When I woke up that morning, I remained still and forced every happy memory I’ve ever had of my mum to my head. Today I did not need to be on set, which meant I had all day to wallow in bed, or play ’happy’ with my sister and tell her mum did great. But if I told her that mum was great it would make her believe that mum was like that because she wasn’t there. I let out a sigh and rolled to my side, folding my legs into a fetal position. A small knock on my door, had me cranking my neck. The door opened an inch and Lily poked her head in. “You don’t lock your door?”Force of habit from when we were small. Locking the doors meant it would take longer for me to reach mum incase of danger. And it infuriated dad, when he was moving around and doors ‘refused’ to work.“Yeah.” I whispered. She slipped in and shut it. Was this the part I told her how my visit went?“I’m heading out.” Lily said, halting my thoughts.“To where?”“A couple of my classmates are meeting up. Could be fun.”“Okay
“Visit?” Thoughts of Pierce’s skillful hands fled my mind and I was brought back to the present. “Yeah.” Pierce continued, “The one you paid to your mum? You seemed upset by it yesterday, and you came back late. The reason you live here is so I can keep an eye on you and ensure the safety of my child. Your unreliable schedule isn’t helpful.“ “I was with my mother.” I did not think I needed to explain myself further. “And you came back looking like you lost a pet, what happened? Is she good?”Several months ago I would be preening from this attention he was giving me. Now, I shifted uncomfortably on the counter. “Everything’s fine, my emotions have been all over the place since the baby.”We had to stay on common ground. Although considering we were going to have a baby between us, knowing more about each other’s family seemed smart. “Is it dementia?” He queried.“Alzheimer’s, PTSD, chronic pain…”“PTSD?”“Yeah, my da-“ it occurred to me that I was crossing a line. “Yeah, PTSD.”
Angie was back the next day like Pierce said she would be. And I did not have to deal with him that morning, thank God. “I might have missed you a little bit.” I confessed to Angie as I leaned on the counters with my elbow. I purposely avoided the stool Pierce had used. Angie didn’t seem to buy it, but she put four slices of frittatas on my plate, topped it up with parsley and dropped it in front of me. “That’s a lot of food.”“You need it to grow a baby.” She said simply as she reached into the fridge. Why was everyone obsessing over the size of my kid? “Is that gelato?” I gasped, when she pulled out a long plastic plate.“Yes, home made.”“I thought you hated gelato.”“I never said that.” I had a teasing expression on my face as she put a scoop of it in a small glass bowl. “Eat your food, you have your appointment in two hours.”Back down to reality. “Yes ma’am.” Angie removed a bottle of ketchup from the fridge and dropped on the counter. “No I don't want it.” I could not s
“You’re here finally.” Pierce growled in the darkness. “I’m sorry, my session went on a bit longer today because Sarah came in late.” I explained breathlessly, feeling around the wall for the light switch. I knew better than to keep him waiting. “Leave it. Come to me,” he commanded. I did as I was told, dropping my duffel bag to the floor as I ambled towards him. “Clothes .” My pulse quickened in my veins and I tugged off my cardigan, my pants, bra… then I stopped. I could tell he was in a bad mood, one that didn’t have anything to do with me being late. I shivered lightly in the cold air and waited for him to close the space between us. When he stood, he pressed my semi naked body to his fully clothed one and released my hair from its ponytail prison. “How was your day,” I asked tentatively, as he ran his fingers on my hips, tracing an invisible line to my waist. “I’ll show you.” He said, and picked me like I weighed nothing. Naturally my legs wrapped around him as he str
“Shit!” she yelled and caught the bottle before it reached the ground. I could not force a word of thanks to her, or peel my eyes away from her phone. It wasn’t the caption that got to me. When you are famous, unwarranted rumors tend to spread, especially when you’re more secretive. I had seen posts shipping me and fellow cast members, him and other members of high society, a few deep founded allegations about our relationship…so the tagline was nothing new. It wasn’t the headline that had me moving in a mindless gait to an empty folding chair, it was the picture…pictures! I discovered in horror, as I scrolled down the article. It was her. Pierce’s first love was with him in every photo, a big smile on her face. The woman who I was apparently chosen to replace. She was back and in his arms. Pierce seemed to be supporting her weight with his body while she clung to him like every breath in her body was fueled by his presence. She was supposed to be a ghost from the past, not he
Laughter bubbled in my throat when her words registered in my head. “Hannah, what on earth would I need this for? Put it away before someone walks in and assumes the same thing.” I dropped the packet on the bench between us like it had burned my hand. “I’m not kidding Myra. I know you wish I am, but I’m not. You’ve been sick for nearly a month, you stopped eating mango flavored chips even though they’re your second favorite food in the whole world, and your body, it’s changing…” “Jesus Christ Hannah, slow down with the sex talk. I’m not pregnant, okay? I can’t be. We’ve used protection every time we had sex.” “Every time?” “Yes!” I yelled and rose from the bench. The last thing both of us wanted was a child. I had an experience being raised in a dysfunctional family, and I would not do that to a kid. Plus my career had just started, what part of my life would a kid fit in. Pierce…well Pierce was Pierce. If he could be as cold and inconsiderate as he was to me, there was no d
I was happy to just slip away quietly but as if he had sensed my presence he turned and looked directly at him Like moth to flame, I approached the pair of them. The doctor took his leave just as I reached their side, thwarting any secret hopes of finding out what they were doing there. The first thing I noticed was how similar to his mystery woman I looked. I might have glossed over her features when I first saw their photos, but Sarah had been right. The woman standing before me was blonde, had a beautiful sweetheart face, pointed nose and pouty lips. An overwhelming sense of longing filled me as I stopped opposite them. I wanted to bury my face in Pierce’s shirt like I did whenever I felt stressed. I’d inhale his warm woodsy smell and feel like all was right with the world. I needed to feel like that now more than ever. Instead I squared my shoulders and forced a confidence I didn’t feel onto my face. I refuse to cower in front of them. “What are you doing here?” He asked, con
My fingers hovered over my screen after I typed his name out. Saying goodbye to Pierce was not an easy feat to accomplish. I wished I could wave a hand and make everything right for the three of us. I placed my hand on my flat stomach and sighed. I hated myself for all the times I let myself dream of a perfect life with Pierce. The life we could have with the child I was carrying if only he gave us a chance. Maybe it was best if we didn’t end things. I could wait for him to show up, we would talk it out and come to an agreement. I could not erase Pierce from my life completely. Even if I tried, and with the baby, and my finances…why did things have to get so complicated? I had to be brave. If not for me, then for the child I carried. They deserved to have a life filled with love and staying with Pierce would create a rift in its life. With shaky fingers I typed out the rest of my text and hit send before I gave myself a chance to overanalyze or change my mind about ending things