My sweaty fingers punched the last number on the elevator button. A second later, the doors closed and I was on my way to the ground floor, the parking lot of my building. While the metal container slid down, I read and reread the text message, struggling to decipher what I could from it. I ached to understand what secrets were referred to. I had so many skeletons in my dark closet, none better, or less horrific than the other. If any one was to come out of their boxes, I would undoubtedly be ruined.
When the metal doors opened, my eyes swept across the large floor occupied by cars of all sorts. During my search, I noticed a man in all black standing beside a black car parked to the left. Just when I started to stare intently at him my phone vibrated in my right hand.“Approach the man in black."The message read. So I did. I was the most reluctant I had ever been, tightly clutching my phone with my sweaty fingers. One thing was sure, my phone was on re“Are you back from the doctor already?" Maya's eyes widened with shock and curiosity as I pushed through my apartment door. “I haven't gone yet." I absentmindedly replied, heading straight for my bedroom after pushing the door closed behind me. The last thing I wanted to do was talk. I needed to think. “You've been away for nearly ten minutes now." Her questions were irritating me, even when I knew she didn't intend it. I was on the verge of yelling at her. I let out a quiet breath, attempting to quiet my growing rage. “I forgot something." I said with my back to her. I heard her begin to respond, but I was already in my room, shutting and locking the door behind me. A loud scream built up from the depths of my stomach. A loud, frustrated scream, garnished with as many curse words I could think of, but I couldn't bring attention to myself. Nervously, I paced back and forth, unable to rest my hands on any
“Maya, could you run to the store for me?" She turned to me with a confused gaze when I stepped into the living area. “Is something wrong?" A lathered sponge in her right hand and a dirty plate in her left, she asked with a tone of concern. “I really don't feel good enough to step out," I lied, hoping she would not ask any further questions. “But you went out earlier." She didn't budge from where she was, her eyes not leaving me. Knowing she asked out of innocence, I struggled to hide my frustration. “Actually I was already in an Uber but then I started to feel nauseous so I told him to drive me back home," Finally, she dropped the dirty plate and sponge, rinsing off the soap from her hands under the running tap.“I think we should go to the doctor together." She offered as she dabbed her hand with a towel. My patience was running out. My heart thumped louder, my stomach possessing the
Days after Chyna's appearance, David's visit and exchange of the incriminating recording, my life seemed back to normal. In order not to have any targets on my back, David refused to involve me in whatever case he had with his wife. In addition to that, I wasn't allowed to call or meet up with him, while he sorted things out. I was to wait until he informed me that everything had died down, before we resumed our activities. I was practically left in the dark. With the remote in my right hand, I surfed through the available programs on tv. Nothing seemed to interest me. The clattering of pots, plates and other kitchen utensils occasionally traveled through the air as Maya prepared whatever she had decided on for our lunch. I was unusually hungry, even after I had consumed an entire sandwich less than an hour ago. My eyes darted away from the TV when I heard an intruding sound. It came from the door. “I'll get it." Maya yelled from behind me as
Sex with Rain was plain, unexciting, blanch. It wasn't like what it used to be. Minutes into it, I lost the spark, the arousal. My moans were reduced to forced sounds, I had my eyes open all through, and when it started becoming boring, I ended up faking an orgasm. Something I never had to do in the many months we had been seeing each other. It was almost sad, mainly because he couldn't notice a thing. I wanted to tell myself it was because of the unfortunate news about his parents divorce. I wanted to believe that it destabilized him, causing him not to bring his A game. I also was very unsatisfied, aching to pay Devin a visit, knowing I was definitely going to end up more than satisfied, but I convinced myself I was saving that one call for a very important moment. After seeing Rain out the door, I turned to meet Maya's judgemental stare. “What?" I asked as I shut the door behind me. "I didn't know you guys were the type of couples who didn't let a l
Maya and I sat in the waiting room of Anna's hospital. Since I didn't know any other hospitals around the area, it was only logical to visit an environment where I was familiar with almost half of the hospital staff. Not only was I going to get proper care, I also got to see my sister afterwards. As the saying went, I was killing two birds with one stone. “Raya?” I looked up when my name was called. A slightly tall, slim, young woman with a teal colored uniform smiled at me with what I assumed was a list, in one hand, and a small plastic container in the other. Her eyes sailed across the small room, searching for which person among the few that were seated down, went by the name she had just called out. “Yes?"I raised my hand when I noticed my voice was barely audible, even to me. My body was weak. My voice was weak. I was hungry, yet I didn't want anything. When she saw my hand, she made her way to where I sat. “Here," she said as s
With horror in my widened eyes, I watched Rain walk up to us when we turned. I had so many questions about his sudden appearance, but I wasn't sure who to direct them to. When I thought I was at the height of my fears, it shot through the air like a rocket. I turned to ask Maya the questions that flooded my mind but he was already close. “You don't look like we had sex just a few hours ago.” Was the first thing he said when he pulled me into his embrace. It was supposed to be a joke, but I was too nervous to laugh. The tension that had settled in the corner of my mind was progressing. A petty joke wasn't going to ease it. Not even a faint smile could make it out of me. “What are you doing here?" I mumbled into his clothes. I struggled to hide the discomfort his arrival brought me, but my words chose to come out in a flat tone. He pulled me out of his hug, his hands resting on my shoulders. When I was far enough to meet his eyes, I noticed they
My eyelashes slowly fluttered open. Instantly attacked by really bright light, I closed them, giving it a moment before trying to open them again. The painful feeling of its intense impact reduced as my blurry vision adjusted to reveal images of things around me. After a few more blinks, I noticed the familiar arrangement of a hospital room. The sterile white walls, the bright overhead lights, the small TV hanging on the wall with the small fridge directly beneath it, all seemed to stare back at me. As my eyes traveled through each item, they fell on the person who sat by my bed. “Rain?" I managed to mumble, my voice raw and weak, unsure that he was going to hear me. He did. He looked up from his phone. When his eyes met mine, they immediately lit up. A smile of relief crept onto his face.“Hey beautiful." He said, his voice filled with warmth. He leaned forward in his chair, taking his hand to delicately stroke my hair. It then occurred to me
After two days of imposed bedriddeness, I was finally being discharged and Rain was to take Maya and I back to my apartment. When Rain called, letting me know what time he was going to be coming, I sent for the nurse to request that I be taken off the tubes before he arrived. She initially refused but after my insistence, the determination to cause a big scene although it was intercepted by my doctor, I was let off the hook. Without hesitation, I was freed, after which I headed straight out of the room and down the hall. I hadn't forgiven Maya for picking Rain's call a few days ago. She was the reason I was in a difficult predicament. If she wasn't such a tattletale, I would have instantly gotten an abortion and no one would know about it, but with Rain as excited and involved as he was, the chances of getting away with that were zero to none. I was either to have the baby, or lose it in an unfortunate situation. What amused me was how clueless she was to the way
“Maya, could you fetch the diapers on the next aisle?" The bubbly bright eyed blonde turned to me with a charming smile. “How many of them?" At her question, I looked down at the little human strapped to my chest. She slept peacefully, oblivious to the troubles of the world, or her mother's indecisiveness. “I honestly don't know,” I mumbled when my eyes reconnected with Maya's. "Anna has been eating a lot lately.” Pushing the almost filled shopping cart in my direction, she laughed. "She's a healthy baby, healthy babies poop a lot.”I glanced at my sleeping baby again. Fighting with the urge to rub my fingers over her chubby, smooth cheek, I smiled widely. I absolutely adored her. She was perfect. Ever since she came into my life, I couldn't imagine ever wanting to get rid of her. She was my whole world. “Well, this healthy baby needs to hurry up and start paying some bills." Maya burst into a loud laugh at my joke. I laughe
The miserable seconds turned into miserable minutes, that turned into miserable hours, that turned into miserable days, as I laid on my bed in my dark, smelly apartment. I didn't know when it was day or night since the drapes were shut tightly. My heart was as dark as the rooms, my stomach as empty as my fridge. I lay quietly, waiting for death, hoping it'll come any day now, but it didn't. Somehow my eyes kept opening each time it seemed like they were going to close forever. I stared at the small Urn that stood on the other side of my bed. I couldn't exactly see it, but I knew it was there. Its shiny body occasionally glistened in the darkness. It was Anna's new body. I spoke to her. Every time my eyes opened, I sighed and said hello to her. I told her about everything I did. I told her about David, about Rain. I told her about Chyna, about Katy. I told her about Maya, about Devin. She didn't judge me. She didn't cuss at me or remind me how much of a terrible person that
The loud, rapid beeping sounds from Anna's vital monitor pierced through my subconscious, instantly waking me up from my deep slumber. My heavy eyes flung wide open, my weak legs pushing my aching body to my throbbing feet. The intense panic that clawed its way to my windpipe was enough to numb every other pain that my body felt. I noticed Anna laid completely still, her chest wasn't rising and falling like it did before I slept off. “Nurse!" I screamed so loudly, I hoped it would wake her. She remained still.In a heartbeat, my weak legs mustered up enough energy to run. I headed straight for the door, pushing through it like a hurricane. “Nurse!" I called again, louder. Two worry stricken nurses ran in my direction. I didn't wait to be asked what was wrong. “Her monitors are beeping." We all ran to where my sister lay. The nurses quickly started pulling plugs, pressing buttons, grabbing stuff. Their hands moved so fast, I
My legs were shaking, back and forth, up and down, while I sat in the waiting room of Anna's hospital. I rushed in less than five minutes ago, hoping to see the doctor but I was told she was in surgery, Anna's surgery. I was told that her blood pressure spiked, again, causing some implications as well as internal bleeding, resulting in an emergency surgical procedure that needed to be carried out. I begged the nurse to let me wait in Anna's room, but she didn't let me. Too weak for a struggle, I yielded to her offer, landing in the waiting room with other nervous family members or friends waiting for their loved ones. My insides were in a knot. I had felt so much anxiety in the past few days, my brain couldn't register the feeling anymore. I was numb. I couldn't cry, I could speak, breathing was a chore, and my eyes sometimes closed on their own. While I waited, the sudden urge to consume food came over me, but the uncertainty of Anna's situation was enough to suppress the
The past few days had been miserable. I was cut out of David's life, as well as his finances. I was cut out of Rain's life, as well as his finances. Since I couldn't afford her salary, Maya moved out of the apartment. I was running low on food and money. If David hadn't paid a year's advance for the apartment, I definitely would have been homeless as well. All I did was cry, day in, day out. I couldn't bring myself to eat anything. I had a baby growing inside of me that caused me to be sick every morning, but I had to drag myself around the house because I was by myself. I had tried to reach Rain so many times but after so many tires, I realized he had blocked my number. The same went for his father. Both men had blocked my numbers and I couldn't bring myself to show up at the house. I didn't know if the witch was still living there and I knew she could very much hurt me without hindrance from any one. The only person that showed me care was my sister. We spoke e
At the sound of the intruding voice, my legs spun me around. I felt my heart beating again, thumping loudly, when my eyes met David's. He looked pale, as if he had seen a ghost. I tried to breathe but it was continuously caught in my throat, hanging halfway. “Dad," Rain whispered behind me. I didn't need to look to know he was on his feet. David's eyes shifted to his son behind me. When they shifted again, I knew they rested on the diamond ring in Rain's hand.“What are you doing here?" Rain's voice dragged his father's gaze to him. After a second, he shifted his eyes to mine. He quietly moved his feet towards me. I wanted to step backwards but my legs were numb. The closer he got, the harder my heart pounded, creating a feeling of dread that traveled through every cell in my body. “Are you pregnant?" He asked again. His low, bloodcurdling voice sent ripples down my stiff spine. I struggled to push down the lump in my throat
From the minute Rain started the ignition, pulling out of the hospital parking lot, my heart pounded. I was completely distracted, unconsciously spacing out when I wasn't being spoken to. Rain was especially chatty while he drove, and Maya happily indulged in his conversations. She also seemed unusually excited which made me conclude she was in on whatever Rain had planned. When we drove into my building parking lot, I was relieved to finally be home. I hated every minute of breathing in that hospital and everyday I begged to be allowed to leave. When Rain brought the car to a stop, Maya was the first to jump down. Before I could undo my seatbelt, throwing my legs to climb out of the truck, there was no sight of her. “Where’s Maya?" I asked when I walked around the back of the car to meet Rain waiting on the other side. He took his left arm around my waist, pulling me forward. “She went up first." he answered, pressing the lock button on the car remote.
After two days of imposed bedriddeness, I was finally being discharged and Rain was to take Maya and I back to my apartment. When Rain called, letting me know what time he was going to be coming, I sent for the nurse to request that I be taken off the tubes before he arrived. She initially refused but after my insistence, the determination to cause a big scene although it was intercepted by my doctor, I was let off the hook. Without hesitation, I was freed, after which I headed straight out of the room and down the hall. I hadn't forgiven Maya for picking Rain's call a few days ago. She was the reason I was in a difficult predicament. If she wasn't such a tattletale, I would have instantly gotten an abortion and no one would know about it, but with Rain as excited and involved as he was, the chances of getting away with that were zero to none. I was either to have the baby, or lose it in an unfortunate situation. What amused me was how clueless she was to the way
My eyelashes slowly fluttered open. Instantly attacked by really bright light, I closed them, giving it a moment before trying to open them again. The painful feeling of its intense impact reduced as my blurry vision adjusted to reveal images of things around me. After a few more blinks, I noticed the familiar arrangement of a hospital room. The sterile white walls, the bright overhead lights, the small TV hanging on the wall with the small fridge directly beneath it, all seemed to stare back at me. As my eyes traveled through each item, they fell on the person who sat by my bed. “Rain?" I managed to mumble, my voice raw and weak, unsure that he was going to hear me. He did. He looked up from his phone. When his eyes met mine, they immediately lit up. A smile of relief crept onto his face.“Hey beautiful." He said, his voice filled with warmth. He leaned forward in his chair, taking his hand to delicately stroke my hair. It then occurred to me