**Edited**
Poppy's POV
I stirred from my light slumber, not feeling even the slightest bit refreshed after all that happened yesterday. I was starving from barely eating anything last night. Even though Knox and I went straight to bed after dinner - well, I did while Knox let me cuddle him as he answered emails on his phone - I was still exhausted. Actually, if I was being totally honest I felt like I'd been run over by a tank. I was incredibly thankful that one of my class friends agreed to take notes for me during lecture today so I wouldn't have to drag myself out of bed.
I think I'm coming down with something I thought to myself as I rolled over in bed and noted how achy my entire body felt. That paired with my inability to get a good nights sleep and increasing nausea that was starting to make an appearance pretty much confirmed my assumption. I must just be getting worse because this was roughly the same feeling I had while I was talking with my mom. I slowly sat up in bed and lightly rubbed my queasy stomach, trying to will the annoying feeling away. Stupid immune system.
I groaned loudly as the sensation became worse. Unfortunately, my sound of pain woke Knox up as he peeked a single eye open. The other eye soon followed before he propped himself up on the bed with his elbow and glanced at my alarm clock.
"What're you doing up so early, Flower?" he croaked out sleepily.
"I don't know, I just feel really sick. My stomach won't stop turning, I couldn't sleep all night, and my whole body just hurts all over. And now I'm getting a pounding headache," I whined. I knew I sounded like a five-year-old, but I couldn't help it; I was too tired to deal with how crappy I felt alone. Thank God he spent the night last night.
"It was probably just the food we ate for dinner. It didn't really sit well with my stomach either - though it was delicious, baby. I'll get you a glass of water," he mumbled reassuringly before kissing the top of my head and rolling out of bed. I could hear the soft padding of his footsteps as he made his way to my kitchen.
Just as I heard him filling a glass with water, my nausea Abruptly got a thousand times worse. I scrambled out of bed and sprinted towards the bathroom, praying I would make it to the toilet in time – otherwise I would be cleaning up my own mess, which sounded about as appealing as gouging my own eyes out.
I fell to my knees, thankfully landing right in front of the porcelain bowl as I lurched forward, my stomach ridding itself of all of its contents. After about a minute or so, there was nothing left and I was just dry heaving.
"Shit! Are you okay, Poppy?" Knox rushed out while quickly setting down the glass of water and squatting next to my hunched over form. I lifted my head to reply but quickly stuck my head back in as my stomach heaved once more. Without another word, Knox opened a cabinet drawer and pulled out my favorite scrunchy. He sloppily tied my hair back and out of my face. I rested my head on the arm that was currently hugging the toilet seat while blindly trying to flush my mess away. Thank God I'm the only one who's ever used this bathroom. I moved away from the toilet and leaned against Knox as he helped me stand back up.
"C'mon, Flower. You probably just got whatever pre-winter bug is going around right now," he said. I nodded weakly, allowing him to tuck me back into bed as my eyelids grew heavy.
"Can I get you anything? What do you need right now, baby?" he asked.
"Just you," I hummed hoarsely, wanting nothing more than to feel his big strong arms wrapped around my frail body. He chuckled quietly before quickly climbing into bed behind me. His hand came around to my stomach before fanning his fingers across my belly and gently massaging it.
"You're a little bloated, Flower. Maybe you're about to get your period?" he suggested. Usually, he was really good about knowing exactly how long until it hit, so I was surprised he was even asking me. I just shrugged my shoulders, too out of it to give the idea a second thought.
Upon awaking from my long nap, I felt the slightest bit refreshed and absolutely famished. I guess it didn't help that it was three in the afternoon and I'd still yet to eat anything since my stomach decided to so rudely expel its contents earlier. I moved my hand over the mattress on Knox's side of the bed, the area still warm to the touch. I assumed he got up to answer phone calls or something since he was working out of the office today. I stretched out my cramped muscles before setting out in search of my hunk of burning love. I snickered at the name as I went, making a mental note to call Knox it one of these days and see what his reaction to it was.
As expected, I found him hunched over his laptop in my living room, his cell phone pressed between his face and his shoulder as he spoke in a hushed voice. He was staring intently at the screen, unaware of my presence. I cleared the phlegm in my throat which caught Knox off guard as he flinched the tiniest bit and slammed the lid of his computer shut. I narrowed my eyes at him before crossing my arms over my chest.
"Don't give me that look. I already told you it's a surprise. You'll know all about it later, so wipe that scowl off of your face and get your cute ass over here," he ordered. I let out a displeased hmph before making my way to him as requested, setting his laptop on the coffee table so I could safely crawl onto his lap.
"I think I'm gonna see if Kiara wants to hang out tonight, maybe get out to that coffee shop we frequent and get some studying done" I said off-handedly as he rubbed up and down the length of my legs.
"Didn't you two just have a girls night two nights ago? Not to mention that you see each other every damn day on campus. How can you possibly want to be around her more than you already are?" he asked in an incredulous yet joking manner. I giggled before flicking his nose in reprimand.
"She's my best friend, silly. We don't ever get tired of each other. Besides, you can't always hog my attention - it's considered rude. And for your information, our girls night didn't end very well; she's still a little peeved you didn't ask her permission for my hand in marriage," I teased as he scoffed and rolled his eyes. I laughed again at how similar the mannerism was to Kiara's - not that I ever would tell either of them that. They would just deny it until the cows come home.
"I hardly needed her permission. And, let's be honest, it's not like I would've actually listened if she had told me no anyway," he stated.
"That's exactly what she said," I informed him through a fit of giggles.
"You're in an awfully good mood for how terribly you felt earlier," he pointed out. I paused, mulling over his observation for a few seconds before replying.
"You're right, it's weird; I feel so much better than I did earlier, and happier, too, despite everything that's been going on with my family and classes. I think I was just sleep deprived and stressed because that nap seemed to really help," I insisted.
He nodded. "Good, I was worried you were coming down with something serious. I'm going to finish doing a few things on the computer and filing some paperwork while you guys are out. What time will you be back home?" he asked. I completely blocked out every word he said except for home. Tears of happiness pricked my eyes as I thought about how much I loved him.
He really did make me so happy.
"Woah, woah, woah! What did I say?" he asked cautiously, eyes wide and frantic.
"I just love you a lot," I blubbered unintelligently before wrapping my arms around his neck and squeezing him tight. I pressed my nose against his shirt and breathed in his unique scent, the familiar smell soothing my soul. He shook his head at my antics while smiling.
"Go," he commanded, "before I take you back to bed and demonstrate how much I love you," he growled cheekily, giving the side of my butt a gentle pat. I gave him a deep kiss before sliding off of his lap and practically floating from the room. While dressing, I video-chatted Kiara as we made plans for the rest of the night - ones which consisted of stopping for pizza to curb my sudden craving.
**
"Damn girl! I don't know where the hell you put all that!" Kiara exclaimed while examining the empty pizza box on the coffee table. I was usually only able to eat about two pieces, three at most, but since I was so hungry I devoured over half of the entire thing.
"Hey! I told you I haven't eaten anything since I threw up this morning! I'm actually still a little bit hungry, to be honest," I muttered sheepishly. Kiara paused the movie we were in the middle of and just stared at me.
"What? Stop looking at me like that! It's creeping me out!" I yelled while tossing a pillow at her. She caught the pillow and neatly set it down on the couch cushion next to her before continuing to observe me. I'd never seen her look so serious before. "What?" I prodded again.
"Poppy, please don't take this the wrong way but...are you...are you pregnant?" she questioned. I choked on the water I'd just taken a sip of which resulted in a massive coughing fit.
"W-what the heck, K-Kiara? Of course I'm not pregnant!" I coughed out, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"How do you know that? How can you be so sure? When are you supposed to start your period?" she pressed on. I tried hard to think back, but it'd been a while since I had it and things were kind of hazy. I swallowed the lump that began to form in my throat.
"I should've gotten it the second to last week of October, but I didn't. Sometimes with my PCOS, even when I'm on the pill, my periods can skip, though!" I shot back. "I can't be pregnant, Kiara! I take my pill every day at four o'clock on the dot. I never forget! I have an alarm set and everything! My hormones were probably just out of whack this month because of the stress and everything," I reasoned hysterically.
"Poppy..." she faltered, giving me a serious look.
"I won't know for sure for another week or so when my period is supposed to come," I responded, covering my face with my hands.
"Or until you take a test...I think you should - just in case. There's no use in waiting any longer to find out. You're already over two weeks past your last missed period and, like I've told you before, birth control isn't always effective," she said thoughtfully. I sighed deeply, tension plaguing my body as the possibility of her assumption being right played out in my head.
"Okay, but can you pay for them and I'll pay you back as soon as possible? I'm not collecting any checks from my mom for obvious reasons and I've already given her everything I had to help with bills," I murmured, ashamed.
"It's fine, Poppy. Don't worry about it. I have my parents credit card anyway. Let's go!" she rushed out hurriedly, ushering me off the couch and to her car.
Once we finally got back to our place after our hour-long adventure - Kiara and I agreed it was best to drive to the drugstore clear across town just to ensure we wouldn't see anyone we knew - we ran inside and up to my bathroom. I couldn't believe how many different brands and tests there were for sale; it was ridiculous. It took us a solid fifteen minutes just to pick out which ones we were going to get. I insisted we look up the best ones to buy on google, but Kiara just threw the most expensive ones in the cart.
So forty-five dollars and an entire thirty-ounce water later, here we were fumbling around my bathroom as we ripped open the boxes and unwrapped each individual test. Kiara handed me three different tests before shoving me towards the toilet. I sighed as I relieved myself, my bladder having felt like it was going to explode seconds before.
"Why do you look like you're concentrating so hard?" Kiara asked, confused.
"I'm trying not to pee on my own hand while also trying to get it on the fricken sticks," I grumbled. She burst out laughing, the sound of it contagious as I, too, started to crack up. "Stop! Laughing is making this ten times harder!" I giggled. She wiped away the tears from her laughter as a few remanent giggles leaked from her mouth. Once I was finished doing my business, I stuck my non-occupied hand out for Kiara to hand me the caps. I stuck them on the tips of the plastic sticks before setting the three tests on the toilet paper she'd laid out on the countertop for cleanliness.
"Okay, this one is only a three-minute wait, but the other two are five-minute ones," she said while pointing the farthest left one.
"We should just wait five minutes for all of them, then," I reasoned to which she nodded.
Time seemed to move at the pace of molasses as Kiara and I paced back and forth in the small confines of the bathroom. When the buzzing of her phone alarm finally went off, it caught the both of us off guard and we jumped. My heart was pounding in my chest as I could hear my blood whooshing in my ears.
"You look, I can't do it," I said breathlessly, my stomach twisting into knots. I heard her shuffling the tests around in her hands before she gasped sharply.
"What? What does it say?" I demanded, though I already knew the results in my gut.
"Poppy...you need to call my brother," she hissed.