CHAPTER 3
Kristina is walking solemnly along the docks, looking down at the ground, deep in thought. Ethan walks around the corner and sees her. Noticing that she is not herself and obviously worried about something, he skips down the stairs and puts a hand on Kristina's shoulder.
"Kristina, what's wrong?" He asks her.
Kristina gasps, startled. She had been so deep in her thoughts that she did not notice Ethan had approached her. She turns to look up at him, "Um…nothing, I'm fine."
"You don't look fine. You look like something's bothering you. Do you want to talk?"
"Um, nah. I'll be fine, really."
Kristina turns and walks toward the bench. She sits down and starts to pick at her fingers, just to give her something to do while avoiding talking to Ethan. She just wants to think; she doesn't want to talk to anyone, not even Ethan who has always been kind and helpful to her. Ethan comes over and sits on the bench next to Kristina.
"What's going on, Kristina? You look like you need someone to talk to, even if you don't want to."
Kristina smirks because she knows Ethan is right. She does need to talk to someone, but she doesn't want to admit to anyone, including herself, her secret. She remains silent.
"Well, whatever is going on, you need to talk to somebody about it. If not me, somebody. You know I'm always here for you to talk to if you want."
Kristina knows that Ethan is a good guy and very thoughtful and caring. He might be the one person she might even consider a friend, but Ethan is also good friends with Johnny. If she confides in Ethan, she isn't so sure that he would keep her secret confidential. He might feel compelled to tell Johnny what is going on, and she is definitely not ready for Johnny to know. She isn't ready for anyone to know, but especially not Johnny. Kristina decides to not tell Ethan anything.
"Ethan, I'll be okay. Thank you though."
"Well, please find someone to talk to. I hate seeing you sad like this. Promise me you'll talk to someone."
"I will, I promise," Kristina reassures him, smiling.
"Alright then. I hate to run, but I have work to do."
Ethan stands up and Kristina questions him, "You're doing work for Johnny?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Oh, no reason, just curious," Kristina smiles.
Kristina watches Ethan walk away and then stands up. She has absolutely no idea to whom she is going to talk or how, but she knows she has to talk to someone. Ethan is right.
Kristina decides that she needs to contact Dr. Lee and make an appointment to make sure everything is okay. She figures that, even though she doesn't know Dr. Lee that well, she might feel comfortable enough to talk to her. Talking to someone she doesn't know that well might actually be easier than talking to someone she's close to. Plus, Dr. Lee is a doctor, so Kristina figures that she is trustworthy and will give her good advice.
Kristina makes a phone call to General Hospital. "Hi, my name is Kristina Corinthos-Davis. I need to make an appointment to see Dr. Lee," she tells the person on the other end.
"As soon as possible…I'm…I'm…," Kristina has trouble getting the words out. Saying it out loud will be admitting to herself and another human being what she hasn't wanted to admit for months.
At that moment, unbeknownst to her, Kristina's brother Dante walks down the stairs behind her.
"I'm pregnant," Kristina blurts out to the person on the phone. "About four months."
Dante stops in his tracks. With his jaw dropped, he is astonished. He can't believe what he just heard his little sister say. He thinks he must have misheard her. She couldn't have possibly said what he thought he heard her say.
"I just wanted to see a doctor to make sure everything is okay. Okay, yeah, tomorrow morning is great. Thank you, bye," Kristina concludes her phone call.
Dante decides to not let Kristina know that he heard what she said. He plays like he just arrived when she hung up the phone.
"Hi, Kristina!" Dante says jovially.
Kristina spins around wildly, scared that she might have given away her secret. She looks at her brother with a worried look.
"Hi," Dante repeats, calmly.
"Uh…hi," Kristina says nervously.
Dante is smiling and says to Kristina, "How are you?"
"Uh…why? What have you heard?" Kristina questions Dante.
Dante gives a wry smile, "What, I can't ask how you are? Man, you're jumpy. What's going on?"
Kristina loosens a bit and with a slight smile says, "Um, nothing. You just startled me. I didn't see you there."
"Oh, sorry. So, how are you?"
"Fine." Kristina smirks.
Dante feels a little uneasy, knowing what Kristina was talking about but not wanting to let Kristina know he knows. Being the detective he is, he wants to draw it out of her. He wants her to tell him on her own and confess.
"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" He asks her casually.
"Um, um." Kristina swallows and stares at Dante blankly, trying to think up an answer. She of course can't tell him the true answer. "I'm, I'm…. Why?"
"Because I was wondering…," Dante starts, making up his response as he goes too, "if you'd like to…have lunch… with me…tomorrow." He grins.
"Um…what time?"
"Oh, I don't know…noon."
"Um…sure."
Kristina decides since her appointment with Dr. Lee is in the morning, she should go ahead and have lunch with her brother at noon, or else she might seem suspicious. She doesn't realize that not only does she already seem suspicious, but that her brother already knows the very secret she is trying to keep from him.
