Chapter 2- A Crampy Night
2045 Words
EMILY'S POV
Two weeks later...
I glance at my red wristwatch only to find out that it's already seven in the evening. I promised my mom that I would be cooking our dinner tonight, but no thanks to Amber for dragging me to one of the pubs near the campus for some drinks. My schedule is now ruined.
I throw my head back and enjoy the burning sensation of the Cosmo that passes down my throat and warms my belly. I am pretty sure this is maybe only my second or third time to consume more than a sip of alcohol in my entire life; because the reason is, I hate the taste of it: beer, wine, gin, all kinds. But oddly this time, I like the feeling of an apparently high-quality vodka stirring up my system.
Curtis told Amber that I had been really stressed lately, so my pretty friend took advantage, corralling an easy prey to drink with her.
"I think I need to go now." I shoot an apologetic look at my companion, who's now obviously plied up with whatever is the Ladies' Night special. Her normally immaculate blonde hair is now like a shock of hay and then blown by a strong monsoon, and her rosy cheeks almost crimson. I nod my permission to the busboy to go ahead and clear our table before she had the chance to object and order another round.
"It is still early, Lily..." she slurs out, pulling me back down into my seat with little force. She has been blabbering about her stepbrother who she thinks has been flirting with her, and he's getting her all confused. I can tell, just with the way her eyes evade mine every time I ask her, that she's attracted to him too. There may even be more to it, judging from her deep sighs and frustrated gestures; I just can't tell for sure yet.
"Let's go home before you start trying to do inappropriate stuff with me again," I tease her with my face lighting up with humor. She's kind of something else when she's drunk...
"Shut up," she rolls her eyes, and we both laugh. She's definitely thinking about what's on my mind as well.
Amber, just like me, has never had a boyfriend before. For the love of Moses, she looks so pretty and sweet, like the kind of girl boys want to date and keep forever. They will bounce up and down on the sharp side of a knife just to get in her pants, but I don't know why this woman seems to be uninterested in everyone. She's the only real friend I have aside from Curtis. Well, apart from a girl named Arianne who is in three of my classes, and who's kind of talking to me sometimes, but in the weirdest and s****l ways possible.
Amber and I first met last semester in the university library. It was a strange but funny incident. It was really late, almost closing time, and in the complete silence, I thought I was alone. I went to the last three shelves in the back corner to grab some books for my laboratory homework. I then saw this girl slouched down on the floor against the last shelf with her eyes closed. Her cheeks were so flushed she almost looked like a pretty tomato. I squatted down and asked if she was okay; nothing. So I grabbed her by the shoulder and slightly shook her. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled slyly at me. I asked her again if she was okay, but all she did was stare at me for a few seconds, still smiling. I remembered thinking about how beautiful she was despite her tousled blonde hair and otherwise disheveled appearance.
To my surprise, she reached for my ID and pulled me towards her. My nostrils caught her breath that was reeking of alcohol.
And then the most unexpected thing happened next.
The sound of her lips as they smacked against my cheek sent chills all over me – she freaking kissed me.
I certainly could not have been prepared for what happened next either. Before I could react, she projectile vomited all over my chest, soaking me with puke and the unpleasant smell of it mixed with hard liquor.
From the day I had stepped foot on that university campus, my social life had been boring – until that day. To cut the long story short, I took her to the clinic, and after giving her my number and making her promise to call me and let me know she was okay, I went home to clean myself. The next day, she called, apologizing profusely, and asked me to meet her at the Student Center.
Despite her irresponsible appearance otherwise, Amber is actually a junior nursing student. She had been to a party the night before the incident at the library and was still drinking at 7 a.m. the next day. We became instant friends.
Last semester, we had one class in common and became closer because of that. But this semester, she has been busier in the hospital, and we seldom see each other. Of course, she already made other friends at school before me, but nonetheless, we formed a special friendship out of our quite absurd meeting.
Upon arriving home from the pub, Curtis' blue rubbered braces welcome me between his toothy grin. He didn't inform me that he's coming over for dinner tonight. My mom had probably invited him at the last minute.
"Great, you're here," I smile at him. My brother Lance and my dad Henry are sitting at the dining table discussing something in low voices while my mom, Rebecca, is preparing dinner.
I hesitantly look for some hint of disappointment in my mother's eyes as they catch mine. Maybe it is my lucky night because she's smiling widely at me instead.
"Curtis told me that you went out with Amber." Her light brown eyes are bright and lovely as she flashes them at me. "I prepared your favorite dish."
I breathe a sigh of relief as she beckons for me to sit down. When my mother smiles, her small eyes become even smaller, almost non-existent. She has some Chinese blood in her which shows in those cute eyes and her petite frame.
My stomach growls audibly upon seeing beef fajitas and garlic rice. From the chuckles, apparently, everyone else heard it too.
"Someone's tummy must be really hungry," Curtis comments before shoving a spoon in his mouth. He's living in the campus dorm but he doesn't like his roommate Karl, an obnoxious fatass who only cares about himself and has an addiction to stalking women with huge boobs on ** and Snapchat.
As we sit and eat, I can't help but think about how lucky I am to live with my family, unlike most other students. The only disadvantage is that I cannot exercise my freedom and independence. But in reality, that doesn't stop me from doing much of anything. Overall, I'm a boring girl who doesn't go out much and who prefers to stay home on weekends, sprawling on my bed reading romance books that always get women's hopes up too high or watching chick flicks and gore movies with chicken noodle soup on my lap.
I look at my mom who can barely bring the spoon to her mouth because of laughter from another lame joke Curtis just told. I shake my head in amusement and continue eating silently, trying to absorb at least some of the alcohol in my stomach.
Just as I am savoring the juiciness of my mom's perfectly cooked beef, I grasp my fork a little tighter as I feel the cramps attacking again. It literally feels like a bodybuilder's hand has grabbed and is squeezing my uterus down there.
God, I'm tired of this already. I look around and remember that the painkiller that I have been popping since last week has already run out.
I drop my fork and clench my stomach discreetly. I don't want them to know about this. My eyes drift to Curtis whose attention is now anchored on me, his forehead creasing in worry. He is sitting in front of me, and his bushy brows are raised in question. I glare at him with a shut-up look.
My chair slightly drags back as I hunch in pain. s**t, it is getting worse this time. I excuse myself to the bathroom, but actually, I am planning to go to bed directly.
I lie in bed in a fetal position with a hot water bottle pressed against my lower abdomen. Do you know that feeling of not knowing what you feel?
Uhm, what?
Yeah, the usual menstrual cramps, only this time, there's no blood coming out of me. I feel like my guts and my uterus are in a damn race to see who's going to unload their deposits first. I want to poop and pee at the same time. And, I want to sleep, but I have to study for my report tomorrow about suicide and its prevalence in today's society.
I've been in that position for almost an hour when a knock on the door startles me. I know it's my mom, and Curtis has probably told her everything. Ugh.
I act like I'm sleeping soundly under the comforter. I feel her inching slowly towards the bed in the dark. The mattress slightly shrinks as she sits on the edge beside me.
"I know you're awake, Sweetie." Her voice is soothing. Every time I have been in a stressful or emotional situation, it has always been my comfort. My eyes flicker and my mind battles whether to "wake up" or continue my act. The silence between us is deafening.
"Curt told me you've been having some menstrual problems."
See? I'm right. He told her.
When she flips on the bedside lamp, I finally open my eyes and see her looking down at me with such tenderness on her beautiful face. I bury my face in the pillow and groan in exasperation.
"That little jerk..." I groan.
"Sweetie, you need to go to the doctor. It pains me to see you like this. Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice is so sweet that I am relieved she knows, and it actually seems to temporarily ease my pain. Oh, the wonders mothers can do.
"But I don't want to see a doctor. I don't want them to give me shots, make me take medicine, prod and poke me, mutilate my body." And the worst, unspoken part is, I have to reveal my genitals to a stranger, and the idea appalls me. In our liberated country, I belong to the conservative, prudish, and virginal minority. Yes, I really do.
"Maybe I'll just eat all the apples in the supermarket if I can, to keep doctors away."
She sighs and runs her fingers through my hair lovingly as if I'm still her little girl.
"Sweetie, it's not enough. You have to be checked. Curt told me you've been distracted at school for weeks now." I roll over and turn away from her in disapproval.
"Lily..." she pleads once more. I decide to ignore her, the number of creases in my forehead increasing. The odd pain in my groin is increasing again too.
After a few moments of begging, I hear my mother sigh in defeat. She pulls my comforter up, flips the light back off, and bends down to kiss me on the cheek. I feel a rush of blood sprint up to my face and a little smile forms on my lips in the darkness.
My mother is the greatest treasure that I ever have. She is the sweetest person I know and still treats me like her little baby despite being twenty now. But sometimes, she can also be a royal pain in the ass, like, right now. I just want to be alone until this pain goes away. But knowing her, she would definitely insist on me going to the hospital.
Ugh, can this get any worse?
*****To be continued*****
A/N:
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