MET AGAIN
1576 Words
Charlotte is currently preparing to go job hunting again like she has been doing since the past one month.
Even as a graduate, it's hard to find a good job in this city. No one wants to offer, and the few who wants to offer are requesting for her body which she's not ready to give.
She has to find a job as soon as possible, cos she has just one week left to pay the loan, and if she fails to do it, she'd probably be abused or beaten. They're thugs.
She put on her shoes, thanks to Bella who gave her new ones.
Her phone buzzed on the bed, and she rushed to check.
A big smile appeared on her face when she saw it's a text from Bella.
• Have you eaten this morning? Don't tell me you're crying again.
She quickly texted back.
• I took noodles, and don't worry, no tears anymore.
Bella travelled out of Greece one week after their graduation. She's currently in Vietnam, and even though they're far from each other, she did a great job in making her smile again after what Alec and Erica did.
She'd always text and call, making sure she ate and all. She's her saviour.
She was about to drop the phone and wear her second shoe when she felt like throwing up, and her eyes widened.
She rushed to the toilet and knelt in front of the seat, vomiting for real.
She has been feeling this way since last week, and she even vomited last night too, but she has been waving it off.
Now it's not something to wave off again, something is definitely wrong with her.
She went back to the room and got her phone to go search about her symptoms online, and when she saw it, her eyes widened.
"No....it can't be...I can't be..."
She spranged up and rushed out of the house to the nearest pharmacy where she bought a pregnancy test strip.
She rushed back home and followed instructions on the body of the paper, dropping a pinch of her blood in it.
She was shaking as she waited for the result, and she had to close her eyes.
Three minutes later, she opened up only to see two lines staring at her on the strip. Positive!
"No!!!!! No! No please I can't be pregnant! I can't even take care of myself and now a baby? No!!!!!" She started rolling on the ground, crying for real.
"I can't!!!!" She screamed again, holding her head.
She suddenly stood up again, wearing her shoes hastily.
She was wiping her tears with the back of her hands as she rushed out of the house, not minding her scattered hair.
She boarded a taxi to the bar... Bang-Bang bar where it all started.
She rushed in, and she met the two bartenders. She clearly remembered their faces.
She went to the stand and grabbed their arms.
"Wait..the drunkard?" They smiled.
"You remember me?" She sniffed.
"Of course! You got drunk and f**ked a guy in the restroom, it's hard to forget," The second replied.
"The guy...do you know him? Please tell me anything you know about him," She said impatiently.
"No we don't. That was his first time here and he hasn't come back since then,"
"What!" Charlotte staggered.
"Any problem?" They asked.
"I'm in trouble!!" Charlotte sat on the ground and resumed shaking like a kid.
"Wait...it's not what I'm thinking, right?" The bartender asked, and she slowly started crying again.
"It's definitely what we're thinking, a baby!" The bartenders chorused, and Charlotte cried louder, holding her head.
"But it's cool, you can take care of it yourself then when you meet in the future, you...
"I can't even take care of myself!!! Do I look rich? I'm poorer than a church rat!!!" Charlotte cried louder..
"Oops!" They chorused again.
"You should drop your number, we'd give you a call if he shows up"
"You'd do that?" Charlotte stood.
"Sure" they nodded, and Charlotte quickly wrote her phone number.
"Make sure you give me a call, please" she begged.
"Sure"
**
The journey of nine months has been an alone thing for Charlotte, no one to rely on.
She always call the bar to ask about the guy, but their answer is always no, he hasn't showed up since then.
Taking care of herself with the pregnancy has been hell, and there are a lot of times she thought about abortion, but she just can't.
No matter the circumstances, the baby is still hers, and she'd never harm it.
Even if she has to sell by the roadside, then she'd gladly do it so she'd survive with the baby.
The due date is anytime from now, and she should be resting, but how would she when she has to make money?
Her stomach was protruding so much as she stood from a chair with the plates she has washed.
She's a dishwasher here in the resturant.
"Well-done Charlotte, you're almost done for today," The resturant madam took the plates from her.
"Thanks madam," she smiled, wiping her sweat.
Her phone rang in her tattered bag, and she took it out to see the bartenders line.
She quickly picked with anticipation.
"He's here!" They shouted.
*
BANG-BANG BAR*
Charlotte smiled when she came out of the taxi that brought her, and she inhaled after paying, staring at the building and hoping the meeting would go well.
She walked in, her stomach bulging in front of her.
She felt tired when she got to the door, so she had to hold the door and wait for a while to calm down before proceeding.
She entered the bar, and she was met with smiles from the bartenders.
They pointed at an angle for her, and she turned to the angle to see him for real.
He's sitting calmly on a table with a glass of wine in front of him then a laptop which he's working on. He's so focused.
She swallowed nervously before starting to take steps to him, and till she got to him, he didn't look up for once.
She finally got to him and knocked his table, making him look up.
Surprisingly, he didn't show any sign of surprise on his face, he only gave her a questioning look as to why she knocked the table.
"You remember me, right?" She asked slowly, and he moved his thick brows slightly.
She sat in front of him, and he kept looking at her.
"That night...
"The night you seduced me" he cut her off, and she blinked.
"I...I wasn't in my right senses and...
"Liar...you knew what you were doing. You saw me drunk, and I'm sure you planned to do that and probably push a child on me. Let me guess, you're here to tell me the baby in your belly is mine?" He smirked, and she swallowed nervously again.
"I'm not a girl like that, believe me I wouldn't make such request in my right senses...I was drunk ... We were both drunk and...
"And you took advantage of me! Why would you ask for s*x in your drunk state? You're obviously a cheap one who's looking for a man to implicate. What was I even expecting? All your gender are the same" he said icily, and her eyes widened.
"Did you just call me...cheap?"
"Yeah. I said what I said. You purposely did it and I'm so not ready for your lies ok?" He replied coldly and returned to working on his laptop.
Tears rushed down Charlotte's eyes, and she stood slowly.
"Let's go for paternity test then, take me to any hospital you trust," she said in tears, but he kept pressing the laptop buttons.
"Please!!! I have nowhere else to go I really can't do this alone. I'm a poor orphan and I...
"And I don't care! Look I hate ladies but ladies like you are the worse! I'd rather keep a dog!" He snapped angrily and stood.
Charlotte quickly went on her knees and started rubbing her palms together.
"Take pity on me, I...I...
Lucky closed his laptop, interrupting her speech.
He carried it then faced her.
"Birth the baby, and I'll be here at this same time next year. I'll take it, but your b**chy self can go to hell afterwards" he said harshly and walked out of the bar.
Charlotte sat on the ground afterwards, crying louder while holding her stomach.
The two bartenders rushed to her, trying to console her, but her cries only got louder.
She was still crying when her eyes suddenly widened. A sharp pain stung her abdomen, and she gasped.
"My...my stomach!!! My tummy!!!"
"Your tummy? What's happening?" The bartenders exchanged glances, and before they knew it, blood started coming out of her system.
"The baby? Wait... It's time?"
"Argghhhhh!!!!!!!!" Charlotte's mouth opened wide as the insane labour pains gripped her.
"Hmmmmm!!!!!!"
"Is it too late to call an ambulance?" The first bartender said.
"What should we do?"
"Arggggghhh!!!!!!" Charlotte cried, and more blood poured out of her.
"Let's try this" The bartenders exchanged glances, and they nodded at once.
She was lucky, cos the labour didn't take much time.
In thirty minutes, she birthed the baby, a cute baby boy.
Tears came out of her eyes immediately she saw him, and she passed out.
"Call an ambulance" The first bartender told the other.
*
- Writer
