A Love Like War
Panic! At the Drug Store
Pregnant? Pregnancy test? No!
Jack and I fled down the steps, like a herd of elephants, towards my front door. Since mama and para were out for the day at work, Jack and I had the time to head out to the drug store without them knowing that, not only Jack, but I skipped out on school today. They were never one for me skipping school; whether I was sick or just didn't feel like going, skipping school was a huge ass no-no in my house.
Jack and I ran down the street heaving, but we soon had to stop our charge down to the drug store because I began to gag. I crouched down on the ground, gagging up my breakfast. A chunky mess splattered against the concrete from my mouth, and the disgusting odor punched my nostrils square in the jaw. I felt Jack kneel down beside me, and his palm rubbed against my spine in a loving manner. "Are you okay, Alex?" he asked. I looked up at him. I wiped my mouth from any access bile and saliva before replying with,
"It's fine. I guess the running fucked up my stomach. I'll be alright, Jack. But, let's just walk, okay? I don't want to throw up anymore." It hurt too much; I didn't want to throw up anymore. And, God forbid if there was a baby inside of my stomach, I didn't want to hurt it before it even got the chance to change my figure. Jack agreed with my request, helping me up from the ground. He wrapped an arm around me, and I melted into his hold.
"If you're worrying about this," Jack pitched, "don't. It'll be okay."
"How will this be okay, though?" I asked softly, "I will be carrying a baby, and I won't be able to play lacrosse with a baby in my stomach; I could kill -- "
"Stop thinking like that, Alex. You're going to make yourself sick again. You need to think positively in this situation, okay? You can't be thinking like that, or you'll sike yourself out. Just keep your head high." How could I think like that? This wasn't like some test that would only give me results that on a report card; this was a test that would determine whether my life would change forever or not. Was it bad that I was getting really annoyed with him?
Jack and I scanned the pregnancy test aisles as if we were looking for a library book. We were two men; how the hell would we know which pregnancy was good enough or not? I picked up about a dozen tests, reading the backs, and returning them to their places on the shelf. None of them seemed right to me, and none of them looked good enough for me to trust. As we scanned, different people would walk past us with disgusted looks or glares. Did I forget to mention Jack and I lived in the most homophobic area in Baltimore? Anyways, Jack caught on to the negative looks, and he spat at them, "What? Ever see two gay guys looking for pregnancy tests before?" I looked down at my feet in embarrassment; yeah, I enjoyed the fact he was protecting me, but did he really need to blow up like that?
I finally found a pregnancy test that I could trust; it was in a pink and blue box with a happy woman on the front. Yeah, I wouldn't be resembling that woman too much if this little stick came out positive. "This one," I said to Jack, handing him the box, "buy that one, Jack." Jack held the box in hand and nodded.
"You going to wait for me in the bathroom, Lex?" I didn't even answer him. In fact, I didn't even hear most of his statement. I just stormed out of the aisle and towards the drug store bathroom. The minute I got into the single men's bathroom, I slammed and locked the door. I looked in the mirror as I leaned over the sink. My eyes were on fire due to me about to lose my mind and control. I couldn't fucking believe I was standing in the middle of a drug store bathroom about to take a pregnancy test. All I could think about was what my parents would think -- they would kill me. If they knew their only son was pregnant with another man's baby, I would be out on the streets faster than I could blink. Sad, but honestly, I wouldn't put it passed them.
Before I could begin the uncontrollable water works, there was a knock on the door. Although I knew it was Jack, I whimpered out, "Who is it?"
"Alex, open the door. It's Jack." I reached for the door and unlocked it, and the minute the lock turned, Jack was waltzing in. He handed me the test, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. "I will be in the drink aisle, okay? I'm buying snacks and shit for us to go home with. No matter how this ends, I want us to go home and just relax with snacks and a movie."
"But, what about my parents?"
"Don't worry about them. We will go to my place." I nodded. I knew his parents were away on a cruise to the Caribbean, so they wouldn't be back for a few months. Jack leaned in and pressed a kiss on my sweaty lips. "When you're done, meet me by the drinks, okay? You can do this." Jack was about to head out the door when I shouted,
"Wait!" He turned around and looked at me with furrowed brows.
"What is it, Lex?"
"I-I," I gulped, "I wanted to say I love you." Jack smiled at me, his cheeks actually morphing to a bright red.
"I love you, too, Lex." Without another word, he exited the room. Once the door was shut, I locked it back up and read the back of the box as to how to perform the test. I had to piss on this little stick. Uh, ew?
The three minutes I had to wait for the results to show up on the stick were agonizing. It left me there for too long to overthink. I was thinking about my life would be like if that test came back positive. I would be like one of those stay-at-home-moms who would be cooking and cleaning and taking care of a baby while Jack was out doing work and doing what he pleased like playing lacrosse! I would be a teen-father walking around high school with my stomach out about a mile, and I would have to deal with the stares and chuckles. Yeah, there was the option of abortion, but I was never one for liking the idea of it. I would have to go through telling my parents how their son fucked up his entire high school career becoming a teen parent.
The three minutes, after what felt like years went by, was up, and I could finally look at the results. I hesitantly walked over to the sink where the test laid, and I picked it up. I shut my eyes, taking in a large breath. This was the moment of truth. My life was either going to change forever, or my my life was going to remain the same. Slowly reclining my lids backwards, I looked down at the test. My stomach dropped the minute I saw what the test showcased to me. Upon the screen of the digital pregnancy was, in dark letters: Pregnant.
I took the test and threw it against the wall with a loud shout. My eyes were now drenched in tears that I didn't even feel come out. My body trembled, and my whole mind was fogged. Before I went out to Jack, I took in deep breaths, counted 0-3 about a million times, and wiped the tears from my eyes. Then, I proceeded out the door and over to the drink aisle.
I found Jack holding up a Pepsi bottle and a Dr. Pepper bottle. He was looking at each one contently, and I could him saying under his breath, "God, which one do I want more?" However, I think he heard me because he stopped his decision making and turned to me. He perked up, setting the bottles on the shelf beside him. "Hey, champ. What did the results say?" I just stared at him, my body beginning to tremble once more. And, suddenly, I began to see black blotches in my vision, and my whole body was transforming into jelly. I knew I was crumbling down to the tiled ground. Right before I hit the ground, I heard a faint echo of my name being screamed out. "Alex!"
Seconds later, I dropped to the ground with a loud thud, and my vision went completely black.
Jack and I fled down the steps, like a herd of elephants, towards my front door. Since mama and para were out for the day at work, Jack and I had the time to head out to the drug store without them knowing that, not only Jack, but I skipped out on school today. They were never one for me skipping school; whether I was sick or just didn't feel like going, skipping school was a huge ass no-no in my house.
Jack and I ran down the street heaving, but we soon had to stop our charge down to the drug store because I began to gag. I crouched down on the ground, gagging up my breakfast. A chunky mess splattered against the concrete from my mouth, and the disgusting odor punched my nostrils square in the jaw. I felt Jack kneel down beside me, and his palm rubbed against my spine in a loving manner. "Are you okay, Alex?" he asked. I looked up at him. I wiped my mouth from any access bile and saliva before replying with,
"It's fine. I guess the running fucked up my stomach. I'll be alright, Jack. But, let's just walk, okay? I don't want to throw up anymore." It hurt too much; I didn't want to throw up anymore. And, God forbid if there was a baby inside of my stomach, I didn't want to hurt it before it even got the chance to change my figure. Jack agreed with my request, helping me up from the ground. He wrapped an arm around me, and I melted into his hold.
"If you're worrying about this," Jack pitched, "don't. It'll be okay."
"How will this be okay, though?" I asked softly, "I will be carrying a baby, and I won't be able to play lacrosse with a baby in my stomach; I could kill -- "
"Stop thinking like that, Alex. You're going to make yourself sick again. You need to think positively in this situation, okay? You can't be thinking like that, or you'll sike yourself out. Just keep your head high." How could I think like that? This wasn't like some test that would only give me results that on a report card; this was a test that would determine whether my life would change forever or not. Was it bad that I was getting really annoyed with him?
Jack and I scanned the pregnancy test aisles as if we were looking for a library book. We were two men; how the hell would we know which pregnancy was good enough or not? I picked up about a dozen tests, reading the backs, and returning them to their places on the shelf. None of them seemed right to me, and none of them looked good enough for me to trust. As we scanned, different people would walk past us with disgusted looks or glares. Did I forget to mention Jack and I lived in the most homophobic area in Baltimore? Anyways, Jack caught on to the negative looks, and he spat at them, "What? Ever see two gay guys looking for pregnancy tests before?" I looked down at my feet in embarrassment; yeah, I enjoyed the fact he was protecting me, but did he really need to blow up like that?
I finally found a pregnancy test that I could trust; it was in a pink and blue box with a happy woman on the front. Yeah, I wouldn't be resembling that woman too much if this little stick came out positive. "This one," I said to Jack, handing him the box, "buy that one, Jack." Jack held the box in hand and nodded.
"You going to wait for me in the bathroom, Lex?" I didn't even answer him. In fact, I didn't even hear most of his statement. I just stormed out of the aisle and towards the drug store bathroom. The minute I got into the single men's bathroom, I slammed and locked the door. I looked in the mirror as I leaned over the sink. My eyes were on fire due to me about to lose my mind and control. I couldn't fucking believe I was standing in the middle of a drug store bathroom about to take a pregnancy test. All I could think about was what my parents would think -- they would kill me. If they knew their only son was pregnant with another man's baby, I would be out on the streets faster than I could blink. Sad, but honestly, I wouldn't put it passed them.
Before I could begin the uncontrollable water works, there was a knock on the door. Although I knew it was Jack, I whimpered out, "Who is it?"
"Alex, open the door. It's Jack." I reached for the door and unlocked it, and the minute the lock turned, Jack was waltzing in. He handed me the test, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. "I will be in the drink aisle, okay? I'm buying snacks and shit for us to go home with. No matter how this ends, I want us to go home and just relax with snacks and a movie."
"But, what about my parents?"
"Don't worry about them. We will go to my place." I nodded. I knew his parents were away on a cruise to the Caribbean, so they wouldn't be back for a few months. Jack leaned in and pressed a kiss on my sweaty lips. "When you're done, meet me by the drinks, okay? You can do this." Jack was about to head out the door when I shouted,
"Wait!" He turned around and looked at me with furrowed brows.
"What is it, Lex?"
"I-I," I gulped, "I wanted to say I love you." Jack smiled at me, his cheeks actually morphing to a bright red.
"I love you, too, Lex." Without another word, he exited the room. Once the door was shut, I locked it back up and read the back of the box as to how to perform the test. I had to piss on this little stick. Uh, ew?
The three minutes I had to wait for the results to show up on the stick were agonizing. It left me there for too long to overthink. I was thinking about my life would be like if that test came back positive. I would be like one of those stay-at-home-moms who would be cooking and cleaning and taking care of a baby while Jack was out doing work and doing what he pleased like playing lacrosse! I would be a teen-father walking around high school with my stomach out about a mile, and I would have to deal with the stares and chuckles. Yeah, there was the option of abortion, but I was never one for liking the idea of it. I would have to go through telling my parents how their son fucked up his entire high school career becoming a teen parent.
The three minutes, after what felt like years went by, was up, and I could finally look at the results. I hesitantly walked over to the sink where the test laid, and I picked it up. I shut my eyes, taking in a large breath. This was the moment of truth. My life was either going to change forever, or my my life was going to remain the same. Slowly reclining my lids backwards, I looked down at the test. My stomach dropped the minute I saw what the test showcased to me. Upon the screen of the digital pregnancy was, in dark letters: Pregnant.
I took the test and threw it against the wall with a loud shout. My eyes were now drenched in tears that I didn't even feel come out. My body trembled, and my whole mind was fogged. Before I went out to Jack, I took in deep breaths, counted 0-3 about a million times, and wiped the tears from my eyes. Then, I proceeded out the door and over to the drink aisle.
I found Jack holding up a Pepsi bottle and a Dr. Pepper bottle. He was looking at each one contently, and I could him saying under his breath, "God, which one do I want more?" However, I think he heard me because he stopped his decision making and turned to me. He perked up, setting the bottles on the shelf beside him. "Hey, champ. What did the results say?" I just stared at him, my body beginning to tremble once more. And, suddenly, I began to see black blotches in my vision, and my whole body was transforming into jelly. I knew I was crumbling down to the tiled ground. Right before I hit the ground, I heard a faint echo of my name being screamed out. "Alex!"
Seconds later, I dropped to the ground with a loud thud, and my vision went completely black.
Notes
kind a short chapter ??? this is short to me haha.
i want to thank bree for that amazing compliment of her's, and i would like to say that she's an amazing writer as well <3
the stage is all her's, and I hope you guys enjoy this update!
Wow that story was amazing. It was so shocking.
5/19/16