All These Things

“It must be a defect.”

Her heart constricts slightly as her words bounce off the bathroom walls. She’s not sure what to do next. She could go to the drug store and replace the test. Or, she could just believe the one sitting on edge of the sink before her – the one telling her ‘you’re pregnant’.

“It’s the most accurate one in the store.”

She jumps, startled by the voice from the doorway. She forgot about him – Martin Johnson; her best friend. He’s the one who bought her the test in the first place.

With a deep, calming breath, she turns to him. “This can’t happen to me, Martin.”

He shakes his head and sighs, “Well… It is, isn’t it? I mean, I could go get you another test, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to tell you the same thing, Kay.” He takes two steps into the bathroom, and when he’s sure that she’s not going to push him away, he wraps his arms around her waist from behind and rests his head on her shoulder.

“How did this happen?” she asks quietly, not expecting an answer. She stares at herself in the mirror and frowns.

“Don’t ask me, you’re the Biology major. I’m just a singer. You should know.”

“Shut up – I didn’t want an answer.”

“You need to tell him,” He tells her quietly.

“I know I do; I’m not going to keep it a secret.”

“He’ll be back from the gym soon –”

She lets out a desperate laugh, “I am not telling him before the show. He’ll freak out. I’ll do it later tonight.”

“Fine,” Martin says. He removes his arms from around her and takes a few steps backwards towards the bathroom door. His eyes meet hers in the mirror. “I’m going to go back to my room… Call me if you need me.”

The second she hears the hotel room door shut behind him, Kaydence leans against the bathroom wall and slowly slides down to the floor. She brings her knees up to her chest and warps her arms around them, all the while choking back sobs.

Pregnant. How could she have been so stupid? One night of forgotten birth control and this is what she gets. It’s terrifying – horrifying, even. She has no idea what her boyfriend will say – what he’ll do. He’s in a band – a well known, highly demanded band. There’s no way he’s going to want anything to do with her once she informs him she’s pregnant.

Suddenly, she hears voices outside of the room. It sounds like Zack – he must be back from the gym. But he’s talking to someone else, more than likely Jack or Rian. She quickly scrambles from the floor and grabs the pregnancy test, wrapping it in toilet paper and shoving it into the pocket of her jeans. The second she grabs the hair brush from her make-up bag, the door to the room opens.

“Kaydence, I’m back!” Zack calls out. When he appears in the bathroom doorway, he smiles at her. “When did you wake up?”

“Not too long after you left,” She fakes a smile as he heads over to the shower and turns it on, setting it to the right temperature. He pulls his t-shirt over his head, revealing his toned body that he gets from going to the gym every morning. “How was your workout?”

“Good. I think we’re going to a diner for breakfast around 11. You up for it?”

Kaydence nods, knowing he’s referring to the fact that for the past few days, she’s been throwing up and not feeling her best. There’s a slight pinch in her chest as she reminds herself that he still thinks she just caught a ‘bug’ and plugs in the flat iron. She watches Zack in the mirror as she runs the iron through her hair. He notices.

“Don’t watch me get undressed, you pervert,” he jokes, grinning at her.

With a forced smile, she shakes her head. She knows he won’t be smiling at her in a few hours.

*