Chapter 77
-BLAIR-
I peed on the stick.
My hands were shaking so badly I nearly dropped it in the toilet, which would have been a fitting end to the last two weeks.
I capped it, flipped it face down on the counter, and immediately regretted looking at the back of it as if the result would jump out at me.
“This is insane,” I whispered at my own reflection. “Olivia is insane. I am not pregnant. I am stressed. I am nauseous because my life is a pretty sad movie. I am doing this to prove she is wrong. That’s all. To prove my sister wrong. There is nothing to worry about at all. Pregnant? Me? Ha!”
The stick sat there, facedown, waiting for me to turn it over. Still, I refused to do it. I couldn’t.
A knock on the door made me jump.
“Update,” Olivia said from the hallway. “I require an update. Are you done? Are you alive? Did you fall in the toilet? What the hell is happening in there?”
“Stop rushing me.”
“It is a three minute test, not a court case.”
“It is my bathroom and I will take the entire afternoon if I want.”
“That is not how the pee stick works, Blair.”
I closed my eyes and counted backward from twenty.
At twelve I forgot why I was counting. At eight I decided I would never have sex again. At four I accepted that I had already done the relevant part and the universe was simply processing the truth for me.
Another knock.
“I brought water,” Olivia said. “And also I am leaning on the door in a supportive but invasive way.”
Seriously? I could tell that she wasn’t going to drop this.
I unlocked it.
Olivia stepped in immediately, took one look at the facedown stick, and clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Don’t,” I said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
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The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
“You were about to say something.”
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She lowered her hand, eyes bright. “Okay. Neutral face. This is a very normal afternoon. My sister is just casually hosting a possible heir to a famous hockey captain.”
“Olivia.”
“Sorry. Zipping my mouth shut. You don’t have to worry about me. Just do your thing.”
We both stared at the stick as if it might flip itself.
I reached for it.
Pulled my hand back.
Reached again.
Made a noise I was not proud of and put both hands on my head.
“You do it,” I said.
Olivia stepped forward. Not needing to be told twice. It’s like she’s been waiting for this moment.
“Wait.” I blocked her. “Do not do it.”
She froze mid-reach. “You just told me to.”
“I know. I changed my mind. I am not ready to be emotionally ruined or emotionally relieved. I need a third option.”
“The third option is still the same stick.”
“Then the stick can wait.”
Olivia looked at me, then at the test, then back at me. “Blair. You are pacing in a bathroom. There is no extra room to pace. You have taken three steps and now you are facing the shower like you are going to die. Let’s just get this over with.”
“I am gathering myself.”
“You are having a breakdown. Another one.”
I pointed at her. “You brought the test. This is your fault.”
“I brought reality. Reality is currently facedown next to your hand soap. Come on, just take a look at it.”
I made another attempt. Fingers on the plastic. A tiny lift. Then I dropped it like it had burned me, except it only clicked softly back onto the counter, still facedown.
Olivia pressed her lips together so hard she was clearly swallowing a laugh. “I love you. I am also going to remember this for the rest of our lives. But you need to do this. We can’t be in here forever Blair!”
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The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
“Turn it over,” I said suddenly.
She moved.
“Stop.”
She stopped so fast she nearly hit the towel rack.
“I am going to develop whiplash.”
“I just need a second.”
“You have had several seconds. Can we please just get this over with?”
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I sat on the closed toilet lid, put my face in my hands, and mumbled, “If it’s negative I will never eat seafood boil again. If it’s positive I will never eat anything again.”
Olivia crouched in front of me, gentler now under the teasing. “Hey. Whatever it says, we deal with it. You are not walking out of here alone with a plastic stick and a crisis. You have me. You have all of your siblings who will be more than happy to welcome a new baby into the family. You are not alone. This is not the end of the world. It’s just the beginning.”
I peeked at her through my fingers. “Okay. Turn it over. For real. If you hesitate I will scream.”
“I will not hesitate.”
“If you look first and then make a face I will scream louder.”
“Do not worry.”
She stood, reached for the test, and flipped it quickly.
For a second neither of us spoke. I could see it as well.
Two lines.
Very clear. Very present. Very real.
Olivia’s mouth opened.
Mine did too.
“No,” I said.
Olivia whispered, “Blair.”
“No. That is a defective test. That is a joke test. That is-”
“That is pregnant.”
The bathroom became too small. The two lines stayed exactly where they were, unbothered by my denial, by
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The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
the man who had not called in two weeks and the woman the articles said was back in his house.
I looked at my sister.
Olivia looked at me.
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Then, because she was still Olivia even in a crisis, she said weakly, “So…I guess I’m going to be an auntie. Can I scream or…?”
I made a sound that was not a laugh or a sob, just the last of my composure leaving the building.
Pregnant.
I was pregnant.
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14:49 Thu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.