Continued from previous chapter...
---
Atlanta
"Oh my God! Natalie, are you okay?!"
Kate rushed over and shook Natalie's shoulder. When she had seen the results of her home pregnancy test, she had fainted. Thankfully, since she'd been sitting on the bed when she fainted, she didn't appear to be hurt.
Kate shook her shoulder harder, calling out her friend's name, she was out cold. Kate knew that fainting wasn't a big cause for concern, and that she'd wake up soon. She covered Natalie with a blanket and sat down at the desk, watching over her friend worriedly.
Kate thought about what had just happened. She couldn't forget how scared Natalie had sounded on the phone when she had called her. Natalie had asked her to come over right away, and of course she had. Kate had an afternoon class, but something told her something big had happened so she decided to skip it. Natalie hadn't wanted to tell her on the phone. When Kate had come over, Natalie admitted she thought she may be pregnant and had started crying uncontrollably. Kate hugged her until the crying had subsided, then had driven to the pharmacy to get a pregnancy test. For the first time in her life, she didn't know how to help her friend. Being older, she'd always felt a bit protective of Natalie. Now Natalie was facing one of the scariest things a girl can face, an unintended pregnancy, and Kate felt helpless as to how to comfort her.
Slowly, after a while, Natalie came to.
"What...happened?" Natalie said groggily.
"Thank God," Kate said, getting up and sitting on the bed next to Natalie. "You fainted! I was so worried."
"I what?" Natalie said, slowly sitting up in bed. She turned towards Kate.
"I had the strangest dream. God, it was so scary. I dreamed I was pregnant."
She shook her head and laughed. "God, it felt so real."
She looked over at Kate, confused. "Wait, why are you here?"
Kate didn't have the heart to tell her it hadn't been a dream, that according to the test, she was pregnant. She looked down at her hands and sighed.
It slowly dawned on Natalie. "Wait, it wasn't a dream...was it?"
Kate looked up at her and bit her lip before replying. "No. It wasn't. You're pregnant,"
She got up, and walked over to the test she'd left on the bathroom sink. "Or at least according to this, you are..."
Natalie looked like she was about to faint again, so Kate rushed over to her. She sat down next to her and gave her a small hug.
"Look, Nat. These things aren't always right. How about we take you to the clinic near campus?"
"Okay," Natalie said quietly, taking a shaky breath.
"Hey," Kate said, "look at me."
She took Natalie's chin in her hand and turned her head towards her. Seeing the fear in Natalie's eyes, Kate smiled reassuringly.
"It's going to be okay, alright? I doubt you're pregnant. It's probably a false positive."
Natalie nodded her head numbly. Kate had this way of making you think she knew what she was talking about.
"I really hope you're right."
---
The drive to the clinic was a quiet one. Kate had called ahead and requested an appointment. Luckily, there had been a cancellation that day. Natalie hadn't said one word the entire ride. Kate kept glancing over at her as she drove, worried. Natalie just stared out the window.
"I mean, what is the chance that someone could get pregnant after only having sex once? I mean, what is even the chance of that? How is it possible I could be that unlucky?" she said suddenly, looking over at Kate.
Kate shrugged helplessly. She knew that there were actually only a few days out of the month that a girl could get pregnant. If Natalie had gotten pregnant that night, she was right; it'd be incredibly bad luck.
"It's definitely not likely," she admitted, trying to sound reassuring. "I bet those home pregnancy tests have false, uh, positives all the time."
Kate knew for a fact that was wrong - false negatives, sure...but she knew from sex education class she'd taken freshman year that false positives were almost unheard of.
Kate pulled into a parking spot in the lot and put the car in park. She turned towards Natalie.
"Are you ready?"
"No. Can we go back?" Natalie said, looking over at her best friend, making no attempt to unbuckle her seatbelt.
Kate sighed. She was sympathetic, but if Kate was anything, she was practical. She knew this had to be dealt with. And if Natalie wasn't willing to make it happen, she would.
"Come on, Nat. You need to do this."
"I know," Natalie sighed, unbuckling her seatbelt.
The two got out of the car and walked into the clinic.
Kate approached the receptionist. Natalie sat down heavily on the nearest chair.
"Uh, hi, I called earlier...my uh, friend has an appointment for a pregnancy test?"
The receptionist smiled warmly.
"Sure, honey. What's her name?"
"Natalie Bryant."
The receptionist typed something into her computer.
"Ah. Yes, there she is."
She handed Kate a clipboard with some paperwork on it.
"Have her fill this out, okay hun? The nurse will call you in in a bit."
"Thank you," Kate said, taking the clipboard and sitting down next to Natalie.
"How are you feeling?" Kate said, handing her the clipboard. "The lady said to fill this out."
Natalie did so. While they waited, Kate took a good look around. There were two other women waiting in the room with them. The waiting room was bright and welcoming. There were pictures of smiling mothers and their babies on the walls. One of the women was clearly pregnant, and browsing a pregnancy magazine. The other was a girl around Kate's age, sitting there uncomfortably, staring at her lap. Kate wondered if she was there for the same reason.
After what seemed like an eternity, a nurse opened the door and called Natalie's name.
She ushered the girls in. "I'm Karen," she said, glancing at her clipboard. "Natalie? I'll be your nurse today, okay?"
Natalie nodded, a lump in her throat preventing her from saying anything. Kate saw her take a deep, shaky breath.
The nurse glanced at Kate as they walked down the hallway towards an open examination room.
"Are you here for moral support?" she asked.
Kate nodded.
"That's really sweet of you," the nurse smiled. "I'm sure your friend appreciates it."
The nurse brought them into an examination room and softly shut the door. She motioned for Kate and Natalie to sit down on the two empty chairs against the wall. They did so. She sat down at a desk and faced them.
Kate held Natalie's hand as the nurse explained the process of getting a pregnancy test. There were two types; one based on urine and one based on blood. The later could be given earlier in the process to detect early pregnancy, but the urine one was more common and the results were quicker. Natalie nodded numbly as the nurse explained everything.
"How long has it been since your last period, honey?" the nurse asked gently. Natalie stared at her lap, embarrassed.
"I should have gotten it two weeks ago. My uh, mom gave me this little chart I use to, uh keep track."
She fished a little notebook out of her pocket and handed it the nurse.
"Ah, I've seen these. They're handy," she said, taking it and looking at it.
After a moment, she handed the booklet back.
"Natalie, since it has been two weeks since your last period, I advise we do a urine test."
"Okay," Natalie said.
The nurse explained what to do, gave Natalie the cup, and pointed to the bathroom.
Kate and the nurse sat in the office together, waiting.
"How likely is it that you can get pregnant after just having sex once?" Kate asked her.
"Not likely but, well, it only takes once. You'd be surprised how many girls I give pregnancy tests to who say that they only had sex once and well...they end up pregnant. You know, the best way to avoid pregnancy until you're ready for a baby is to stay abstinent."
Kate nodded in agreement. "That's what my boyfriend and I do. We want to wait until marriage."
The nurse smiled, clearly pleased. "Smart girl."
"It's not easy," Kate said honestly.
"Nothing worthwhile ever is."
Kate smiled. She liked the nurse. She was nice and unassuming, and she didn't feel like she was judging Natalie, which has been a worry of hers.
"In fact, my boyfriend's brother is, well if Natalie is pregnant...he'd be the dad."
The nurse nodded. "Wow, you two really must be good friends. Both dating brothers?"
"Well, no she's not uh, actually dating him..." Kate said.
"Oh, I see," the nurse said.
Natalie walked in.
"Okay, all done."
"Great," the nurse said, standing up. "Now you go home and wait. We will call you by the end of the day if it's a positive result. Then we can discuss what's next. No call is a good call. That means you're not pregnant. Okay sweetie?"
"Thanks," Natalie mumbled, looking at the ground, still clearly really embarrassed.
"You're welcome," the nurse said, showing them out the door. "Make sure to check out at the front desk on your way out."
--
Later That Day...
Natalie was a nervous wreck.
Since getting back from the clinic, she'd started crying again, and couldn't stop.
"Katie..." Natalie sobbed, her head buried in her friend's shoulder. "What if I am pregnant? What am I going to do? Taylor hates me! How would I tell him? How would I tell his family? What about my mom? Oh my God, I'd be so embarrassed," she rambled on. Kate smoothed her hair and shushed her.
"Nat, it's going to be okay. You're not pregnant. This is just a false alarm. Everything is going to be okay."
Natalie's large, brown eyes stared into Kate's, whose were a lighter shade of hazel. Natalie sniffed, wiping away tears with a shaky hand.
"How could I have been so stupid?" she said angrily, more to herself than to Kate. "I must be a total slut."
Kate sighed. She hated seeing Natalie put herself down like that. She knew that wasn't true. She knew Natalie had only slept with one guy - Taylor, and only twice at that.
"You're not a slut, Natalie. You just made a mistake."
But nothing she could say would make Natalie feel better.
Kate put on the television to help distract them while they waited for the nurse to call.
Finally, Natalie's phone rang. She quickly took it out and saw it was the number for the clinic.
"You answer it," she said, shoving it at Kate. "I can't do it."
Kate took the phone and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Ms. Bryant?"
"One second," Kate said, handing the phone to Natalie.
"This is her," Natalie said, putting the receiver up to her ear, her voice barely a whisper.
Natalie closed her eyes for a moment and said a prayer. She promised God that if she wasn't pregnant she would never have sex again.
"I have good news," the nurse said, "you are pregnant Natalie. Now, I know this can come as a shock, but I can promise you that we are here to help you in any way we can to -
Natalie didn't hear the rest of the nurse's sentence. She slowly lowered her hand and the dropped the phone on the floor. She heard the nurse's voice still droning on through the receiver, but was no longer listening.
She was pregnant. Pregnant.
She sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands and started crying uncontrollably again.
"Oh God," Kate said. Her heart sank. She knew right away what had happened. She ran over and hugged Natalie tightly, as if she keep her from falling.
"I am so sorry, Nat."
Natalie cried for hours before finally falling asleep.
---
Tulsa -The next day
As Walker had requested, Taylor had flown back to Tulsa the following evening. Saying goodbye to Michelle had been hard, but he knew he'd see her soon. He was already planning to come back the following week. That morning he, Zac, Isaac, and Walker all had an appointment with the loan officer at the bank to sign the loan that they'd use for the down payment on their house. They could have afforded to put it with cash, but Walker had insisted on them getting a loan, paying it was a better option to help them build credit.
Taylor was in an excellent mood that day. It's those rare days, where the world seems limitless, that receiving bad news is particularly heart-breaking.
Despite his irritation at having to come back from L.A. early, Taylor couldn't help but feel excited. It was finally happening. Him and his brothers would have their own space to finish recording their album. They were that much closer to going independent as they wanted.
They even had a name for their new label; "3CG Records." It was a reference to the album they had released as a compilation of songs they had previously released independently, and to the building the band then used as a recording studio before they could afford to rent space - their parent's garage. It was a name that had special meaning to the guys.
As Taylor stood outside the bank waiting for Zac and his father to show up, he lit a cigarette and smoked it, lost in thought. He thought about how good things were going now for him. For the first time in a long time, he was excited for the future. He knew him and his brothers still had a long way to go to get out of their contract with Island Def Jam and to get the record done, but he knew they could do it. He couldn't wait to get back on tour again. He knew the fans were itching for new music from them.
Mostly he thought about Michelle. He felt so lucky to have her.
He saw his father's car pull up, and quickly snuffed out his cigarette. He knew his father didn't approve of his smoking.
Zac hopped out of the car, a big smile on his face.
"Hey, Tay!" he said, walking up to him. "Welcome back."
The four of them walked into the bank and sat down in the waiting area, waiting to be seated.
---
Atlanta - the next morning
Kate sighed, and closed her eyes in frustration. Her and Natalie had been arguing all morning. Kate thought Natalie should tell Taylor she was pregnant. Natalie didn't want too. At least not yet. She was still processing what was happening, and to be honest, was a bit in denial about the situation.
Natalie had decided not to go to school today, and Kate had no classes. Pam was out running errands.
"Natalie," Kate said, "you have to tell Taylor! Now. Why wait? He deserves to know. It's his baby, Natalie!"
Natalie crossed her arms and groaned. "I know that, Katie! Jeez. It's my business, okay? It's my problem. I will tell him when I'm ready."
Natalie sat back on her bed and turned on the television.
Kate sat down at Natalie's desk, frustrated. She didn't understand Natalie's reluctance to tell Taylor about her pregnancy. She got that her and Taylor didn't really get along, but they were going to be parents - they had to learn how to get along.
After a while she spoke up again. "Come on, Nat. Isn't at least a part of you excited that you're pregnant with Taylor's baby?"
Natalie stared at Kate disgustedly. "Really, Katie? Are you serious? Yeah, I'm totally stoked that I accidentally got pregnant one night when I was drunk. You know he only slept with me because he was drunk. I. Am. Not. Telling. Him. So, back off."
Kate got up and threw her hands up in frustration. "I give up, Nat! If you're not going to tell him, I will!"
Anger clouded Natalie's pretty features. She put the remote down and got up off the bed.
"You wouldn't," Natalie warned, taking a step towards Kate. "You wouldn't do that to me."
"Watch me," Kate said, taking out her phone. Natalie's eyes went wide. She tried to grab it from Kate, but Kate dodged her, quickly moving to the other side of the bedroom.
Natalie stood there, frozen, unable to believe that Kate would do that to her.
Kate brought the phone to her ear, finger poised over the button.
"I'm doing it..." she warned, "unless you will."
Natalie continued to just stare at Kate, unbelieving in how stubborn she was being. Tears began to well up behind her eyes. She blinked, fighting them back. The last thing she wanted to do was start crying again.
"Fine," Natalie finally said, knowing she couldn't win because Kate always got what she wanted. "Call him."
Kate smiled, coming over and hugging Natalie. "I'm glad you agree. Trust me, it's the right thing to do."
The two sat on the bed together.
Kate dialed Taylor's number, but there was no answer. She tried again. Still, no answer.
"He didn't answer," she said, sighing, putting the phone on the bed.
Natalie felt relieved, but only for a moment.
"I'll call Zac and see if he's with him," Kate said, picking up the phone again and dialing the familiar number.
Zac answered after two rings.
"Hey, babe. What's up?" he asked.
"Hey, love. Hey, is your brother around?" she asked. "It's an emergency."
Natalie rolled her eyes at Kate's dramatics.
"Which one?"
"Taylor."
"Yeah, he's with me. What's up? Everything okay?" Zac asked.
"I need to talk to him," Kate said. "Can we come down to Tulsa tonight?"
"What? Tonight? Katie, that's a 12 hour-drive. How about in the morning?"
As much as Kate wanted for Taylor to know about this as soon as possible, she also knew it was not something to be told on the phone.
"You're right. We'll head out first thing bright and early. We should be in Tulsa by 5 p.m. tomorrow if we drive straight through."
"Okay, um...do you want me to tell Taylor you're coming?" he asked.
"No. We'll just see you guys tomorrow, okay?" she said.
Zac hesitated before answering. He had a bad feeling. Zac couldn't imagine what was so important that Kate couldn't tell Taylor on the phone. He could hear the urgency in her voice, though and he trusted her.
"Okay babe. Call me when you're close. Just come over to our house, okay?"
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
Kate hung up the phone.
"Katie, I don't know if this is a good idea..." Natalie said.
"Trust me," Kate said, "this is not something you tell someone on the phone."
Natalie nodded, knowing Kate was right.
---
The next morning, the girls were up bright and early. They packed quickly and got on the road.
The drive was a long, quiet one.
By the time they got into Tulsa, both were exhausted from the drive, but relieved to finally be there. Kate had done the drive many times before, but for some reason, this one had felt longer. Maybe it had felt like that because Natalie had said all but one word to her the entire ride.
Natalie had been driving the last leg, and she pulled the car into Walker and Diana's driveway.
The two got out of the car and slowly walked up the driveway.
"You know, in a way I'm ready." Natalie said suddenly. "I mean, I just don't want to be the only one who knows anymore, you know? It's too stressful."
Kate nodded. She could understand that.
They stepped up the front steps to the porch.
"Ready?" Kate said, squeezing Natalie's hand.
"I guess," Natalie replied.
Kate knocked on the door.
After a few moments, it opened and Zac stood there, smiling.
"Hi babe," he said warmly, opening the door for them.
He gave Kate a hug and a kiss, then hugged Natalie.
"How was the drive?" he asked, closing the door behind them.
"Long, as usual. I'm starved," Kate said.
"I'll find you something to eat," Zac said, walking towards the kitchen, motioning for them to follow him.
"Where are your parents?" Kate asked, sitting at the kitchen island. Natalie sat beside her.
"Dad's upstairs, Mom's out." Zac replied, opening the fridge and peering inside. "What are you in the mood for? Looks like we have some leftover pizza, and also spaghetti."
"I'll eat anything you put in front of me," Kate said honestly.
"What about you, Nat?" Zac asked, glancing at her.
"I'm not hungry," she replied softly.
Zac glanced at Kate, worried. He could tell something was wrong.
Zac heated up the spaghetti on the stove.
"Katie, tell me what's up." Zac said, walking over to her. "I'm worried."
Kate sighed and looked at him solemnly. There was no beating around the bush with her. "Natalie is pregnant."
Zac's eyes went wide. He looked at Natalie, who just closed her eyes and bowed her head, so embarrassed she hoped she'd just disappear.
"What?" he choked out, looking back at Kate. "You're kidding, right?"
The look on Kate's face immediately told him she was definitely not kidding.
"Oh my god," he said slowly, realizing the gravity of the situation. "It's Taylor's, isn't it? That's why you're here. To tell him."
The three picked at their food in silence. After they'd finished their food, Kate put the dishes in the sink and asked if Zac could go get Walker and meet them in the living room. Zac agreed and went upstairs.
Kate motioned for Natalie to follow her into the living room, and to sit down next to her on the couch.
"Remember," Kate told her friend, "this isn't your fault. He got you pregnant. You don't need to be embarrassed. If anything, he should be. I promise you'll feel better after you tell them."
Kate took Natalie's purse and rummaged through it until she found her phone. She held it up.
"Here. Call Taylor. Tell him to come over."
Natalie slowly took the phone from Kate and dialed Taylor's number.
Surprisingly, he answered.
"Natalie?" he asked, sounding surprised.
Natalie's stomach flip-flopped at the sound of his voice. As much as she hated him at times, the truth was that she still had feelings for him. She thought about him more often than she cared to admit.
"Hey, Taylor," she said quietly. "How are you?"
"I'm good, how are you? It's nice to hear from you," he said warmly.
"Yeah. Me too. Uh, listen I'm in town and I'm at your parents house...I need you to come over right away. It's an emergency."
"What? Why? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, just, uh please come over right now, okay?"
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Okay," Natalie said, hanging up.
"Is he coming?" Kate asked.
Natalie nodded slowly, sinking back on the corner of the couch and curling her legs under her, as if she was trying to make herself smaller and invisible.
Zac walked back in, followed by Walker.
"Hello girls," Walker said, sitting down on the chair across from them. "Is everyone ok? Zac said you had something important to tell me?"
Kate smiled at him. "Hi Mr. Hanson. Yeah, we uh, drove here from Atlanta. Natalie had some, uh important news. It may come as a bit of a shock..."
"What is it?" Walker asked, leaning forward.
Kate looked at Natalie, urging her to talk. Natalie just stared at her lap. She obviously wasn't going to say anything.
Kate knew she had to tell him.
She cleared her throat. "Mr. Hanson, we found out this morning that Natalie is pregnant...and it's Taylor's."
Walker went pale and didn't say anything for a moment. Zac looked at his father nervously. He couldn't imagine what his father's response would be.
Kate looked at Zac nervously as they waited for Walker to respond.
"What?" he finally said. "You're pregnant?" he said, addressing Natalie.
She looked up and nodded. "Yeah."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, we uh went to the clinic yesterday and got a test."
Walker sunk back into the chair.
"When did this happen?" he asked.
"In Atlanta. Last month." Kate admitted, speaking for Natalie. "We came to visit them when they played that show."
Walker nodded slowly, putting it all together.
"I see." he said.
Zac sighed. He recognized that voice. It was the voice his father used when he was disappointed. He thanked his lucky stars it wasn't him and Kate in this situation.
"Have you told Taylor yet?" he asked Natalie gently.
She shook her head.
Kate spoke up to explain. "We called him a bit ago and told him to come over."
"Good," Walker said, then it seemed like something occurred to him. "Can you let me tell him? I think this a family matter."
The truth was, he didn't want Natalie there when he told Taylor. Walker knew Taylor wouldn't take this well, and he didn't want Natalie's feelings hurt.
"Of course," Kate said, "I totally understand. Natalie, you're cool, with that right?"
Natalie shrugged, not caring anymore what happened.
Kate stood up and motioned for Natalie and Zac to follow her.
"How about we go over to Sadie's for a while?" Kate said, referring to a friend of Zac's.
Zac nodded, getting up. "I'm sure she would be down to hang out."
He took out his phone and was about to dial her number, when Taylor walked into the room, breathless.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Shit," Zac muttered.