Abort What?

TIFFANY

“You can stay with her for as long as you want, Miss Vance. I'll get the doctor to check on her now,” a professional feminine voice drifted into my ears.

I didn't open my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was the faint smell of disinfectant. Then came the steady beeping beside me, the cold sheets beneath my body, and the uncomfortable tug of an IV attached to the back of my hand.

My throat felt dry. My body felt heavy.

For a few seconds, I couldn't remember where I was, then the memory came rushing back.

The pain. The gate. Paul calling Stephanie. And then…nothing.

“Why do you always do this when you know I can sense it?” Stephanie's voice came from beside me. “Open your eyes, Tiff. I know you're awake.”

I slowly opened my eyes.

The white ceiling above me was the first thing I saw. I stared at it blankly, trying to understand how I had ended up in a hospital.

Then I turned my head. Stephanie was sitting beside my bed.

The moment our eyes met, she stood and reached for my hand.

“Easy.”

She helped me sit up before adjusting the pillow behind my back. I winced slightly as my body moved, and Stephanie noticed.

“Does it still hurt?”

I shook my head. “No.” My voice came out dry and weak.

She stared at me for a moment before reaching for my messy brown hair. She pulled it away from my face and tied it back with the black hairband around her wrist.

The simple gesture made something inside me ache.

Stephanie had always been the person I turned to whenever life became too much.

“You know I shouldn't have picked up your call, right?” she said quietly.

I frowned.

“What?”

“If it were you, you wouldn't have picked up my call either.”

She sat back down, her eyes fixed on me.

I didn't know what she was trying to say, but there was something different about her. Something I couldn't quite place.

Then I remembered our argument at the hotel.

Ethan.

Her hanging up my call.

The things I had said to her.

I looked away. “I'm sorry,” I whispered.

Stephanie didn't answer immediately. Instead, she watched me for a few seconds before asking, “Do you remember what happened to you?”

I shook my head. “No. I only remember walking out of the house.”

Her expression changed, just slightly, but I noticed it.

“What happened after that?” I asked.

She lowered her gaze.

“You collapsed.”

My heart skipped.

“What?”

“You collapsed outside the house.”

“Why?”

Stephanie opened her mouth, but before she could answer, the hospital door opened.

A doctor walked inside.

And from the look on Stephanie's face, I suddenly knew that whatever he was about to tell me was something I wasn't prepared to hear.

“What's going on?” I whispered. “Steph, don't leave me in the dark.”

My heart hammered against my ribcage. I grabbed the bedsheets firmly, as if holding onto them would anchor me, but it didn't.

Sweat gathered across my forehead as my gaze moved between Stephanie and the doctor.

He kept looking at Stephanie.

Stephanie's head remained lowered.

“Tell her,” she finally said. “You can't hide it from her anyway.”

The doctor swallowed before looking at me.

“Miss Perkins…”

“I'm listening. What is it? Is it serious?” My mind immediately drifted toward every terrible possibility. “Did I have cancer?”

Why was Steph avoiding my gaze?

The doctor took a breath. “You're two weeks pregnant.”

For a few seconds, I simply stared at him.

I heard the words.

I understood the words.

But somehow, my mind refused to put them together.

Pregnant. Two weeks.

My fingers slowly loosened around the bedsheets.

“No,” I whispered.

The doctor didn't move. “I'm sorry?”

“I said no.”

My voice came out louder this time.

“That's not possible.”

Stephanie shifted beside me, but I didn't look at her.

The doctor pulled the stool closer to my bed and sat down.

“The test came back positive. We also ran a blood test to confirm it.”

My lips parted, but no words came out.

Pregnant?

How could I be pregnant?

My entire life had already been turned upside down because of Ethan and the engagement. I was supposed to leave with him. We were supposed to start our own life together.

A child was the last thing I had expected.

I slowly placed a trembling hand over my stomach.

There was nothing there, nothing I could feel, yet there was supposed to be a baby inside me.

My baby.

My breathing became uneven. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes, Miss Perkins.”

I shook my head repeatedly.

“No. You have to check again.”

“We already did.”

“Then check again.”

My voice cracked.

“Please.”

The doctor looked at Stephanie before turning back to me.

“We can repeat the test if that will give you peace of mind, but the result is clear. You're pregnant.”

My eyes burned.

I looked down at my stomach again, my palm still resting against it.

A baby.

I was carrying a baby.

There was nothing to see yet. No bump. Nothing that could prove there was another life growing inside me.

But somehow, everything had already changed.

“Steph…”

My voice broke.

“What am I going to do?”

Stephanie slowly stood beside me and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I warned you, didn't I?”

I looked at her through my tears.

“I warned you about your reckless behavior, did I not?”

My eyes remained glued to her as tears rolled down my cheeks. My stomach twisted, and my heart felt impossibly heavy.

She had warned me, and I remembered the exact words I had said to her back then.

Guess who was regretting everything now?

“What are you going to tell Ethan?” Stephanie continued. “Your grandfather? How will you explain to the world that you don't even know the name of the stranger you're pregnant for?”

Her words cut deeper with every sentence.

I buried my face in my hands and cried.

The doctor slowly stood from the stool. “I'll give you both some privacy.” He left the room, closing the door behind him.

Stephanie immediately took his seat.

“What will you tell my brother?” she asked.

I lifted my tearful eyes to hers.

It was enough. I already felt terrible, Steph.

“That's why I'm asking you.” My voice trembled. “You're always my magic genie, Steph. What should I do?”

I reached for her hand.

“I swear I'll listen to you. I won't question anything you tell me again. Not ever.”

The words came out between sobs.

Steph looked into my eyes and without a single sympathy in her eyes, she said, “Abort it!"