Page 156 of Rush

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"Yeah, just felt sick again."

"Again? How long has this been happening?"

"About a week."

"Just in the mornings?"

"Mostly, but sometimes in the afternoon too."

She sets down the streamers she's holding. "Everly, when was your last period?"

The question makes me freeze.

"I don't know. A while ago."

"How long is a while?"

I think about it, really think about it. "Six weeks, maybe seven."

"And you've been throwing up every morning for a week?"

"It's probably just the flu."

"Or you're pregnant."

The word lands like a bomb.

"That's ridiculous," I say automatically.

"Is it? You're sexually active, you've missed your period, you're throwing up every morning."

"It can't be that."

"Everly, when's the last time you and Rush used protection?"

I think about it and my stomach drops. We've been careful most of the time, but there were a few nights where we got carried away and didn't use anything.

"Fuck," I whisper.

"Yeah," Gráinne says gently. "You should take a test."

"I can't be pregnant."

"You won't know until you take a test."

"Rush and I have only been together for a few months."

"That's all it takes, love."

I sit down because my legs won't hold me. "What if I am?"

"Then you figure it out, but you need to know first."

"I'm not ready for this."

"Nobody's ever ready, but that doesn't mean it's not happening."

She's right and I know it.

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