'SHIT!' Zosia exclaimed, out loud this time. Details were hazy from that point but she remembered kissing in the flat, going into Arthur's bedroom, more kissing, and then...'wait, we definitely used protection...so how on earth could I be pregnant?' she wondered. 'I guess they aren't 100% effective, and we would have noticed if it broke...then again maybe not...fuck'
she sighed as she lay down flat on her bed.
Zosia knew she had to find out for sure, so despite the occasional nausea, she pulled on some leggings, black boots, a long top and her grey Holby hoodie, and got a taxi to the nearest supermarket. She knew she must have looked like death, but she didn't care, she had to know. She picked up 3 tests of different brands just to be sure, paid and hurried back out to the taxi who she had asked to wait for her.
She hoped to get home, take the test and hopefully be relieved by the negative result she was hoping for before Arthur got home from his shift.
'Bloody Digby' she thought to herself. But then she remembered that it couldn't be all his fault, or anyone's fault in fact. She was 100% certain that they used protection, 'these things happen...just hopefully not to me' she thought as she paid the driver and hurried inside.
'Thank god' she sighed, as she entered what she thought was her empty flat. She took the boxes out of the bag, and then something startled her. It was Arthur, coming out of their kitchen.
'Zosia, do you want-' Arthur started, and as Zosia was startled, she had dropped one of the boxes and he leant over to pick it up. However, he also happened to glance at what it was...
'Zosh...are you..?' He asked, his voice shaking and his face paling.
'I think so' she replied shyly, as Arthur stepped towards her. She wanted to go small, to shrink into the ground and go invisible, but instead she had to deal with the fact that Arthur was now grabbing his coat and running out of the flat. 'Arthur? Arthur come back!' She shouted, panicking, but he ignored her. As the door slammed, tears started streaming down her face. 'I've finally done it' she thought. 'I've finally fucked everything up'.
Still crying over an hour later, she knew that she had to know for sure whether she was, she supposed, with child.
She opened them all and took them all in one sitting, and then as she left the bathroom, tests in hand, she heard the front door click open and her other flatmate, the one who helped her get into this potential mess, reentered. She quickly tried to shove the tests in her pocket, and then realised she didn't have any pockets and by the time she considered a contingency plan to avoid upsetting Arthur again, he was already stood before her, staring down at the three white sticks she had in her hands.
She expected him to be angry, but instead Arthur took her by the arms and reassuringly stroked them, making eye contact with her.
'Let's sit down, and we'll talk' he said kindly.
'What? Why are you being so nice?' She asked, confused. She had expected him to run for the hills and leave and stay there, so why was he still there?
'Because if it's positive, it would be my baby right?' He asked nervously. She nodded in response. 'Then I need to do the right thing, and we would need to talk about this' he replied. At this moment Zosia was so glad that he was Arthur Digby, her friend- her old-fashioned, loyal, caring friend. He had been there for her through so much- the Polish Christmas he threw for her the first Christmas after her mother passed away, the time she got suspended by her dad, the complaint she backed against her dad, the time she overdosed, her bipolar diagnosis, and to some extent at least, her break up with Jesse.
They went into the living room and sat down on the sofa next to each other, both of them staring at the three white sticks lined up in front of them.
'If it's positive' Arthur said quietly, breaking the silence, 'what...umm...what do you want to do?'
Zosia thought. 'I don't know. I never dreamed I would get pregnant when I'm not married, especially not while I'm still training' she replied, truthfully. She looked down at her phone 'six, five, four, three...' 'Arthur, I can't look- can you?' She asked, her chest tightening and heart starting to pound.
Arthur looked over- he had never seen Zosia look more afraid, more vulnerable. He had to be strong for her, despite his own nervousness about the result. 'Yeah...yeah of course' he smiled weakly, reaching over to the pile of tests. Zosia looked at his face, watching him intently to see if she could guess before he said anything. He was silent for a moment, and then looked her in the eyes and took her hand. 'They're all positive.'
