SNATCHED (A Sports Romance)

by Harper James

  My sister is standing in our tiny bathroom, her arms splayed over the sink, her head down. She doesn’t look at all surprised that I’ve picked the lock— or perhaps the eye makeup running down her face is just hiding the surprise. I scan her body for something obvious, like an injury. In doing so, I see something in her hand that looks a little like a thermometer.

  Only it isn’t a thermometer.

  “Oh my God,” I say, eyebrows raising.

  She laughs humorlessly and throws the object in the sink like it might bite her. “Yep. Yep. I’m pregnant.”

  Chapter 17

  Getting pregnant is something that happens to someone else. Getting pregnant does not happen to my sister. She takes her birth control pill religiously. She doesn’t have casual sex. She even took Plan B once not because her birth control had failed exactly, but just because she “had a weird feeling”.

  We go to the doctor to get it all confirmed— one out in Gwinnett to ensure no one who could possibly know our mother is involved in the whole process. The doctor is kind and pretty and understanding, even when Mandy starts to cry.

  “I just don’t understand how this could have happened,” Mandy says, shaking her head. “I don’t dislike babies, they’re fine, but this just isn’t what I want right now. Do you understand what a boys game the research world is? They’re never going to hire me if I’m pregnant.”

  The doctor nods. “Which is illegal, by the way, so if you decide to continue with this pregnancy and that happens, call me and we’ll get you a lawyer’s name.”

  “I don’t know if I can…continue it. If I should,” Mandy stammers. I’ve never seen my sister like this— I’ve never seen any woman in my family like this. We’re controlled, put together. We don’t cry and we don’t crack, at least, not where anyone can see.

  “You can make that decision later, and you know I support you no matter what you choose,” I say. “Let’s just get through today, okay, Mandy?”

  The doctor looks appreciative, then goes on. “Are you on any medications right now? Anything out of the ordinary?”

  Mandy thinks on this, then shrugs. “The health center gave me some medicine for a UTI I had a week or two ago. I get them all the time.”

  “An antibiotic?” the doctor asks. My sister nods, and the doctor exhales. “That’s probably it, then. Antibiotics lower the effectiveness of oral contraceptive.”

  “Holy shit,” Mandy says, voice choking her words. “I got pregnant because I had a UTI?”

  “You got pregnant unexpectedly because it happens,” the doctor says. “To lots of people. I promise. So— here’s your information, and just give me a call back in one week. We’ll get you set up with whatever you need, whatever you decide to do. In the meantime, pick up some pre-natal vitamins and go ahead and start taking them, just to be safe.”

  We leave the doctor’s office in relative silence; as we get on the interstate to head back to Atlanta, I finally dare to ask. “Does Bradley know?”

  Mandy shakes her head. “I didn’t want to tell him until the doctor confirmed it. I don’t know what he’s going to do. Probably be super nice about it and make me feel even worse.”

  “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know about the antibiotics. That’s an insane thing to know. I didn’t know it,” I point out.

  “Yeah, but still. I mean, I’m the one that’s pregnant, not him. It feels like my fault,” Mandy says, and I grit my teeth to keep every hard-won feminist argument my mother ever drilled into our brains from bubbling up. Is Mandy even hearing herself? They both got into this mess. Seeing her lose so much of her resolve makes my own confidence falter. What would I do, if I were Mandy? Would I handle it any better? Probably not. I’d be so worried about what Finn would say—

  It wouldn’t be Finn’s— you aren’t with him anymore, I remind myself, then feel immediately guilty for daring to think about Finn at a time like this. I press my tongue to my teeth is self-disgust. “Are you going to tell Bradley?”

  “Of course,” Mandy says, and she takes a breath. Something seems to calm a bit. “Of course, I have to tell him. I’ll tell him tomorrow night— he’s coming over after a crew thing.”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” I say, nodding.

  I hang around the house the following day, ignoring my huge to-do list, because I get the impression my being there— even if we aren’t really directly interacting— is giving Mandy some comfort. I catch her crying in the mirror a few times, see her stare at her stomach in the mirror, like she can’t figure out how it could look so normal yet be so different. She’s asked me to leave, though, when Bradley comes over, because she doesn’t think she’ll be able to tell him if she knows I’m listening in from the other room.

  I take some homework and head to Suns Up diner, knowing they’ll have plenty of room for me to spread out across a table. Honestly, it isn’t until I walk in that I remember that the last time I was here was the day I met Finn. My eyes wander over to the table we were at, lingering on the place where he sat, the place where he stood and punched Adams, the place where I waited, mouth gaping, to see what would happen next.

  “How many?” A tired looking waitress/cashier/food runner says as she sweeps by, seeming to be doing all three of her jobs in a single instant.

  “Just one,” I say, and smile.

  “Take a seat anywhere, I’ll be over in a second,” she says, then drops the stack of plates she’d been holding into a bus bin.

  I delve into homework, the table quickly becoming a mess of papers and books, abandoning my phone’s social media apps in favor of a fancy calculator app whose creator is basically the Harton math department’s patron saint. I’m so involved that I don’t much notice when someone stops at the end of the table. In fact, I don’t notice until a familiar smell wafts across my nostrils— something spicy, masculine, strong. In the millisecond between inhaling the scent and looking up, I identify who it is.

  “Finn,” I say, curbing his name at the last instant so I don’t sound delight or surprised or anything but calm.

  “Hey,” he says, and there’s the tiniest bit of a smile on his face, one that makes my heart beat a little faster. “Back to the grind, mathlete?”

  “Yeah,” I say, glancing down at my books and shrugging. “Same old. What about you?”

  “My new tutor is the worst. She made a chart where I get gold stars for every time I get a problem right.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “For a kindergartener,” he says, then slings his hands into his pockets. We stare at one another— his eyes strong, confidence, mine flirting away nervously— for a few moments.

  “Do you want to sit down?” I ask, unsure what else I can say.

  He swings into the seat, leaving one leg skewed out to the side, like he might need to get up and spring. I twirl my pencil between my fingers…what are we supposed to say to one another? We didn’t break up because we hated each other. We broke up because I spied on him. Because I refused to trust him. Not because we didn’t want to be together, not because we don’t still want to be together—

  Well. I still want to be with him. I have no idea what he’s feeling— his face is a shield of unreadable confidence, much like the one he wore the last time we were here together. I close my books and look up at him, then cross my fingers in my lap that he’ll be the one to start the conversation.

  “I miss you, Kenley,” he says directly.

  My fingers uncross. That’s one hell of a conversation starter.

  “I miss you too,” I say, voice warbling. “I really am sorry I—“

  Finn shakes his head curtly. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

  “Okay.” I go quiet. He inhales, then begins to speak about his father’s presence at that game instead. It’s a welcome break to talking about the two of us— something I can weigh in on, advise on. I roll my eyes when he tells me of Adams’ involvement, and he laughs when I tell him about how one of Mandy’s friends swea
rs Adams wears a cock ring to get his dick to the famed eleven inches, then tugs it off right before sex so no one knows.

  “Sounds like him,” Finn says, still chuckling a little. “It won’t be a problem any more, though. My dad, I mean— not Adams’ cock. That’s going to be a problem for a lot of people before he leaves Harton, I suspect.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, frowning.

  “I gave him what he wanted. I paid him off,” Finn says grimly.

  “Wait, seriously? With what? You aren’t getting money from the school are you?” I ask, almost frantic. Finn, more so than anyone here, knows the danger of accepting money or gifts as a college player.

  “No, not at all. I guess I haven’t paid him yet, exactly— it’s more like an IOU. Now that the regular season is over some of the pro agents have started showing up and…signs are good I’ll get an offer. So I told my dad I’d be willing to take care of him when the time comes, if he stays away.”

  My eyes widen. “Okay, one, congratulations. Two— what’s going to happen when he decides whatever you’re paying him isn’t enough?”

  “I know. But I needed to do something,” Finn says. “Adams was sabotaging the fuck out of me. I can’t concentrate with my dad around.” He shifts on his seat and changes the subject. “Let’s talk about your summer internship. How much Dr. Reams ass have you been kissing lately?”

  I smile a little. “A lot. A whole lot. He’s the worst. Although he’s been out of my hair for the last week or so. Maybe he’s written me off entirely?” Finn nods at this, but there’s something of a smirk in the expression. I lift an eyebrow. “Did you talk to him?”

  He looks pleased with himself. “I didn’t seek him out to talk to him, but he sent me this big formal email apologizing for you. And I said it was fine, and that you were the best tutor I’d ever had, and that it was mostly my fault. And then I sent him some of those Harton shirts they gave me. It seemed to settle him. That dude’s super fussy, huh?”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” I say, then, “Thanks, though.”

  “It was the least I could do. You are the best tutor I’ve ever had. And I’m not saying I’m totally over the whole setting me up thing, but…” He runs his hand through his hair. “It was mostly my fault. I should have talked to you. We could have worked it out. But instead I basically did what my dad did, when he and my mom disagreed. I just…left.”

  “You’re not at all like your dad,” I assure him.

  “Maybe. But this was a little too close for comfort,” he says, and looks down in a rare show of uncertainty.

  “Well I think—“ I stop, because my phone is ringing. When I go to answer it, I realize that I’ve been talking with Finn for almost an hour and a half. Mandy must have told Bradley, because she’s the one calling. “Sorry, I just need to— hello?” I say, answering.

  “Hi, is this Kenley Sullivan?” the person on the other end says. It’s not my sister; my chest tightens. Formal voice, first and last name, calling from Mandy’s phone…something is very wrong.

  “This is she,” I say hurriedly.

  “Hi, Miss Sullivan. This is Kelly Sharpton, I’m a nurse in the Piedmont Women's’ Clinic. Your sister is here— she’s fine— but she would like to see you.”

  I go silent, eyes wide, heart racing— how does one form words, again? I can’t seem to remember. I can’t seen to remember anything—

  “Miss Sullivan? She’s not in any life-threatening danger, but she isn’t feeling well. Can you come here?”

  “Yes. Yes, yes,” I stutter frantically.

  The nurse goes on to give me Mandy’s information with the calm clarity of someone who has made this phone call plenty of times before. By the time that I hang up the phone, it feels like someone has siphoned all the blood from my body. I must look it, too, because I’ve never seen Finn appear so worried.

  “What’s going on?” he asks before my phone hits the table.

  “Mandy’s in the hospital— I need to go— I need to pay—“

  Finn’s already reaching for his wallet; he tosses cash down on the table and rises. “I’ll drive you.”

  Chapter 18

  I don’t exactly process getting to the hospital, going to the desk, walking through the labyrinth of halls looking for room 603— I know it had to have happened, but it all feels faded and dreamlike. The first thing I really comprehend is the sight of my sister in a hospital room, wearing a white gown with pale lavender polka dots.

  “Mandy!” I say, voice strangled.

  “Hey, hey— I’m okay,” Mandy says swiftly, turning away from the television. I run up to her and wrap my arms around her, inspecting her for signs of injury.

  “What’s going on? The nurse called and I freaked out— are you okay? Was it something with Bradley? He didn’t—”

  The careful smile Mandy is wearing falters a bit, then she looks away as she releases me. “I just got really dizzy and passed out. And since I’m…well. You know. Bradley called an ambulance.”

  I sit on the edge of her bed. “But you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. Probably just a panic attack or something. Telling Bradley wasn’t exactly drama-free,” she says, rubbing her eyes. The remnants of eyeliner are clinging to her eyelids, and now that I’m not looking for a missing limb, I can see they’re pink from crying.

  “What happened?” I asked quietly.

  “He…did not take it well. At all. He said I did it on purpose.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I ask.

  “He said I must have done it on purpose, because no one else is stupid enough to get pregnant these days. He didn’t believe the thing about the antibiotics,” Mandy says, jaw trembling a bit. My stomach clenches in fury, and I lean forward to hug her again. She whispers, almost more to herself, “I didn’t think it would be that bad, telling him.”

  “It shouldn’t have been,” I answer.

  “Yeah but— oh. It’s you,” Mandy says. She’s looking over my shoulder— I turn and see that Finn is standing in the doorway. I’d more or less forgotten about him entirely, but now that I can see his face, I remember running down the corridors with him, searching for Mandy’s room.

  “I was with Finn when the nurse called. At Suns Up,” I add quickly, just in case she thinks I mean Finn and I were together in a very different way.

  “I drove her. Not trying to interrupt or anything— but we left the car in the loading zone. I’m going to go move it, then wait for you in the lobby,” Finn says to me.

  “Sure—“ I start.

  Mandy cuts me off. “You don’t have to wait in the lobby. Come back up here, okay? And thanks for driving Kenley.”

  “It wasn’t a problem,” Finn says, looking a little surprised. He vanishes, and Mandy watches the doorway for a moment even after he’s gone. “Bradley called the ambulance when I fainted, but didn’t even come to the hospital with me. He thinks I’m just trying to get money out of him and his dad.”

  “I can’t believe he’d be like that,” I say.

  “Really? Because I sort of can. Now that it’s happened,” Mandy says slowly, running her fingers across the television remote buttons absently. “He doesn’t like it when stuff doesn’t go his way. He was controlling, sometimes. He was bossy.”

  “He was condescending. And entitled,” I add. Mandy gives me a small smile. “What? If we’re being honest about him, I might as well come out with it: That guy has been an entitled douchebag since day one. I bet his family has like, a ‘house on the cape’. Oh, and they probably ‘summer’ somewhere, right?”

  Mandy laughs, sadly. “Yes and yes.”

  “As if you need his money. As if you want his asshole family’s money,” I go on. “I can’t believe he thought you were like….scheming to be his baby mama. That’s not you at all.”

  “Yeah. It’s not. But when people are freaked out I guess they make all sorts of fake accusations,” Mandy says. “Which, I know this is a weird time for this, but I’m sorry,
Finn.”

  I spin around and realize Finn has returned, though he’s standing a little warily in the doorway. He shrugs. “It’s no big deal.”

  “It is. Look, I don’t know if Kenley told you, but I’m the one that set up the whole spy-ring thing. She was just along for the ride. I figured you had to secretly be like Adams, right? And as it turns out, my own boyfriend has more in common with him than you ever have.”

  “Mandy, seriously—“ I say.

  “That’s it. I know I’m making it weird. But I really am sorry. And Finn, Kenley is great. And Kenley, Finn is great. And that’s really it,” Mandy says swiftly.

  “It’s fine,” Finn says, then steps into the room and leans against the doorframe. Mandy makes a motion for him to take a chair, and so he enters the rest of the way and folds himself into it, looking comically cramped in a chair made for an average-sized human. We all sit in silence for a moment, no one quite sure what to talk about— I’m not quite sure if Finn heard enough to know what’s going on with Mandy, and don’t really feel like it’s my news to share.

  Mandy, thankfully, breaks the ice. “So. I got knocked up.”

  Finn laughs at her candor. “Sorry to hear that.”

  “I’ll be alright. Though if you see Bradley, you can hit him. I promise I won’t even be angry if you wind up getting arrested,” she says.

  “He’s not stepping up?” Finn asks, and looks genuinely surprised.

  “To say the least. Have Kenley fill you in later. The point is just: Feel free to hit him, and feel free to make it below the belt,” Mandy says. Just as she says this, a nurse enters the room, pushing a small cart of scary-looking supplies and some sort of electronic thing with a screen,

  “Miss Mandy Sullivan? We just need to do a few checks. Can we have the room, please?”

  Finn and I leave, waiting just outside the door— the nurses closes it, and we hear murmured conversation on the other side. A few moments later, a calm and kind-faced doctor walks in; once he’s inside, Finn and I are entirely alone in the quiet hallway. I open my mouth a few times, certain that if I just start talking, I’ll figure out the right thing to say….but I’ve got nothing.