#Chapter 70 Choices

When I wake up the nausea isn’t as bad as it usually is, so it takes a moment before my revelation from the night before comes rushing back to me. I’m pregnant. What had once seemed like an impossibility was now true. The words feel foreign. I can’t bring myself to say them out loud. I just sit on the edge of the bed, pressing my palms into my thighs until the shaking stops, then I wrap my arms around myself, just to keep from falling apart. I don’t know what to do. I can’t tell anyone, not my family, not Ella, and especially not Kaine. This was never supposed to happen. I put on my uniform like always. The jacket feels tighter, though I know it’s just my imagination, it’s too soon for the pregnancy to show. I comb my hair back, tie it neatly, and force myself to look in the mirror. I look exhausted, and I know it’s not just from pregnancy, but the weight of everything I’ve been through recently. I splash cold water on my face, and I look a little more alive. It will have to