Chapter Text
The cold porcelain of the toilet bowl was the only thing anchoring Gwen to the floor as another spasm racked her ribs. She gripped the rim until her knuckles turned white, the harsh bathroom light reflecting made her head swim.
“Gwen? Honey, are you alright in there?” Her mother’s worried voice muffled through the door.
She wiped her mouth with the back of a trembling hand and swallowed hard against the rising heat in her throat. She forced her voice to remain steady. “I’m fine, Mom! I think that takeout just didn’t sit right. Give me a minute.”
She waited until she heard the retreating footsteps before she let her forehead rest against the cool seat.
Another lie to the list.
For weeks, she had blamed the stress, the fading adrenaline of her time in the spotlight of a show she grew to loathed, and the returning to the lonely life where no one knew her name. The world had moved on to the next trendy TV series, leaving her behind like she was an obsolete product.
A new surge of bile rose. She doubled over, gasping as her stomach cramped with a violent urgency. Nothing was left but the bitter sting of acid.
Gwen stared down at the swirling water, a thin string of saliva slipped from her lips, disappearing into the bowl.
Her grip faltered. She knew what this was.
Her breath hitching in an involuntary sob.
She convinced herself it was stress, bad food, anything but this. Because thinking it, saying it out loud, made it real.
Her stomach tightened again, but she didn't move.
“…shit.” Gwen pressed her lips together, breath hitching once again.
She knew.
She was pregnant.