Nothing to Lose by Angela Winters Read Free Book Online Page A

door closed, Erica turned to Billie and gave her a thumbs-up sign.
    At the bar, it was Billie who first noticed something was wrong as soon as Sherise stood up. She stumbled back quickly and the phone fell out of her hand. Billie looked at her and noticed she looked confused. Billie called her name and reached out to her just as Sherise began to fall.
    Erica screamed and jumped to catch her, getting her just before her head hit the floor. Erica fell flat on her butt, with Sherise in her arms. Everyone around them became alarmed. Billie screamed for someone to call 911 as she got on her knees and tried to wake Sherise up. She was out like a light; Erica started to panic.
    â€œSomeone help!” Erica called out. “Is anyone a doctor?”
    The ambulance was there in less than ten minutes. Neither Erica nor Billie was allowed to ride with her. They were angry, but relieved that it seemed as if Sherise was moving her head as the doors to the ambulance closed.
    It wasn’t until then, when a waitress ran up to Billie to hand her Sherise’s phone, which had been left behind, that Billie thought of Justin. She called him right away. By the time she got off the phone, Erica had hailed a cab and they were on their way.
    Once at the hospital, they were not allowed to see Sherise at all. They were only told to get family there. Justin arrived a few minutes after they had.
    A very tense Sherise calmed immediately the second she saw Justin rushing toward her. He reached down and hugged her tightly, kissing her on the lips.
    â€œI’m fine, baby,” she reassured him.
    She could see the love in his eyes and it warmed her heart. He and Cady were all she could think about since coming to in the ambulance.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” he asked as she rubbed his cheek to comfort him.
    â€œI’m sure it’s just exhaustion,” she answered, turning to the doctor.
    Dr. Deepa Gupta was standing by the bed. She was a young doctor, with a very smart, serious look on her face.
    â€œEverything seems fine,” she said slowly as she read over the paper in front of her. “We’ll have to wait for the blood tests to come back.”
    â€œDid you not eat or something?” Justin asked.
    She shook her head. “I had a sandwich for lunch. I had less than half of one drink at the bar, but that’s it.”
    â€œWait a second.” Dr. Gupta looked at Sherise. “You told the nurse your last period was the middle of last month.”
    Sherise nodded. “Yes, I think it was . . . I think maybe the fifteenth.”
    â€œWell,” Dr. Gupta said, smiling, “it’s the twenty-ninth.”
    â€œWhat does that . . .” Justin stopped midsentence as he seemed to grasp what the doctor was suggesting.
    Sherise’s stomach clenched and she gasped. She looked at Justin, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He started shaking his head as if not believing, and she did the same, turning back to the doctor.
    â€œThat’s not possible,” she said. “I’m on the Pill, every morning at eight.”
    â€œYou mentioned that you’ve been under a lot of stress,” Dr. Gupta said. “You’ve been running all over the place. Trust me, busy schedules are the leading cause of pregnancies among working mothers. You don’t think you forgot, but you probably have.”
    The doctor laughed, but she stopped as soon as she realized that neither Sherise nor Justin joined her.
    â€œWell,” she offered, her voice returning to a more professional tone, “we don’t know anything yet. The blood test will be checking for pregnancy and I’ll have a nurse bring an at-home test down so you can do some preliminary testing of your own.”
    She waited a moment, but after not getting a response from the dumbfounded couple, she continued. “I’ll just leave you both alone for a little while.”
    After the doctor left, Sherise and Justin