Page 77 of If the Stars Align

I reach for the lamp on my nightstand and click on the light. When I turn to Ava, she’s doubled over, wincing.

I sit up and shift closer to her in bed. “Where does it hurt?”

“My chest…my stomach. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.” She shows me her trembling fingers. “The pain’s so bad, I’m shaking.”

“Let’s get you to the hospital,” I say, rubbing her back. Her skin is flushed, and her eyes are wide, and I can tell she’s terrified. I’ve been there before—so many times.

She shakes her head. “I have someone who’ll come to the house. His name is Dr. Keller.” She clutches her stomach and winces again. “Can you call him?”

I nod.

“Just promise me you’ll stay for the exam, okay? I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Of course, Ava. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

She attempts a smile and hands me her phone.

I call Dr. Keller, and he arrives less than twenty minutes later.When I bring him to Ava’s room, he sits on the edge of the bed to examine her.

“Could you be pregnant?” he asks as he feels her abdomen.

Ava looks at me, and her eyes fill with tears. She bites her lip, worriedly.

I feel so bad for her. She must be in such terrible pain that she’s panicking and can’t think straight. Of course she isn’t pregnant—she’s on the pill.

Right?

“Ava?” I ask when she continues looking at me, avoiding her doctor’s question.

Finally, she turns to him. “Um…I don’t know,” she says. “It’s possible.”

My heart picks up speed.

“When was your last menstrual period?” Dr. Keller asks her.

“Well…my periods are kind of all over the place,” she says. “But I really think this is just an upset stomach. Food poisoning, maybe.” She shifts her position in bed and gasps from the pain.

“Are you still taking hormonal birth control?” the doctor continues, looking at her chart.

Ava just blinks at him without answering. There are beads of sweat on her brow. She looks like she’s going to be sick. “Excuse me,” she says, covering her mouth. Then she runs to the bathroom and, seconds later, we hear her throw up.

“I’m going to look in on her,” Dr. Keller says to me. When he enters the bathroom, Ava closes the door behind him. I hear them whispering, but I can’t make out what they’re saying.

I take deep breaths.

I pace the room.

What the fuck is going on? Could Ava really be pregnant?

I walk over to her nightstand, where she keeps her birth control pills. I find the pack and open it. Maybe I’m crazy, but it looks exactly the same as when she showed it to me after our first date. Half of the pills are taken, and the last one she took was on a Friday. Today’s Tuesday. So the best case scenario is she’s skipped a few days.

But the worst case…

I sit on the bed again and try to wait patiently. Try to ignore the fact that my vision’s getting hazy.

Dr. Keller comes back into the room and suggests we give Ava a few minutes alone. Waiting for her to come out of the bathroom is torture. I’m convinced the doctor can hear my heart hammering from across the room, where he’s writing notes in her chart.

Finally, the bathroom door creaks open, and Ava walks out.