Chapter4
1242 Words
Venesa's POV.
I settled into my new life in the town quickly enough. I was out of the motel and in my own small house after a few days, and a week later, I landed a job as a waitress at a diner located on the main street.
The summary: my life was going great.
I had put all thoughts of the Harpers behind me, and I was fully immersed in my new identity as Becka Kingston.
“Good night, Becka, see you tomorrow.” My boss, Masie, called out as I gathered my things in the back room.
“Yeah, good night. Till tomorrow!” I replied and left the diner, the bell above the door ringing to announce my departure.
I was desperate to get back home and take a warm shower before curling up with a hearty meal and a good book.
I started to feel a general sense of tiredness about a week after I arrived here, but I just chalked it up to the drop in adrenaline from my actions. I had just run away from an arranged marriage and the only life I had ever known, so I concluded that feeling tired was a natural part of the process.
Rest and a glass of wine were going to do the trick.
I took a shower and had not one but two glasses of wine, ignoring the slight nausea that accompanied the food I ate before going to bed.
The next morning, I woke up not feeling better but worse. I had to beg my limbs to respond, and it took me forever to prepare for work.
It was a huge wonder how I wasn't late that day.
I dragged my tired self to the diner, and my boss immediately sensed something was wrong the moment I walked through the door.
Thankfully, no one was present to see her outburst at my appearance.
“Oh my goodness, Becka! You look awful! Are you sure you can work today?” She exclaimed, looking over at me worriedly.
“I'm fine, Masie. It's probably just a fever or something.” I assured her, putting my things away and tying on my apron.
She gave me a skeptical look, her eyes telling me that she wasn't convinced, but she didn't push the matter any further, much to my appreciation.
However, I didn't get better. Not even close.
My condition grew increasingly worse during the day, and by the time the lunch rush was over, my vision was swimming and all my joints felt like mush.
“What's wrong with you, girl?” Masie pulled me into the back room the moment the diner was a bit quieter.
“I told you, Masie, it's just a fever. I probably just caught a food bug or something.” I shrugged.
“I don't want you spreading anything to my customers, that's all. Are you sure you don't want a day off?” She asked with a bit of concern.
“Don't worry. I'll be fi…” I didn't get the chance to even complete my statement before I felt my breakfast rising back up, making me slap my palm over my mouth.
I rushed to the employee's restroom and barely made it in front of the toilet before I began to heave my guts up. I threw up every single thing I had eaten in the past few hours, feeling my muscles weaken with every progressive heave.
I pulled myself off the cold bathroom floor and went to wash up at the sink, catching sight of my haggard reflection in the mirror.
The fever must have been worse than I thought it was.
I opened the door to see Masie's stern face staring back at me.
“I'll only ask you this once, girl, and you better not lie to me. Exactly how long have you been feeling like this?” She asked me once when we were alone in her office.
“About a week now,” I answered truthfully.
She only nodded slowly in response, giving me another long look before saying, “Pack up your things. You're coming with me.”
I thought she was about to fire me, so I started to beg, but she cut me off without a thought.
“I'm not firing you, just giving you the afternoon off. But first, we're going to the drugstore.”
I didn't have any strength left in me to argue anyway, and I was secretly grateful for the break as I gathered my things, and we left the diner together.
In no time, we were at the drugstore. Masie wasted no time and headed straight to the feminine hygiene products section, and I blindly followed her, reality slamming into me when she dumped a pile of pregnancy tests into my hands.
I looked at her in confusion, asking, “What's going on here?”
“Just do as I say,” she said and paid for the tests before herding me towards the bathroom.
“I'll wait for you out here,” she said and closed the door, leaving me alone with my wandering thoughts.
I stared at the colorful pieces of plastic in front of me for a few moments before taking a deep breath and proceeding with the pregnancy tests.
Then I waited. For what seemed to be the longest two minutes of my life.
As the seconds ticked by, I let myself think back to that night with the stranger. Hadn't we used protection? We were much too consumed by each other, and I was too preoccupied with thoughts of revenge to even consider it.
But I had also never considered the possibility of being pregnant.
And the thought of those tests lying face down on the counter being positive terrified me.
The timer sounded out, signaling that two minutes were up, and I picked up the first test with shaky hands. I slowly turned it over, dreading the results already.
I shut my eyes tightly, not wanting to see the results. What if I were pregnant?
I was only just getting my life together; how was I going to be responsible for another human entirely?
I was pulled out of my reverie by Masie's soft knock on the door.
“Are you alright in there?” She asked, “Do you want to come in?”
“It's fine, I'll be out in a moment,” I called out.
I bit the bullet and looked at the test results, wanting to get it over with.
I blinked twice, feeling my knees give way beneath me as I stared at the results I held in my palm.
Two pink lines.
I was pregnant.
I frantically turned over the rest of the tests, all of them confirming what the first one had told me.
I finally sank to my knees, clutching the positive pregnancy tests in my grip as I struggled to come to terms with my situation.
I was pregnant.
Pregnant by a stranger, I had a one-night stand with him and had no idea who he was.
Despair, shock, and confusion all combined into a messy mix of emotions within me.
I remained kneeling on that grimy bathroom floor, trying to come to terms with how my life was crumbling around me.
“What have I done?” I muttered to myself as the first set of tears began to run down my cheeks.
- Writer
