Free SEPARATED: CONCLUSION TO UN-RELATED by Kimberly Schwartzmiller Page B

denied it…even to myself.
     
    I laid there in my room…in the dark, trying to figure out what to do. If I told Kellan, he’d certainly end up in jail, probably for murder; although, in my eyes, it would be justifiable homicide. I had never hated Joe more than I did at that moment. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I knew I had to answer it or he’d probably just call Tyler.
    “Hi! How was dinner?” I asked, in my cheeriest voice.
    “It was great, actually. She did have Tofu turkey for her and her daughter, but they made a real turkey for me and her daughter’s husband. I’m stuffed! How about you?”
    I looked down at my belly and said, “I’m stuffed, too.”
    “Good. So, tell me how your day went?”
    We talked for a while, and if he noticed anything unusual, he didn’t mention it. We hung up on a good note and he promised to call me after his test on Saturday.

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
     
    I cried myself to sleep, in fact, I cried all weekend. I stayed in my room, only leaving to occasionally throw up in the bathroom. I hadn’t eaten and I was exhausted. I didn’t know what to do. I talked to Kellan Saturday night and this time I couldn’t hide the fact that I was sick. I had to have him hang on while I threw up.
    “Abby, you’re still sick? You have to go to the doctor to find out what’s wrong.”
    He was right, I did need to go to the doctor, but I knew what was wrong.
    “Yeah, I know. I’ll go…soon.”
    “No, not soon, Abby, on Monday! I’ll call and make an appointment for you myself if I have to.”
    “Okay, Monday. I’ll call. Maybe I’ll go back to the one I got my pills from. She was nice.”
    “I think you need to see someone else. I think she only sees women, you know, for birth control and if they’re pregnant…” He stopped talking and started to breathe faster.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked.
    “ Abby, you um, you were taking the pills every day, right?”
    “I never missed one …not until Nancy took them away…after you left.” I was forcing the tears back.
    “Abby, do you think you could be pregnant? They don’t always work. Maybe you should buy a test.”
    “I um, I already did.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me you were worried about that? Is that what’s been bothering you all this time?”
    I hated having to lie to Kellan, but this time I felt I needed to. “Kind of.”
    “Um, so…?” he asked, while holding his breath.
    I couldn’t tell him the truth. “It was negative. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want to worry you.” 
    I heard him sigh in relief. “Abby, you don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “I want you to call me after you see the doctor.”
    “I will.”
    We hung up a few minutes later and I went back to pacing my room. I looked at the box that contained the test that was going to ruin my life and I opened it once again. I looked at the stick, hoping that by some miracle that there would suddenly be the word ‘not’ in front of ‘pregnant’ and this nightmare would be over…no such luck. I stuffed it back into the box and threw it against the wall. I knew my life was ruined, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
                 
    I was sleeping soundly for the first time in weeks, but I must have left my door un-locked after my last trip to the bathroom, and I woke up to the sound of Nancy standing over me.
    “Now you’ve done it!” she said, looking angrier than I’d ever seen her.
    I sat up and fought the wave of nausea that was ripping through me at the moment.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Did you think we wouldn’t know?”
    “Know what?” I asked, irritated by her intrusion.
    “I thought it might be true, but I wasn’t sure…until now!” she said, holding up the pregnancy test box in her hand.
    I lay back down and turned away from her.
    “Well?”
    “Well, what?”
    “What do you have to say for yourself?”
    “What do you want me to say? Do you think