Free Walk on the Wild Side by Natalie Anderson Page A

moment.
    â€˜Kelsi?’
    Stupid, irrelevant thoughts tumbled over and over in her head. When had her last period been? But all she came upwith was an empty feeling. A blankness that just couldn’t be good.
    â€˜I used a condom.’ Clearly he was thinking the same thing.
    â€˜Yes.’ Her voice cracked. ‘You checked it after, right?’
    He stared at her but wasn’t really seeing her. She knew he, too, was thinking back on those cataclysmic moments when they’d been in the water. Waist deep, they’d rolled and swapped positions again and again and pushed it every which way.
    His face became more rigid as the seconds dragged. ‘I swam after. I just scrunched it up and put it in my pocket to get rid of later.’
    So he hadn’t checked—it could have shredded. Neither of them knew for sure. And, given the sustained action the thing had endured, it probably had.
    Oh, no.
    â€˜Come on,’ He said suddenly, taking her hand in a tight grip and next thing he was walking her out of the flat, down the path, dragging her behind him like one of those wooden pull-along toys.
    He went to the driver’s side of her car. ‘Keys.’
    â€˜I thought you believed in walking ,’ she said sarcastically, needing to get a bite in.
    â€˜Right now I really feel like running.’
    Ha ha.
    She got in the car and gripped her hands tight together, pressing them to her chest. ‘Where are we going?’
    â€˜The supermarket.’
    She looked blankly at him.
    â€˜To get a pregnancy test.’
    Supermarkets stocked pregnancy tests? And he knew this how?
    â€˜They have everything. If they don’t we’ll try the pharmacy.’
    But the supermarket did have pregnancy tests—next to the lubricant and the ribbed condoms.
    â€˜I can’t do this.’ She dropped her gaze down to the plasters—brightly coloured ones with cartoon characters on them. She looked to another shelf—kids’ toothpaste, kids’ shampoo, kids’ talc. Everywhere she looked there were kid things. Only a little farther along were nappies— nappies!
    No, no, no and no again.
    Jack didn’t answer, just reached up and grabbed two boxes—different brands. Then he took her by the arm again and stalked to another aisle, picked up a bottle of juice.
    â€˜I prefer apple,’ she said, just to retain some element of control.
    â€˜There must be a bathroom somewhere round here.’ He looked around the building.
    â€˜I am not doing this in a public loo.’ She shook her head, appalled. ‘I’m going home.’
    He frowned but nodded. ‘I’m coming with you.’
    She saw the look in his eyes and decided not to argue. She went ahead so she wouldn’t have to see the checkout operator’s eyebrows lift when she scanned those few specific items.
    He got in the car and handed her the bottle. She held it in a death grip but she couldn’t drink. She didn’t want to move—not even an inch, not ever again. The bottle was taken from her and he took a gulp from it. She’d laugh if she wasn’t so scared. He was on her heels as she walked up the path to her building. She could feel his breath on her shoulder as she unlocked the door. But when he walked with her up to the bathroom door she drew the line.
    â€˜I’m having privacy for this.’
    â€˜Of course. I’ll be right here.’ He handed her the plastic shopping bag, then took up position leaning against the wall right outside.
    This just couldn’t be happening. Just couldn’t.
    She’d never done a pregnancy test in her life, but it wasn’t as if it was hard. Hideous, yes, as her stomach swirled with sickened nerves. She held the little stick thing in front of her and watched as she waited to see if her life really was ruined. She’d opened the most expensive one first, hoping it meant greatest accuracy, but all it meant was that it was