A New Road ➢ Thomas Brodie Sangster

Three Matches

Dropping the cloth on to the coffee table, I ran to the bathroom and lifted up the lid of the toilet, emptying the contents of my stomach. Gagging and crying, I felt Grace pull my hair behind my head and run my back as I continued to gag. She left me alone when I was finished so that I could rinse my mouth and attempt to rid the smell of stomach acid from my senses.

After brushing my teeth several times over and rinsing with mouth wash, I gripped the edge of the sink. Hanging my head, I remembered that night once again and thought of Grace. Opening the door, I walked IMO the living room and saw Grace sitting on the couch. Once she saw me, she set down her bowl and walked up to me, "Jade, you should rest. You're sick-"

"Grace, can you..Can you-"

I took a deep breath, utter fear shaking my body, "Can you come with me to the store, to get a pregnancy test?"

Grace seemed taken aback, frozen for a second but slowly nodded and grabbed her purse, leading us down the hall. Neither of us said anything on the way to the store. The pale light of the moon illuminating our faces on the drive. Leading me to where we needed to go, Grace grabbed a box and headed to the self checkout, paying before I or the chance to.

When we got back to the house, she led me to the bathroom and handed mere box, "Just follow the directions on there. There are three in there. Just try to do all of them at once. It'll make it easier."

I followed the directions on the box, laying the three sticks on a piece of toilet paper and set the timer on my phone for the last stick. Plopping down on the couch, Grace pulled me into a tight hug, rubbing the side of my arm.

"I know, sweetie. It's scary right now. It's funny though, how long the wait seems to be. Whatever happens you'll get through it," she reassured. She knew exactly what I was going through right now, having gone through it herself.

I stared blankly at the tv in front of me, "I feel like they're three matches and at any second, everything is just going to spark into flames."

Grace continued to rub my arm and leaned her head on my shoulder, "You can't think like that. If you're pregnant, that baby will be the best thing that will ever happen to you. And if you're not, then at least you know you have time until you're ready."

The wait felt like eternity until finally the timer on my phone rang from the table. Turning it off, I leaned forward on my knees, unable to push myself off the couch. Turning my head to Grace, I couldn't push back the fear in my eyes, "I'm scared."

She squeezed my hand in reassurance, "You can do this. You just have to look."

I nodded to myself and stood up, taking deep breaths as I made my way to the bathroom. Turning on the light, I stood in the doorway, staring at the three sticks. Hesitantly, I took the small steps toward them and peered over. I couldn't help the wave of relief that spread through me but also felt a small pang of disappointment.

"All negative," I called out. I delicately wrapped up the sticks and disposed of them in the trash as Grace made her way to the bathroom.

"Come on, we should finish up the marathon," Grace said, pulling on the crook of my elbow and leading me out of the bathroom.

I nodded my head but grabbed my phone and hesitated before I say on the couch, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna call Thomas."

Grace nodded as I made my way to my bedroom. Pacing back and forth as the phone rang.

Picking up on the 3rd ring, I heard Thomas' voice with Dylan's screams in the background, "Jade."

"Thomas, do you have a minute where you can get away from Dylan?" I asked sitting down on the corner of the bed.

"Is something wrong, love?" Thomas asked, his voice strained.

I leaned on my back, legs hanging off of the bed, "Just get a minute away. Please?"

"Dylan! Hey, Dyl! I need to talk to Jade for a minute," I heard Thomas say, his voice muffled by his shirt.

Dylan's voice was distant but clear, "Tell Jade I said hi and that I'm mad at her for taking a minute of guy time. I'm gonna start a timer!"

I heard Thomas chuckle and the noise diminish as a door closed. "Okay, what's the matter? You're making me nervous," Thomas said.

"Look, I'm just gonna say this fast and simply. Grace is over and I wasn't feeling good and I ended up throwing up so I took three pregnancy tests and they were all negative," I rushed, wanting to get straight to the point.

The other line filled with silence before Thomas' voice croaked, "They were all negative?"

"All negative," I repeated, tracing my hand along the seams of the bed sheet.

"I don't know what to say to that. Or how I should feel exactly," Thomas slowly drawled out.

I nodded my head to myself, "Same here. I just wanted to tell you as soon as I found out."

Then tension mingled with the silence on the line, making me shift in annoyance.

"When are things going to go back to normal, between us?" Thomas asked, his voice choking in the words.

I could feel the moisture in my eyes as I heard the crack in his voice, "I don't know."

I took a shaky breath before I spoke again, "I love you, Thomas. Nothing's going to change that. We'll get through this obstacle. I think, once we both just get some space from when it happened, things will be better. Soon enough we will be better than before."

Thomas lightly laughed, "I can't wait for it. It's killing me inside, what's happening to us."

"Me too," I whispered.