Tied - Part Three (The Tied Series) by Ellen Callahan Page A

uncomfortable green-cushioned chairs. I filled out the forms with a trembling hand.
     
    “Just Patrick,” I said. She didn’t need to know about Whitney. That was a slip-up. I should have gone to Alexa first above everybody. Except my boyfriend .
     
    “Lockett has no idea?”
     
    “No,” I said quietly, “He’s got enough on his mind.”
     
    “Katherine.”
     
    “I know. Soon. Let me confirm it first, at least.”
     
    “I don’t think I need to ask if it’s his, right?”
     
    I frowned. “How can you even say that?”
     
    “Eh.” She shrugged. “Everyone says it. People are gonna say it.”
     
    She was right but it didn’t make it sting any less.
     
    I left her in the waiting room when a nurse finally called my name. She had me pee in a cup before shutting me inside an examination room, alone.
     
    I paced back and forth. The room was too bright, too sterile. Some of the posters on the walls showed all stages of pregnancy. I averted my eyes. Confirm first. Don’t get ahead of yourself. One thing at a time .
     
    Lockett should have been there, I realized. We were a couple. He’d said it, or at least, he’d let me call myself his girlfriend. He should be here . Pissed, happy, scared, no matter.
     
    I nearly jumped out of my skin when the doctor burst into the room. He was a kindly-looking older man who introduced himself as Dr. Warren.
     
    “Katherine Riley,” he said, staring down at the papers in his hands. “The urine test was positive. We’ll run a blood test just to triple confirm, but you are pregnant.”
     
    I leaned back against the exam table, crinkling the waxy paper. “Oh.”
     
    “We offer a variety of services here,” he said. “At this stage all we can do is start you on some prenatal vitamins and make an appointment for an ultrasound in about two weeks or so. Does that sound agreeable?”
     
    I nodded numbly as the reality crashed around me. It’s real. This is happening . I rubbed my arms. “Would you like a nurse to fetch the young woman you arrived with?” the doctor asked.
     
    “No, I’m fine,” I said, then nodded. “I’ll do like you said. The ultrasound. The next appointment.”
     
    “We’ll take good care of you here, Miss Riley, let me assure you.”
     
    “Thank you.”
     
    I was in a fog when I finally stepped back out into the waiting room, clutching pamphlets and a bottle of vitamins. It was a little more crowded now and I didn’t spot Alexa right away - but she saw me, and she jumped up and crushed me in a hug.
     
    “Come on,” she said, “You need ice cream.”
     
    “I need a time machine.”
     
    “And you need to tell your boyfriend.”
     
    My stomach lurched at the prospect. “I know.”
     
    But I didn’t tell him that evening, despite Alexa’s glares on her way out the door to go to work.
     
    I didn’t tell him that night, though I slept in his bed, and I didn’t tell him when we kissed, or when we made love to each other with our mouths and hands.
     
    “You seem stressed,” he said, holding me tight against his bare chest. My body was abuzz with the afterglow of an amazing orgasm - they were always amazing with him. His own breathing was heavy behind me. I hadn’t done such a bad job myself, either. I was just grateful to distract us - to shut away the world with him.
     
    “I am a little stressed,” I admitted. “Worried about you. And I promised to visit my mother this weekend.”
     
    He groaned. “Leaving me?”
     
    “Just for one night.” I stroked his arm, tracing the ink that marked him. “You’ll be okay, right?”
     
    “Yeah, of course. As long as I’ve got the internet, I won’t starve.” He kissed my neck, his stubble rough against my flushed skin. “Is that all? Everything good at work?”
     
    “Which job?” I asked, grinning.
     
    “The ones that pay.”
     
    “They’re good,” I said, “The school told me I should be optimistic about September.” Will I be showing by then? Oh,