Contractual Obligation: The Trilogy by Lauren Keller Page A

door. She bumped into Mrs. Burton as she was coming home. “Say hi to Emily for me,” she said, and then went on her way. She was relieved she wasn’t responsible for the little cat anymore, but she did enjoy her short time with the kitty. It’s just that she didn’t want somebody, anybody, counting on her every single day. It made her feel caged in. Oh my gosh, if she had a child…she just wasn’t ready. It’s not that she wouldn’t love her baby; she would, she was sure of it, but she didn’t want to have a child this way. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them, her or her baby.
    Natalie was lost in thought as she wandered down the aisle of the local pharmacy. She hadn’t expected to see Victoria there. She hadn’t talked to her much lately, since she wasn’t picking up new jobs, and Victoria wasn’t much of a “do your own errands” kind of girl.
    “Victoria?”
    “Hey.” They both stood there holding their purchases. “Don’t get too close, I have a cold,” she said, her red nose confirming her statement. She glanced at the box in Natalie’s hands. “Oh.”
    Natalie shrugged, embarrassed to be holding it. She could claim it was for somebody else, but she knew she didn’t have many friends to point to. “Yeah, well, here’s hoping it’s negative,” she said.
    “Is it his? Oh, that’s wrong. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
    Natalie didn’t answer. She couldn’t, the tears were welling up. “I’m not ready.”
    “It will all work out,” she soothed, and then begged off.
    Natalie felt foolish, crying in the aisle with her pregnancy test kit. This wasn’t what she wanted.
    As the women went their separate ways, Natalie emotions got the best of her. It’s not like she planned this, and she wasn’t even prepared to be a mother. And Michael had enough crap going on in his life, that he didn’t need the added pressure of this. It was immature of them to skip the condom the second time. Scolding herself, her emotions swirled faster than she could keep up with. It was like somebody was blending the perfect concoction of mess inside of her brain and body.
    Natalie stared at the box in her hands and made her way to the check-out counter. Paying for the kit, she carried the bag out of the store, numbness washing through her. Sighing deeply, Natalie was lost in thought as she stumbled through the crowd to make her way home. Should she take the test now, or wait until first thing in the morning? There were two tests in the kit, maybe she’d do both.
    How would she tell him? What would she say? The outcome was too much to wrap her head around, and each possibility could change everything.
    Biting her lip, Natalie pulled at her collar. It’s like she couldn’t breathe. It was so hot suddenly, and her shirt was smothering her. Tugging at the material, all she wanted to do was cool off and breathe, dammit, just breathe. She self-soothed, trying to calm down, and as she sucked in her cheek, she slowly counted in her brain, forcing herself to focus on calm, basic breathing. Oh my god, just breathe. The darkness was coming at her fast. Natalie stood frozen on the sidewalk, oblivious to the stares as she started to hyperventilate.
    “Breathe into this,” a stranger said, having dumped food out of a brown lunch bag and offering her the paper sack.
    She heard him and did as he said, but felt like he was in the distance. She was about to drop, pass out right there on the street, and did as he instructed, breathing into the brown paper bag. Slowly her head cleared, and on regaining her composure, she turned to thank the man that had helped her.
    “Are you okay, lady?”
    She nodded. “I will be.”
    “Keep the bag in case you need it again.”
    “Thank you .” And just like that, he was on his way. A random stranger stepping in to save the day, and as he faded into the crowded sidewalk, she wished she’d gotten his name. Standing, looking around, she felt foolish. Rushing back to her