His Harvard Girl

Chapter Nineteen

A lot can happen in thirty seconds.

That's how long it took to get from my dorm to Elle's. Every day, I'd count the seconds. The steps. Each speck of dust on the floor.

Today, that's not what I was doing. But the thirty seconds still ticked by, each one representing a different thought.

Had she caught a bug?

Did she eat something bad?

Did she have a serious illness?

I hoped not. I prayed and hoped and wished it wasn't serious. But something told me that it was. It wasn't like Elle to deal with illness on her own, to practically slam the door in my face. It had to be serious for her to act like this.

The possibilities swam through my mind as I made the journey from my door to hers.

By ten seconds, I'd deduced it was food poisoning.

At twenty seconds, I'd decided she had swallowed a foreign object. That was certainly within Elle's strange capabilities. When we were young, she and Lee both swallowed fridge magnets. They were trying to have a competition of who could balance it on their tongue the longest.

They both lost, and ended up in hospital. We were lucky it didn't end up being hurtful.

But surely Elle wouldn't be playing magnet-balance at this age. Though, anything was possible with her.

By thirty seconds, as I stood in front of her door, something else crossed my mind. Something I would never have considered before. Something that only made sense due to the way she acted...the way she awkwardly kicked me out of the room...the way she shamefully called me back over.

Other things fell into place. Her sensitivity to my words lately. I considered that maybe I wasn't being thoughtful enough, but, no, the other option made more sense.

Her complaint that she was feeling bloated the other morning.

The vomiting!

It had to be it. There was no other explanation.

Elle was pregnant.

I knocked furiously on the door, and practically fell into Elle's arms as she opened it.

"Elle," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her. "Sit down. I know what's wrong."

She eyed me curiously as she took a seat on her bed. "You do?"

"It's obvious," I replied. "I'm sorry I didn't realise sooner."

"Noah-"

I couldn't let her talk until I'd told her my position on the whole thing. "Listen to me," I said. "I'm here for you. I'm here for this. I'll stick by you no matter what. We are in this together. It takes two to tango."

She looked dumbfounded.

"This isn't a mistake," I said. "This is a blessing. Let's keep the baby."

"What?!"

"The baby," I said confidently. "I want us to raise it together."

Elle looked at me with wide eyes. "You...you think I'm pregnant?"

I paused.

She wasn't pregnant?

"You're...you're not?"

She shook her head immediately. "Why on earth would you think that?"

I released a breath I didn't realise I was holding. I squeezed Elle's hands in mine and sighed loudly. "The signs...oh, man. I'm an idiot."

Elle smiled warmly. "It's nice to know you'd handle it so well," she said sweetly. "But, no, I'm definitely not pregnant. Thank goodness."

Relief washed over me. I was prepared to take responsibility for our actions. I was prepared to be a man. But, truthfully, I had hoped I wouldn't have to.

Kids were so far out of the picture it wasn't funny.

What a relief!

"So what's wrong?" I asked, looking at her.

She bit her lip nervously. She tightened her grip on my hands and hesitated each time she opened her mouth.

"What is it?" I prodded.

She sighed. "I think I'm sick," she said.

"Yes," I replied. "You vomited."

"No," she said. "Really sick. Mum was the same when she, you know, was diagnosed..."

My heart sank. What exactly was she trying to say?

"I've been vomiting a lot. Crazy stomach pains. I thought maybe it was a bug. But, this time, there was blood. Noah, I'm sorry I kicked you out. It's just, I was scared. Anyway, I've been googling it. I think I need a doctor. I don't want to go alone. Will you take me?"

"Of course," I said softly, pulling her into my arms. "Of course I will. Let's not hesitate any longer."

I stood from the bed, pulling her slowly upright.

"I shouldn't have waited this long," she admitted. "I just hoped it would go away. But the blood...I'm scared, Noah! Am I going to be okay?"

I squeezed her hands as tightly as I could. "Of course you are," I said.

But as I said it, I couldn't help but wonder if I was completely wrong.