that “early morning urine” contained the highest concentration of hCG and so would make for the best sample. Thank god for small favors. Hopefully, she would at least be assured of an accurate test right now.
Her heart was beating faster and faster as she held the strip in her hand. She needed a cup to pee into, which she hadn’t thought of, and didn’t want to go into the kitchen to get one. Facing Danielle’s wrath yet again wasn’t something she was looking to do at this particular moment.
But luckily they had some spare plastic cups under the bathroom sink. “You can do this,” she told herself, grabbing the cub and then pulling down her sweatpants and holding the cup under her.
She peed into it, just enough to make sure she could cover the stick the way she needed to, and then finished peeing into the toilet.
Her hands were shaking as she sat and dipped the test strip into the urine. She counted to three and then took the strip out and laid it across a folded up piece of toilet paper on top of the sink to let it dry.
The instructions had said that she could get results in as soon as forty seconds, but the entire time of three minutes should be allowed for full results.
So Nicole got up and stared at the strip lying on the sink and watched it. It was sort of like watching paint dry, she decided, only a whole lot more interesting. Her entire life was going to change depending on the results.
It occurred to her that she hadn’t truly thought about whether or not she wanted a child. Obviously it would be crazy to have a baby in the current situation, but what if Red was still in the picture?