Unexpected News

I barely made it to the sink before I started vomiting, my body heaving, all that delicious food suddenly working against me. When I straightened, I felt dizzy, my head spinning as if I’d just stepped off a roller coaster. My hands were cold, and a strange exhaustion washed over me, settling deep in my bones.

Sally was right outside the door, her concern quickly turning to worry. “Mila, are you okay? You look so pale. Do you need water or something?”

I tried to reassure her, forcing a shaky smile. “I’m fine. Must’ve been a long day and maybe…maybe I ate too fast.”

But as I walked back to the living room, a few things lingered— the sudden nausea, the dizziness, a lingering tiredness I couldn’t shake. I brushed it off, chalking it up to stress and fatigue. Yet something gnawed at the back of my mind, as if my body was trying to tell me something just beyond my understanding. But for now, I ignored it, focusing instead on cleaning up and carrying on, pretending that everything was perfectly fine.

After I wrapped up a few last-minute emails for work, my exhaustion finally caught up with me. Sally had insisted on staying the night, which was comforting in a way I hadn’t expected. I climbed into bed, grateful for the silence and her quiet presence nearby. For once, I felt a sense of peace washing over me, and I quickly drifted into sleep, thankful that at least for a few hours, I didn’t have to think about Alex, the viral video, or anything else.

But when morning came, that sense of calm didn’t last. I woke up feeling…off. A familiar queasiness settled in, and my head felt a bit heavy. I sat up slowly, pressing a hand to my stomach, hoping it was just lingering fatigue, maybe a side effect from the whirlwind of yesterday.

Sally noticed immediately, her concerned gaze narrowing in on me as we sat down to have tea in the kitchen.

“Mila, you don’t look so good,” she said, her eyes scanning me carefully. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

I shrugged, giving her a faint smile. “I think I just overdid it yesterday. My body feels a little weak. Maybe it’s the stress catching up.”

But Sally wasn’t buying it. She crossed her arms, that familiar no-nonsense look flashing in her eyes. “Oh no. We’re going to the hospital. No arguing this time, Mila—you’re coming with me for a check-up.”

I groaned, but I knew there was no fighting her once she was in protective best friend mode. Rolling my eyes dramatically, I went along with her plan, hoping the fresh air might actually help clear my head.

As we walked, we started chatting, our conversations drifting back to the old days. It felt like a flashback to high school, us cracking jokes and teasing each other as if we didn’t have a care in the world. I even brought up one of my latest headaches. “Oh, and just my luck—the rent’s going up next month,” I said with a dramatic sigh. “Honestly, I should just move.”

Sally gasped, throwing a hand over her heart in fake outrage. “Mila! Are you telling me I have to start paying rent to stay at my best friend’s place?”

I shot her a smirk. “Hey, you practically live there with all your ‘surprise visits,’ you know! You and all your bags just take over my whole living room. If I’m paying more, you should be too!”

She giggled, nudging me as we walked. “Fine, fine, I admit it—I’ve been freeloading a bit. But I only do it for the VIP treatment, you know? Plus, how can I resist hanging out with you every chance I get?”

Her words made me laugh. We kept up the banter all the way to the hospital.

As we sat in the waiting room. Sally kept glancing over at me with reassuring smiles, probably trying to lighten the mood, but I could tell she was just as anxious. Minutes felt like hours as we waited for the test results.

Finally, the doctor called us in. She looked down at the paper in her hand, a small smile playing on her lips. "Well, Mila, congratulations. You're pregnant."

I blinked, feeling like I’d misheard her. Sally let out a short laugh, clearly thinking it was some kind of joke. "Uh, sorry, what?" she asked, her face a mixture of shock and disbelief.

The doctor smiled patiently. "The symptoms you've been experiencing—dizziness, nausea—they’re all consistent with early pregnancy. And the tests confirm it."

A strange, surreal silence settled between us. Sally’s hand clamped onto mine, her grip tight, like she was checking to make sure we were both still here, that this wasn’t some kind of mistake.

“But… that’s impossible,” I finally managed, shaking my head. “I was told by a top specialist, one of the best hospitals in the country, that I couldn’t get pregnant. They were certain.”