CHAPTER 5

(Cassie’s POV)

She woke up with a start, realizing she had overslept for her 8:00 am class. With a sense of urgency, she rushed to take a quick shower, but time wasn’t on her side. She thrown on the first piece of clothing her hand had come across in her closet and headed out, hoping to catch a cab on time.

As she walked out of her room, something caught her eye. A tray of food had been placed right outside her door. A Beautiful surprise from her mother, who she was still a bit angry with. She took the tray to the kitchen and tried to shake off the feeling of resentment.

In the living room, she found her mother whispering to Pamela, and their conversation had abruptly ended when they noticed her presence. She wondered what they were talking about, but before she could ask, Pamela quickly ushered her out of the house.

"What's with you and your mother?" Pamela asked as they got into the car.

"I don't want to talk about it," she replied, feeling a pang of guilt for being distant with her mom.

Pamela's curiosity didn’t waned, but she was lost in her own thoughts, still trying to process the strange news they had heard the day before.

They arrived at school, and Pamela parked the car. They walked briskly towards the lecture hall, their minds racing with the anticipation of the day ahead.

Before she stepped into the lecture hall, her eyes locked with Tony's. He smiled at her, and she returned his smile before entering the hall for her first class that morning.

****

"You didn't go out with Tony last night as intended, right?" Pamela demanded from her as they found their way to the parking lot around 3 pm. They were done with the lectures for the day.

"No."

“What did you tell him?”

"I only told him something came up.”

Relief washed over her features. "Thank goodness. I thought you might have spilled the beans about the baby."

She was frozen. "What do you mean?" she demanded.

Pamela hesitated for a moment before leaning in closer to her. "I saw the way Tony was looking at you in class. It was like he knew something."

I felt a shiver run down my spine. I wondered if Tony knew about the baby, but I had only told him something came up and couldn’t make it to the party. Pamela must have seen the fear in my eyes because she quickly backtracked. "Don't worry, I'm sure he doesn't know anything. But you need to be careful, especially with everything that's been going on."

I doubted if I would ever love a man the way I loved Cameron. Thinking about Cameron, I wondered how he would feel when he got to know I was pregnant and my baby had no father. I just prayed our paths wouldn't ever cross again. I didn't wish to see him again, especially not now that I was pregnant with a stranger's baby.

"Let's go home. I don't want you to collapse like you did yesterday," she smiled at me. We hadn't talked about the pregnancy, and I knew we were supposed to, but I wasn't ready to talk to anyone about it.

My body kept denying the fact that I was pregnant. Ever since the doctor had announced the news, my fever had vanished, and it was as if I was never sick. I felt stronger than ever before. I no longer felt dizzy, and my temperature was no longer high.

"Don't worry, I won't," I smiled back.

"Do you want to talk about it?" My thoughts were right. She wanted us to talk about the pregnancy. I smiled sadly and shook my head before hopping into her car. It was a yellow BMW×5, and I always enjoyed the ride with Pamela. She was neither a fast driver nor a slow driver.

Her father owned a telecommunications firm while her mother worked in the White House. I had no idea what the woman did there, and Pamela didn't like talking about her mom and what she did. But she was damn proud of her father and his achievements. Pamela was the apple of his eyes.

We rode in silence. I knew Pamela was very understanding, and she would never be mad at me for not wanting to talk about the pregnancy. Her silence meant she was giving me the space and time that I needed to admit and adjust myself to the new growth inside of me before I finally talked about it. When she pulled over in our driveway, she said, "Don't hesitate to call me whenever you need me. I will always be here for you. And please talk to your mom already; she feels bad about slapping you...."

"She told you that?" My eyes were wide

"Yes."

I felt embarrassed that mom told Pamela that she had slapped me. "See you tomorrow, love," she hugged me.

"Alright, you too." I returned the hug and got out off the car. I waved and watched her drive away. I sighed deeply and turned back to go in. I knew mom would be at work, and I would be home alone until 5 pm when mom would be back.

When I entered the house, my stomach rumbled when the aroma of something hit my nostril. I realized I hadn't eaten anything since morning. I felt the presence of someone in the kitchen, and I knew it was mom. Why was she home by this time of the day?

"Cassie, is that you?" I stood by the door, thinking of how to act in her presence. Things had changed between us. I was no longer the little baby she treated me as. I was about to become a mother too and make my mother a granny. I was admitting the truth to myself, and it was embarrassing.

When mom appeared from the kitchen with an apron, tears began to wash down my face. She rushed to me, and I broke down in her arms, completely.