not gonna lie, things are about to get intense.... hope you enjoy. :D


We sat in silence for a while, just staring at the test to see if it'd change. Finally Eric spoke, "how, how did you know?" he asked, "How did you know to get the test?" Pulling up my sleeve I revealed the rash, Eric winced as he examined it with his eyes, "that's how you knew?" he asked confused. "This type of rash runs in my family," I explained, "and you only get it when you're pregnant. That's how I knew." Eric hung head low, "you should have told me," he began, "I would've…" "Wouldn't what Eric?" I cried, "I'm pregnant." My voice cracked as I said "pregnant." A tear rolled down Eric's cheek, "I don't know what I would've done okay, you just, you should have told me." He pulled me into a hug and I cried on his shoulder, "I'm sorry" I whispered. "Sorry for what?" he cried back, "you didn't get pregnant by yourself, this is my baby too. We should've been more careful." I pulled away from Eric's hold, "that's the thing," I whispered, "we were careful. I don't know how this happened." Eric swallowed hard, "I, I don't know. But I do know that you need to see the doctor about that rash, it doesn't look good." I shook my head and gently touched my arm, "I'm sorry," I whispered again.

The same hospital we left last night we came back too, this time for a completely different reason. I sat in the exam room and patiently waited for a doctor to come in and check out my arm. Eric sat in a chair in the corner reading a magazine, I could tell from his face he was nervous, and so was I. Soon a soft knock came upon the door and a young female doctor stepped in, "Hell Britta," she smiled and placed her chart down on the table, "I am Dr. Griffin and I'm here to check out your arm." "Hi Dr. Griffin," I replied, "uhm this is my boyfriend Eric." Eric sat up in the chair and gave a slight wave. Dr. Griffin smiled and walked over to me, "alright let's see that arm." Turning my arm over she gently gripped my wrist and examined the hives. "This type of rash runs in my family," I explained, "it usually only shows up when you're pregnant." Dr. Griffin wrinkled her brow, "well it doesn't look like any type of PUPPP I've ever seen," she let go of my wrist, "I'll have you take a pregnancy test just in case. Are you sexually active?" "We haven't been for a while because of the tour, but when we were, we were really careful, I know we were. And I, I took a home test." Dr. Griffin stopped me, "you took a home test?" she asked, "and what were the results?" I cleared my throat, "p, positive," I stuttered. Dr. Griffin reached for my hand, "honey, don't worry, those home tests aren't always right. We're gonna give you another test okay." I shook my head and followed her to the bathroom to take my second test.

Waiting for Dr. Griffin to come back with the results felt like a lifetime. I sat there contemplating everything, "I'm 19," I thought to myself, "my life's just starting, I can't be pregnant." I looked over at Eric; he sat chewing at his bottom lip and staring at the floor. "Eric," I whispered, "I'm scared." He came over and sat next to me on the bed, "I'm scared too," he whispered grabbing my hand and squeezing. "Thank you for being here for me," pulling him into a kiss I tried to just breathe. Breaking apart Eric kissed my forehead and I nestled my head onto his chest as he rubbed my shoulder. I looked down at my wrapped arm; Dr. Griffin had put some ointment on it and told me to change the bandage before going to bed. I was a little comforted that she didn't think it was a pregnancy rash, but the home test's results still had me shaking.

The door pushed open and I sat up straight, Dr. Griffin walked in with a smile. "Well," she began, "the test came back negative. You're not pregnant." Breaking into a sob I cried, "Oh thank god," Eric grabbed my hand and wiped his eyes. "That take home test was a piece of crap," Dr. Griffin joked, "but that rash is serious." I didn't understand, every woman in my family got that rash when she was pregnant, why was I different? "Britta," Dr. Griffin began, "you have a condition called Granuloma Annulare. But don't worry; your case is nothing to worry about. It seems as if your rash was brought on by stress. Have you been very stressful lately?" The events of last night flashed through my head, "my friends," I began to explain, "They were in a car accident last night." Dr. Griffin shook her head, "and last night is when you noticed the rash?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. "There's your explanation," Dr. Griffin smiled, "I'll prescribe you something to make the itching dull and eventually the rash will fade on its own. Just try and stay away from deep stress for a little while alright?" I smiled and thanked Dr. Griffin as we left the room, Eric grabbed my hand and sucked in a deep breath, "I told you everything would be alright."

Before we left we decided to visit Pat and Kennedy, when we got to Pat's room he was sitting up eating breakfast. "Guys," he chuckled, "didn't I just see you!" Walking into the room Pat noticed my wrapped up arm, "you got it looked at?" he asked lowering his tone. "Yeah I did," I began, "it's just a stress rash, I'm not pregnant." Eric looked at me confused as Pat sighed in relief, "you told Pat?" he asked. "He saw my arm last night, I just told him I didn't know if I was pregnant or not, I hadn't even gotten the test yet." Eric dropped hands with me, "you could tell Pat, but you couldn't tell me?" his voice sounded more hurt than angry. "I didn't tell Pat," I tried to explain, "he just saw my arm okay, it's not like you were going to be last to know. I was still scared last night; I didn't want to tell anyone." Pat reached for the remote and clicked off the TV, "Eric dude," he called, "she didn't really tell me, I asked her about the rash and she said she was worried. Don't get mad okay." Eric huffed, "so my girlfriend thinks she's pregnant and she tells you about it before she tells me, the father, and I'm not supposed to be mad." I couldn't believe how he was reacting, after everything we just went through he was getting angry about this. Pat tried to help, "Eric man, just calm down. Can you really blame Britta, she was scared, she thought she was pregnant man, try and put yourself in her shoes last night." Eric walked over to Pats bed, "well I would have been in her shoes if she'd told me, wouldn't I have?" Standing on the other side of the bed I watched as Eric and Pat argued about last night, finally I was fed up, "Eric!" I yelled, "Look at you, look at what you're doing! Pat's lying in a hospital bed, he got really hurt last night, we could have lost him and Kennedy last night, and you're freaking out over this!" Pat closed his eyes and lay back in bed, he was obviously in pain. "Yeah, we could have lost Pat and Kennedy last night," he began, "as a matter of fact, why don't you go see Kennedy, cause I know that's where you wish you were anyway. And you know damn well if he hadn't fucked around behind your back in July, you and I wouldn't even be together. So go be with your real boyfriend. Go!" I was so angry I couldn't think straight, did he really just say that to me, the girl who not but 20 minutes ago could have been the mother of his unborn child. "Fuck You!" I yelled storming for the door, tears falling down my face, and heart sinking with every step.