“He’s not my boyfriend. I don’t have one,” I stated. My throat was dry; it had been killing me, and this guy thought he could come in here and say whatever he wanted and listen to my problems? I remembered throwing up. No wonder I had a feeling like someone ripped out my throat. I shot a meaningful glare at Max’s way. If looks could kill, he’d be under the ground for a long time.
“Aww, why are you so cruel to me, Kay? I can have an imaginary relationship with you,” he said. I was going to kill him! I didn’t care if I ended up going to hell and jail for that, but he did not just pose as my boyfriend in the hospital like it was no big deal.
“Max, right now I am contemplating whether I’ll be cutting one or both of your balls.” Although I sounded like a dying hyena, I managed to grin, and I saw him gulp and turn pale. I then started coughing, destroying my act before giving up. Killing later, relieving my thirst now.
“W-water…” I choked out, and he immediately went to pour me one. The doctor, I assumed he was one since he was the only one in white coat in the room, was glancing between the two of us in confusion before he shook his head. He put away the papers he held in his arms, took some weird lamp, and pointed it to my eye.
“Follow the light,” he instructed, and I tried to before he turned it off and moved his finger instead of it. I knew what he was doing, checking my brain activity. For a time when my parents were still alive, I wanted to be a doctor, and I used to get fevers intentionally so my father could take care of me and spend his time teaching me. He was a doctor, and my mom was a housewife.
I missed those times.
“Do you recall what happened?” he asked, and I nodded. More or less. My head was killing me just like my throat, but I did my best to give him a clear reply.
“I fainted on my work. I was feeling rather ill. I’ve had got a headache and then threw up before fainting. That’s all I remember so far,” I said, and he nodded. He checked my heartbeat as Max finally came with the water.
Thank heavens. I immediately drank it as the doctor continued with tests to make sure that I was alright.
“So she’s not going to die?” Max suddenly asked, and I glared at him.
Couldn’t he spread his negativity somewhere that’s not around me?
“Max, I swear to everything that’s holy to you, I’ll suffocate you with pillows!” I threatened, and the doctor only chuckled. He was rather calm. Max wasn’t so polite around him, making me wonder if they knew each other.
“You wouldn’t. Admit it. You’d want a lot of mini-mes running around,” he said, and I chuckled.
“Yeah right. Like one of you isn’t enough for my life to be miserable,” I joked with him, completely forgetting that there was a doctor in the room.
“You know you love me,” Max argued.
“Do not!”
“Do too!”
“Do not!”
“Do too!”
“Do not!”
“Do too!”
“Alright, you two, stop this banter,” the doctor said with finality. “This is a hospital, and you’re both adults. I suggest you both act like it.”
Uh-oh, he was mad. Max and I both muttered our apologies looking down, both feeling extremely childish.
“Since you don’t have any relation with the patient—” he started again. I interrupt him.
“Imaginary doesn’t count.” And he then turned to glare at me. Talk about not having a sense of humor or a funny bone in his body. Ha, funny bone!
“You must step out of the room,” he finished, and Max pouted but got out, anyway. No one wins the war with me.
“So what is wrong with me doctor?” I finally asked once I made sure that Max was no longer in this room. Nervousness kicked in, and I started twiddling my thumbs together. Don’t tell me I have some illness like Ayden. That will be too twisted for someone like me.
“Do you have a boyfriend or a husband?” he asked, looking through a set of papers in his hands.
“What? No. Why do you ask?” What kind of doctor is he? Wait, is he trying to flirt with me?
“I see. There’s a way to solve your problem. I can’t legally tell you what you should do, but I recommend you to take few weeks to think about it. But the faster you make a decision, the better. Though, I wouldn’t even think of it in your place. But truth be told, it’s up to you after all,” he started, but once again, I interrupted him.
“What do you mean?” What is he talking about? Why wasn’t he just getting to the point so that I could get out of here?
“You are pregnant, but it’s just as I have said, don’t rush this over. I have a daughter your age, and I’d still support her no matter what if she were in your place. So I’d suggest you take some time and eventually talk with the father of the baby, whoever he might be,” he spoke again, but I paid no attention to what he said after those words. I was pregnant. And just eighteen. The name I was trying to forget came back to me, reminding me of those blue eyes, haunting me: Blake. It was his child. The man I hated the most. The man that walked into my life taking my pride and leaving me wounded, hurting me more than I’ve ever been hurt in my life. I didn’t notice my tears until I heard the doctor calling my name.
“Are you alright?” he asked, and I nodded and asked him if he was sure. He confirmed.
“From the blood test we took, we found hormones you can only find in pregnant women. It’s impossible for them to be released in blood if an embryo hasn’t been created,” he said, and I nodded, closing my eyes and biting my lip. Oh God. What were the chances of that happening to me? It had been just one night. Who the hell gets pregnant after just one night? I tried not to cry. No, I promised not to cry anymore. I couldn’t cry.
“It’s okay. Seeing the times we live in today, many young pregnant women fear the consequences of having to raise a baby, especially if they are alone. That’s precisely why I’d recommend you to talk through this with the father. Also, you should speak with your parents. I’m sure that they’ll be a great support. They might get angry at the beginning, but don’t worry too much—they all do. But they’ll eventually come to see the bigger picture and shower you with love like they’d always do,” he continued, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I didn’t have parents to comfort me. I was all alone.
Sure, I had Ryan, Melissa, and Ayden, but I didn’t know how could I speak about this with them. And Blake…What use will there be in trying to get to him, anyway? He will probably just get angry if he finds out that he will have a child out of nowhere.
Mask.
That’s precisely what I put. I faked a smile before thanking him and telling him that I’ll do just that. I had been hiding my true feelings for so long then that I felt like I might lose who I really was.
For two years, I had been faking that I was fine. After Ayden had gotten ill and I slept with Blake for money, I had been faking that I was fine. Even when I had no damn idea as to what to do, I still faked that I was fine.
Which would eventually turn out to be my downfall.
After he had left, Max came in not too long after with a frown on his face.
“That doc is such a pain in the butt. He was glaring at me all the way down the hall like I’d killed his cat. I did it once actually. The damn thing slept the night in my car. I haven’t seen it. That aside, did you tell him something about me? And to think I thought of you as my…Are you alright?” He stopped dead in his tracks, rushed toward me, and sat on the edge of the bed.
I just couldn’t take it anymore; it was too much for me. First that, now a baby, like it wasn’t enough that I had nightmares of that hellish night, of that night I cursed with my soul. I couldn’t even do nothing about it, so I cried.
For me being so young and going through so much, for my brother, for my parents, for the baby! His baby! A baby I didn’t know if I could even take care of. And for the life I had, for me not deserving it, for the aunts I had that wanted nothing but money.
I stopped pretending to be
strong in a world that didn’t care about me and allowed myself to replace numbness with pain. And I accepted it gladly. So I did something any other person would in my place. I hugged Max and cried on his chest.
He didn’t say a word, but instead, he just hugged me back and whispered all kind words to me, but I was too busy thinking about past events to realize what was he saying to me.
And so I cried.
And cried.
Hoping that was all just another nightmare I would soon wake up from.
We all run from the present we don’t know how to deal with, eventually letting it become another part of our past. But we only realize it once it becomes too late: one way or another, past will catch up to us when we expect it the least.
Chapter 6
How to Get Yourself a Brother
Friends are those who will make you laugh no matter what, especially when you’ve thought that you’d never smile again.
Should I really do it?
Was that the right thing to do?
Could I live with that decision if I did it?
So many questions were on my mind at that moment. Is having an abortion really the best option for me?
I mean, I was taking care of Ayden and all, but would I really be able to take care of a newborn baby without knowledge of how to raise one? Even if I couldn’t do it and end up giving it for adoption, I was sure that grief would eat me alive, but abortion would be much worse. Was I really capable of killing a baby?
My baby?
I know what most people would say: that thing is not even alive, it’s just an embryo. But I couldn’t agree to that. The moment it was created, it became a living thing, or so I wanted to think.
I know I was just an eighteen-year-old girl. I was supposed to be finishing my senior year at the moment, yet here I was, one month into my pregnancy. With a child of a man who was number one on my list of people I hated. My body shivered from it. It was the beginning of December, the winter and my most favorite part of the year. But I loathed it now. It was at times like this my parents died in the cold snow. Three months ago, I became an adult, but two years ago, on the very same date, I became an orphan.
Even so, I could raise my child, couldn’t I? I might not give him or her the best things in the world he or she deserves, but…I can give him or her love. I’m sure Ayden would love him or her too. Melissa will definitely be there for me and…That’s right, I still have a third of the money I got from him in the bank.
It wasn’t little. I could use it for the baby. Maybe find a better flat somewhere. I could even find another job if necessary if I decided to keep the baby.
But I was afraid.
The baby was going to grow up one day. What would I do if he or she asked me about his or her father? I couldn’t deal with it. It would be too painful for me, too agonizing to even think of that man and the circumstances under which was my future child made.
What would I do if someone else asked me about his or her father? Would I be able to stand the pressure?
My thoughts were shortly interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing; I saw it was Mel and so I answered it up.
“Hey, Kay-Kay, I need your—I mean can I ask you for something? A little favor for our long and beautiful friendship?” Her voice was sugar-coated, and I immediately knew that she wanted something from me. But what? She almost never needed anything from anyone.
“Sure, just say what you need,” I said, acting all innocent like I didn’t know about her hidden intentions.
Melissa was never a sweet-talker when it came to grown-ups, you see. She cursed a lot, yelled a lot, but was literally a fairy with children; the younger, the better.
“You are the only one that can save me now. I don’t have anyone else I could ask.” Of course, old, lil Mel, she could go on and on with her conversation until she managed to entangle you in her plans so deep that you just couldn’t get away unless you said yes.
“What is it so important that you need my genius mind?” That was the reason why I liked talking to her; she took my mind off any worries. It took one to hear just a sentence of some story she had to tell and became enraptured in listening to it until the very end. At times as such, one could forget everything.
“Well, are you free on Saturday night…and the day after, actually?” She trailed off, and I confirmed that I was wondering what was she scheming this time? I swear to Santa if she’s just trying to set me a date or something…
“Alright, the thing is…Were you just sobbing? Oh my God, you were, have you been? Of course, you’ve cried. What happened? Who do I kill? Is everything all right? Where are you?”
Shoot, I forgot about that. Stupid sniffles. Think, Kaley, think!
“Umm, it’s stupid. I tripped and hurt my leg, so I am at the hospital checking it out. Nothing serious, but it hurts so damn much.” I nervously laughed at the end and hoped that she would believe it.
She did. Pure luck.
“Damn it, woman. You are so clumsy that I’m afraid to take my eyes off you even for a second.” She sighed, and I almost did a victory dance then and there, celebrating my clumsiness and lying skills. I stopped. It was not a good thing to praise bad things about me. It was as if I were turning evil.
“Oh right, forget about that. You know my family? The one I said I loathed but fixed…Well, more or less, I’d rather marry Satan than sign a peace treaty with all of them…Oh fuck, I’m going to some stupid party my grandfather threw. I have to actually, and Amy will be all alone, so I’ve been wondering if you could come to babysit her? If I’m not mistaken, they’re letting Ayden go the same day, so you can bring him over!” she added, and it was my time to sigh.
What do I have to lose?
“Fine, fine, I will,” I said, and she went silent for a second, worrying me. Was she alright?
“Wow, that was fast. I didn’t even have to try,” she said, making me burst out laughing. Oh how I needed this in my life, especially now of all times.
“Go away before I change my mind.” I chuckled, and she only replied with a sarcastic laugh that made me shiver. I swear she was evil. Pure, pure evil.
“Right,” she finally said, and I could see her rolling her eyes at me. “But you are still coming, aren’t you?” How could I say no? She would anyway annoy me for the whole day until I said yes.
“Of course, it would be my pleasure” Not, never when it comes to you. Just my luck, she wouldn’t be there, just Amy and Ayden, so I would survive. Somehow.
“Great, I will come and pick you up. Take care,” she said and ended the call with that. She was overly cheerful for her age sometimes. How old was she? Oh yeah, twenty-five, but she acted more like a five-year-old, though.
Once again my internal battle was interrupted, this time by a knock on the door.
“Come in!” I said, and Max’s head popped in. Where did he go to, anyway?
“Ready to go?” he asked, and I nodded, standing up. I grabbed my belongings, which weren’t much, and started walking. He said nothing, had not even asked what was wrong to me, and I had a feeling that he knew, but I didn’t want to push my luck and make him find out in case he didn’t. I hugged my arms and rubbed them. I was still cold.
Freezing even.
Once we were in the elevator, he must have noticed that I was cold, so he took off his jacket and placed it around me to warm my body. I weakly mumbled thanks as I rubbed my nose, feeling like I could sneeze. His jacket was really warm and comfy.
And oddly enough, it made me feel safe. Relaxed.
After a short period of silence, he was the first one to speak.
“Look, I don’t know what happened, but if you need any help, just call me, and I will be there faster than Superman to come for you and make you feel better.”
His voice was stern and serious but had a cheerful ring to it. I glanced at him and smiled.
“Thanks,” I mumbled again as he grinned, noticing my reddened cheeks I was pretty sure was caused by the cold.
“Ooh, is that because of me?” He was mocking me, and it took all of my willpower to stop myself from killing him.
“Or rather because of your manliness, which is amusing to me because you suck at it.” There you go. I stuck my tongue out at him.
Max and I had our usual quarrels. We weren’t the closest of friends, but we could talk freely. I mocked him for being adorable; he mocked me for being boyish. Melissa usually just ate popcorn while enjoying the show, but seriously, those five times we argued she was munching on some popcorn from who knows where.
He placed his hands on his heart, pretending to be wounded and dying, and I just rolled my eyes.
“Don’t you die on me. You still have to beat Superman, remember? Now, get up. You are too cute for your own good.” I don’t think I had smiled like that in a long time, but his face was full of terror like he just saw a ghost.
“You did not just go there. But you did!” He was looking at me with disbelief on his face and speaking with terror in his voice, making me even more amused.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right…Cuteness and a little manliness.” I closed my right hand before putting it on my left palm like I just got two and two together. “There is a little of it, just a little…Yup, that’s it: you are adorable.” I hugged him out of nowhere, squishing him.
“I’m dying. You’re killing me! You’re seriously killing me.” He continued to fake dying, now acting like he was losing air.
“At least, be proud to die in the good arms of this amazing person. Not everyone has the chance to do that.” He was so easy to joke and talk with. I was truly glad to have him in my life. Both him and Melissa and everyone else that cared for me. I was just a fool for taking it for granted.
“Never start an argument with a woman who knows how to argue and states that you are cute, or she will make you look like a complete fool,” I repeated words Melissa would usually say which were actually true. Trust me. I had witnessed Mel doing so thousands of times with him, so I guess that was where I picked it up. He only snorted at me like I was no longer a human being. I grinned in return.
One Night Stand with a Billionaire Page 5
