“Justin,” a soft familiar voice trembled through his cell phone’s speaker. “I’ve-”
“Hey, I’m in the studio layin’ down a track,” he said, holding up his index finger to tell his producers to hang on just one second. “Can I call you back as soon as I’m done?”
“This is important-”
“I’ll call you right back.”
“Please-”
“Just one second!” he pleaded, just about to close his phone.
“I’m pregnant.”
Justin froze. He leaned back in the tall chair in the booth of the studio as he took off his hat and ran one hand over his hair. There was no way. This couldn’t happen to him.
“What?”
Time seemed to have stopped.
“I’m pregnant, Justin,” she whispered. This was not how she had wanted to tell him. To be honest, she didn’t want to be in this situation to begin with, but she was and she couldn’t change it. Justin deserved to know.
“There’s no way.”
She chose to say nothing.
“How do you know?”
“How do you think?” She felt like crying. “I took a pregnancy test and I’ve been to the doctor. I’m three months pregnant.”
Justin didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Justin, I just thought you should know and I thought I would tell you that I’m keeping the baby, too.”
“Shit.” he whispered before closing his phone.
Justin dropped the pad of paper and the pen that had been resting on his lap. He shoved his phone into his pocket halfheartedly as he walked out of the booth in a state of numbness. The Neptunes, Justin’s producers, called out to him, curious as to what had happened and what was wrong. They had heard his side of the conversation through the microphone that they never turned off. Something was definitely wrong. They followed Justin outside and met him at his car.
Justin looked entirely worn out. It was strange for them to see their friend look so tired when just a few moments ago he was so energized and excited to be back into the studio and recording.
Justin shut the door to the tan colored escalade. He stuck the key into the ignition and started his vehicle. He rolled down the window and told The Neptunes he’d call them later. He waited briefly as they moved out the way before speeding away to his safe haven: his house. Lucky for him, at that moment, his girlfriend happened to be on the other side of the country.
In a flash, too many thoughts rushed through his mind. It was impossible to think so many things at once. The very first thought that came into Justin’s head was Angela. He needed to figure out how exactly he was going to tell his girlfriend of three and a half years about the news he had just received. This was going to be a long night ahead of him. He had to find the right words. Second, he began to wonder if the news he had heard was true. How did he know she wasn’t lying? How did he know that she wasn’t sleeping around? How did he know she wasn’t trying to be part of his fame? How could this happen to him? Thirdly, Justin wished that he hadn’t been so stupid and so desperate. He wondered how he could have wanted more when exactly what he wanted was right in front of him. He knew he wasn’t ready to be a father. He knew he wasn’t ready for a kid. He also knew that having a child with another woman basically killed his current relationship.
