Episode 2-THE MORNING AFTER
755 Words
Anna’s POV
I woke up gasping for breath, like someone had shoved me into the middle of a nightmare and slammed the door shut.
The ceiling above me wasn’t mine. The soft sheets I was tangled in didn’t smell like my floral detergent. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would crash through my chest.
I sat up slowly.
Pain.
Not sharp, but lingering… unfamiliar. My thighs ached. My head was splitting, and my mouth felt like sandpaper. I looked down and saw that I was wearing an oversized T-shirt — not mine — and nothing else underneath.
I clutched the blanket to my chest and looked around.
The room was empty. Quiet. No sign of life except me and the growing panic in my soul.
My dress — the short, red one Mabel had begged me to wear — was crumpled on the chair like a discarded wrapper. My bag sat beside it, zipped and untouched.
What the hell happened?
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to recall the night.
Bits and pieces returned in jagged flashes.
The club.
The music.
Mabel pushing drinks toward me with that syrupy smile.
Then — dizziness. A burning throat. My knees giving out.
A voice.
A man’s voice.
Strong arms.
A door.
A room.
And then…
Nothing.
The next moment, I was clutching my stomach, heaving into a trash can I found near the bathroom door. My whole body shook as I emptied whatever was left in my system. Shame burned my skin like acid.
Tears streamed down my face.
Did I… Did someone…
I couldn’t even say the word.
Violated.
Had I been violated?
I didn't know.
I had no answers. No memory. No name. No face. Just a gnawing fear inside me that something terrible had happened. Something I hadn’t chosen.
---
I managed to get dressed, each movement robotic and slow, like I was trying not to fall apart with every step.
I left the room. It was a guest room in what looked like a large, shared apartment. There was no one else around. I found my way out and walked like a ghost onto the street, calling a ride with trembling hands.
I didn’t speak a word the entire drive back to my apartment.
My body was there.
But my mind was gone.
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A week passed.
I said nothing to Mabel. I said nothing to anyone. What was I supposed to say? That I had woken up in a strange room after a night out and didn’t know what happened?
What would they say?
They would say I asked for it.
They would say I was drunk.
They would say I should’ve stayed home.
So I buried it.
Deep.
Where even I couldn’t reach it.
But I couldn’t bury my body.
---
I started feeling strange.
My breasts were tender. I felt tired, nauseous at random moments, especially in the morning. I chalked it up to stress, anxiety, maybe a flu. Until one morning, I opened my calendar and felt my entire world spin.
I had missed my period.
No. No. No.
I stood frozen in my tiny bathroom, the hum of the ceiling fan sounding like a siren.
I counted the days again. Twice. Three times.
Still missed.
Still late.
Still terrifying.
“No, this can’t be happening,” I whispered to myself, clutching the sink like it was the only thing anchoring me to the earth.
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I ran out to the nearest pharmacy like my hair was on fire. I bought a pregnancy test. Three of them.
I couldn’t wait.
I locked myself in the bathroom and took the first test.
Five minutes.
I stared at the little white stick, my hands trembling so hard the result window was shaking.
One line appeared.
Then—
Another.
Two lines.
Positive.
I dropped the stick. My legs gave out and I collapsed to the floor, sobbing into my knees.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
I was twenty-three, in my fourth year of Architecture Design. I still had a project to submit. A life to live. Parents who would kill me.
And now...
A baby.
From a night I didn’t remember.
From a man whose face I couldn’t recall.
A child from trauma.
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I stayed on that cold bathroom floor until the tiles dug into my skin and the sky outside turned orange.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t think.
All I could do was stare at the wall and wonder:
What now?
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To be continued…
- Writer
