Chapter five

Rosa stared at her reflection on the door in front of her, instinctively brushing her fingers through her hair when she noticed its slightly messy state.

She had been sitting there for the past few minutes waiting for her turn, but it seemed like a lifetime already.

Glancing at her wristwatch, she wondered why Storm was not here yet, she had said she was on her way. There was no way she was going to do this alone.

Hugging herself slightly and rubbing off the goosebumps on her naked arms, Rosa prayed herself to sit still, even though She knew she could not help the anxiety that racked through her body.

Regretting why she had opted for the sleeveless shirt instead of a sweatshirt. But she could not blame herself still, the anxiety had eaten her up whole right from home, right from the day she had marked Tuesday on the calendar on her desk with a dark green Sharpie.

Tapping her feet slowly on the floor, she fidgeted nervously, a bad habit but one that helped her through her now frequent anxiety attacks.

“Rosalina Mendel?” The beautiful blonde on the desk beside the door called out her name, Rosa hesitated for a bit before raising her hand in a small wave.

“You may go in,” the blonde added when she noticed Rosa.

Heaving a sigh, Rosa picked up her bag from when she had dumped it at her feet when she walked in. The door had a little sign that said push and Rosa did just that.

Walking into the office, she was greeted by the same doctor who had seen her earlier when she had called in sick.

He had a friendly smile and Rosa knew he might not even recognize her, he was a doctor and was just being polite.

“Hello… Rosalina.” The doctor said, consulting her file that was open in front of him to even get her name, she was right after all, Rosa thought as she returned the smile and took a seat before he even offered.

“Good morning doctor,” Rosa said, clearing her throat as she braced herself for whatever he was going to say.

“So we ran a series of tests and turns out there is nothing wrong with you, Miss Rosalina,” the doctor said taking a look at the file again to get her name.

Rosa let out a breath she did not even know she had been holding in all this time. At least she was fine. Maybe it had been something she had eaten or the stress from work, the café had been packed these few days.

“However” Rosa felt her heartbeat stop for a nanosecond as the doctor continued, “We found out that you are three weeks pregnant, congratulations," he said with a smile.

Rosa could see his lips move, but she could not hear anything he said after the word pregnant, her ears rang and she felt her whole world crash before her.

Pregnant? For whom? How? She had always been careful, well, except that one time. Picking up her bag, she walked towards the door, she could hear the doctor call her this time, but she wanted to run away, to leave the premises, to hide out, somewhere.

Rosa could feel her heart pounding in her chest, voices echoing, her vision a blur as she walked past people aiming for the exit.

Just one night of letting down her guard, one night of spontaneous passion driven by lust and her desperate need to escape reality.

To think that she had gone out that one night to forget about her problems, only for her to come back a few weeks later with an even bigger problem.

A few days ago when she had felt weird, she had first dismissed the feelings, but they had gotten stronger Storm had even made a joke about her possibly being pregnant, but she had dismissed that too.

Turns out her best friend was right, her mind raced with thoughts and worries, questions that she had no immediate answers to but questions that she'd have to answer soon enough.

Rosa slumped on the seat of her car, slamming the door shut before she let out a scream that was lodged in her chest.

Holding on to the steering wheel to steady herself, she held on tight until her knuckles were white and there was no more left in her to scream.

Letting the tears flow freely, Rosa let herself cry. She'd find a solution later, but for now, she had to let it out. Rosa was jolted when she heard an unexpected knock on her window, she turned to see Storm’s concerned face.

Gesturing her to come in, Rosa pressed a button to open the door.

“Girl…” Storm did not have to look twice to see the answer written on her face, she had an equally shocked expression, and before Rosa could break down even more, she found herself wrapped in her best friend’s embrace.

“What do I do?” Rosa cried into her shoulder, her body shuddering with each sob.

“We will cross that bridge when we get there,” Storm reassured her, patting her head comfortingly as she tried to catch her breath.

Rosa had once harbored the thought of marriage and kids, but never once had she dreamt of the possibility of being a single mom, and certainly not one with a kid from a fleeting one-night stand who had no idea of the whereabouts of her baby’s father.

How much more messed up could her life be?

Finding him did not seem like a journey that would yield any positive fruit.

Unfolding herself from Storm’s embrace, Rosa sat upright, wiping the tears from her eyes she took a deep breath and tried to steady her racing heart and thoughts.

Putting the car in drive, she found her way home, maneuvering steadily as she let herself soak in the news and situation even more. She would have to make really tough decisions, ones that would shape her near future.

Life had dealt her a tough card, a curveball but she was determined to not break down, she’d face it head-on, for herself and for this life that may or may not continue to grow inside of her.