Unexpectedly Yours

Chapter Five

Throwback — One Year Earlier

Traveling could be annoying, but this time, it was getting on my nerves.

Four hours.

Four whole hours on the road, and I was beginning to feel like I might lose my mind.

My stomach had been unsettled for most of the journey. I felt nauseous, and every time I thought about eating something, my stomach seemed to protest.

I couldn't even keep anything down.

I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes, hoping the feeling would pass before we arrived home.

All I wanted was to get there, take a proper bath, and rest.

And maybe, just maybe, figure out what was going on with Brian.

For days, he'd been distant. I'd sent him messages, but he barely responded. Sometimes, he wouldn't respond at all.

I didn't understand what I'd done wrong.

Or perhaps I was simply tired of trying to understand a man who never seemed interested in explaining himself.

By the time I finally arrived home, I was exhausted.

“Good afternoon!” I called as I stepped inside.

Felicia appeared almost immediately.

“Susan!”

My younger sister hurried over, and I smiled as she pulled me into a hug.

I'd missed her.

Unlike the rest of my family, Felicia and I were close. With her, I didn't always have to pretend to be someone I wasn't.

“How was your journey?” she asked.

“Long and stressful,” I replied with a tired laugh.

She helped me with my bag, and we chatted for a while before I went to freshen up.

I didn't mention the nausea.

I didn't mention Brian either.

For now, I wanted to act as though everything was normal.

That evening, I had dinner and exchanged a few words with my family before retiring to my room.

The moment I closed the door, I reached for my phone.

Brian.

His name was still there, sitting in my contacts like nothing had changed between us.

I opened our chat and tried to send him another message.

But something was wrong.

I couldn't reach him.

Confused, I checked his i********: page.

And there it was.

A post of him at a party, standing beside another girl.

They looked comfortable together.

Too comfortable.

I stared at the picture, trying to understand what I was looking at.

Then the truth I'd been avoiding slowly settled in.

Brian and I had been dating for a year, but if anyone asked him about me, would he even admit we were together?

I was the one who had pursued him. I was the one who had kept trying, hoping that if I loved him enough, he would eventually feel the same way.

Perhaps I'd believed that time would change things.

That one day, he'd wake up and realize he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

But a year had passed.

And I was still waiting.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked at the picture again.

I was tired.

Tired of guessing. Tired of waiting for replies. Tired of being the only person trying to make a relationship work.

When I returned to university, I would talk to him.

I needed to know whether there was a future for us or whether I'd been holding on to something that had never truly been mine.

I put my phone aside and pressed a hand against my stomach.

The nausea was back.

I hurried to the bathroom and vomited again.

When I returned to my room, I sat quietly on the edge of the bed.

There was something else I hadn't allowed myself to think about for too long.

Brian and I hadn't been careful.

And now, with my period late and the nausea getting worse, a frightening possibility was beginning to take shape in my mind.

I closed my eyes.

Please, let me be wrong.