Chapter 313

Tessa’s POV

We decided to celebrate by taking everybody out to dinner. It was strange going to dinner with such a big party, but everybody was so excited that I decided to be their coven leader. I had no idea how to be a coven leader, but I was excited to learn and experience more with this coven.

“Let’s order a bottle of wine so we can toast,” Claira suggested.

We ordered wine and a round of water but as soon as they poured me a glass, my stomach turned queasy. I stared at it with a frown, unsure of what was wrong. I loved wine; especially red wine, though I don’t drink it often, I never had this type of reaction towards it.

“Everything okay?” Patty asked, staring at me questionably.

I nodded, trying to force a smile as I pushed the wine away.

“Yeah, I guess I’m just not in the mood for it,” I told her, grabbing my water and taking a sip.

“Not in the mood for wine?” Amy asked, raising her brows. “What are you, pregnant?” She teased.

As soon as she said those words, I felt a flutter in my heart.

Pregnant? Could I be pregnant?

No, that’s not possible. Sure, Joseph and I don’t usually use condoms, but I’ve been on the pill since high school. Getting pregnant has never been a thing that I thought about. But as I pondered that one word, I felt a lightness in my chest, and I could almost feel how right they were.

My silence made everybody else stare at me with open mouths.

“Tessa?” Patty asked, her eyes wide. “Are you pregnant?”

“I’m on the pill,” I told her, running my fingers through my hair awkwardly. “It’s not possible.”

She exchanged a look with Claira.

“Sweetie, the pill isn’t not 100%. Do you use condoms too?”

My cheeks flushed from this conversation; this was not a thing I wanted to talk about in front of everybody. Not like this.

“I…” I paused, trying to figure out the right thing to say. “Maybe we should discuss this when we aren’t at a restaurant.”

“You’ve been throwing up lately,” Amy pointed out.

“Yeah, and you thought the bacon smelled bad,” Austin also pointed out, making me shoot him a death glare.

“And emotional,” Hannah added, a grin on her lips.

“If you’re pregnant, I’ll move into the attic with Derek,” Austin suggested. “That way you can turn my room into a nursery. I think it’d be nice to live in the apartment upstairs anyway considering we are staying with you permanently.”

“You are jumping way ahead of yourselves,” I said, trying to slow them all down. “I don’t know if I’m pregnant. Just because I’ve been queasy and acting a little unusual, doesn’t make me pregnant. I could be sick.”

“You should take a test,” Patty suggested, concern etched in her voice. “We can go to the drug store after dinner and pick a couple of tests up. If you are pregnant, you aren’t alone. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Was she serious? There was a ton to be afraid of. Was I ready to be a mom? It wasn’t really something I thought about before. Joseph and I weren’t even married yet, and we never really discussed kids. Did he even want them? How many did he want? Did he like kids? I never saw him around kids before.

Sure, there were a few in his mountain village, but I never saw him interact with them. And what would this child be when thye grew up? Would they be a vampire, a witch? Or maybe half and half? A hybrid? Is that what they are called?

Panic consumed me and suddenly, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“Excuse me for a minute,” I said as I stood to my feet and rushed to the lady’s room.

I felt nauseous again and I knew I was going to lose the contents of my stomach the second I walked into the bathroom.

Just as I released myself, I heard the door opening, and light footsteps approached the stall I was crouched in. I recognized the nurse's shoes to be Patty’s. Out of everybody at that table, I was honestly glad it was her. Patty was sweet and she’s kind of been like a mother figure to me these last few days. Ever since her mind became her own again, I’ve been a lot closer to her than I had been in years.

“Tess?” She asked, knocking on the door lightly. “Are you okay?”

I didn’t realize I was crying until I spoke.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “This is all happening so fast.”

“You aren’t alone, you know,” she reminded me. “You have all of us here to support you. You have a coven now… which means you have family. You might not know this, but we truly do care for you and love you. Don’t think you are alone when you aren’t.”

My heart swelled from her words.

I knew I wasn’t alone, but I was terrified of being a mom. I didn’t want to screw up or anything. And what was Joseph going to think once I told him that we were going to be parents?

Now who’s getting ahead of themselves? I haven’t even taken a test yet and I’m already thinking about the future. But I knew in my gut that I was pregnant.

“Will you let us help you?” Patty asked after I hadn’t said anything.

I flushed the toilet and wiped my mouth before unlocking the stall door. When I looked up at Patty, I saw the sincerity and the love in her eyes. She gave me a small smile as she knelt on the ground and held out her hand.

“I’m not going to let you fail,” she whispered as if she could read my mind. “Do you trust me, Tessa?”

I nodded without hesitation.

“Yes,” I croaked as more tears fell from my eyes.

I grabbed her hand and allowed her to help me to my feet. After I cleaned up, I joined everybody back at the table and we finished our meals. After dinner, we went directly to the drugstore. Only Patty walked into the store with me though and we purchased a couple of tests.

As nervous as I was, I was filled with a new sense of hope knowing that I was going to go through this alone. I had to admit though, the last thing I expected when I woke up this morning was the end of the night purchasing pregnancy tests.

By the time we got home, Joseph was already there. Everybody grew quiet when he appeared in the living room, and he went from smiling at me to frowning in confusion.

“What’s going on?” He asked, looking at everyone’s stunned and silent faces.

“We are just going to go to our rooms,” Patty said, motioning for everyone to disperse. Patty gave my hand a gentle squeeze before leaving as well.

Joseph kept his eyes on me, a frown marring his lips.

“What is it? Are you okay?” He asked me.

I clutched the bag from the drugstore firmly in my hands, trying to keep myself from trembling in front of him.

“We have to talk,” I told him, stepping closer to him and keeping my eyes locked on his.

He nodded, worry evident in his eyes.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure we can work it out. What happened?” He asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. I knew I was scaring him, and I hated this, but I was scared too.

He had to understand that.

“I’ve been feeling sick lately…” I started to tell him. He stayed silent as he listened to me and observed my face. “I threw up again at the restaurant we went to for dinner…”

“Do you need to go to the doctor?” He asked. “I can take you in the morning.”

He put his hands on my shoulders and caressed my neckline with his thumbs. His touch sent jolts of electricity throughout my body, and I felt relaxed in his presence.

I shook my head and took a deep breath.

“No, actually… I think I might be pregnant,” I blurted before I could change my mind.

His eyes grew large as he dropped his hands from me and took a step back. I suddenly felt cold and alone from the distance he gave me and vulnerable under his scrutiny.

“What?” He asked. His tone came out indifferent and I flinched.

“I think I might be pregnant,” I repeated, keeping my eyes on his.

“You don’t know for sure?”

I held up the bag with the tests inside.

“Not yet,” I told him, my voice coming out as a whisper.

He nodded and I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. It practically broke me. After a second of silence, he nodded.

“Okay. Let’s go to our room and you can take the test,” he said, motioning for me to go ahead of him.

I nodded, trying to force my legs to move but they felt frozen. I dropped my gaze from him and stared at the ground. I wasn’t sure what was wrong or why I couldn’t bring myself to go upstairs and take the test. Maybe it was because of his indifference and uncertainty; maybe it was his attitude change.

Did he even want kids? Was this in the cards for me? I wished more than anything that I knew what was thinking.

“Tess?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

I lifted my gaze to look at him. Finally willing my legs to move, I turned and walked up the stairs and into our bedroom. I didn’t turn around to see if he was following me, I knew he was. I didn’t say anything as I walked into our bathroom and shut the door behind me.

Joseph remained in our bedroom, seated on the bed with his eyes fixed on the ground. It was like he was waiting for his death sentence. My stomach turned and I thought I was going to get sick again, but I swallowed it down and took in deep breaths as I waited for the timer to run out.

The stick sat on the sink and my eyes were staring at my hands. I had so many emotions running through me, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if I did end up pregnant.

As soon as the timer went off, my entire body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at the test. I just stared at my hands; my entire body frozen. It wasn’t until I heard a light tapping on the door that unfroze my body and brought me back to the present moment. Without waiting for me to invite him in, the door slowly opened, and Joseph walked in.

He shoved his hands in his front pockets, and he looked so boyish at that moment that my heart lurched. Then his eyes met mine and I could see the terror swirling around them.

Neither of us said anything for a moment until his eyes flickered to the test and then back at me.

“Ready to see the results?”