Pandora groaned, still feeling tired after ten hours of sleep. As she sat up, she felt a wave of dizziness overcome her. Before she could lay back down, her stomach turned. She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, hoping and praying she wouldn’t puke on the floor.
She hunched over the toilet and heaved. Nothing really came up. She didn’t have time to be sick. And she willed her body to stop without much result. When the retching finally stopped, she dragged herself to the sink to clean up. Still, her stomach felt uncomfortable.
As the day passed, she felt worse. Nothing seemed to help with the nausea she was feeling. She tried to force down the lunch before resting her head on the desk, hoping a short nap would make her feel better.
Sleep made everything better, right?
“They pay you to sleep at work?” she heard Derrik say. She jumped at the sound of his voice, but it was her stomach that made it worse. She covered her mouth and looked at him.
“What?” he said irritably, staring her down.
“I want to puke just looking at your face,” Pandora said bluntly.
“Don’t get cheeky with me just because you’re having a terrible day.” Derrik’s smug grin made her feel terrible. “Here,” he said, throwing a stack of papers on her desk.
She looked through them angrily when she realized he was trying to force her into selling the house. “What is this? Derrik, don’t you understand? You’re not getting my house and I am not going to give you the money either!”
Derrik’s next words were loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. “You’re a selfish piece of shit. Sitting here, all high and mighty, but you look ugly and all wrinkled. You make me sick. What the hell did I see in you?” He paused for a second before resuming. “Now that you look exactly like you did while we were married, you’re all ugly again. The fake extensions did make you look a little better. Why did I ever want a worthless and ugly woman like you?”
“Get out,” Pandora gritted out. She felt her colleagues looking her way.
“Because of you, my girl lost another baby,” Derrik said, this time his voice a whisper. She could hear the pain in his voice, but she didn’t give a damn about what Derrik felt.
“That is none of my problem.” She picked up the papers and threw them in the trash. “Get out right now. And if I see you here again, I will get a restraining order against you. Did I make myself clear?” she challenged.
Derrik narrowed her eyes but he didn’t move a muscle, defying her.
Pandora picked up the phone and dialed the security head. “Get this piece of shit out of my office. Make sure to let the other security detail know that he is no longer welcome here.”
“We are not done here, Pandora!” Derrik hissed as he was pulled out of her office by security.
Pandora had to cover her mouth and she slowly sat down on her chair. She tried her best to breathe through her nose, willing the nausea away.
- - - - -
Pandora sleepily walked to the front door, knowing that Keira said she would take her to work. It had been three weeks since she woke up feeling sick and it was not getting any better. In fact, she felt worse than before. She almost got into an accident the night before because she felt woozy while driving.
Opening the door, Pandora allowed Keira in before moving to her couch and lying down on it.
“It has been three weeks. I think it is time you went to a doctor,” Keira said as she felt her head.
“It’s just a bug,” Pandora muttered weakly and then pressed her lips together when she saw her friend frowning down at her.
“What did the clinic say about your tests?” Pandora blinked because she had no idea what the other was talking about. “Last month you got tested for STDs remember?”
Pandora slowly sat up. “I never heard back from them. Damn it, I must have missed their calls. Do you think he gave me something?” she yelped as her heart started racing.
Keira looked worried but placed a fake smile on her face. “Let’s go to the doctor’s office and get you checked out, okay?”
“I can’t. I need to go to work,” she said, knowing if she didn’t get on the road, she would be late to work… again.
Keira shook her head. “I am calling your boss and taking you to the doctor.”
Pandora groaned, deciding it was best not to fight in her condition. She curled up, and closed her eyes. Her eyes drifted close as she heard Keira speaking to someone on the phone.
“Hey,” she said, pushing Pandora’s hair back. “You need to get up and dressed. Your doctor’s appointment is in an hour.”
Pandora nodded and slowly sat up. Her eyes drifted to the clock and she found it was almost two in the afternoon. “Oh no!” she muttered.
“It’s fine. I called in for you. Now get dressed.”
Pandora shook as she thought about how she had not taken a sick day in all the years she had been working. She went to her room and grabbed some loose clothes. Keira helped her into the car and drove slowly to the doctor’s office, making sure she didn’t feel sick again. Pandora was thankful that she didn’t need to wait with other patients and was ushered into the doctor’s office.
“I checked your results and the tests came back clean. Do you think you could be pregnant?” the nurse asked. “I saw that you didn’t do the follow-up.”
Pandora shook her head at the nurse. “That’s not possible. I have a history.”
“Let’s do the test, just to be clear.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Keira said and the nurse just hummed.
“Give me a urine sample and we can go from there?” the nurse prompted.
And Pandora did just that. After a few minutes of wait and Pandora frowned as the nurse looked at the pregnancy stick with a smile. “Just as I thought. You’re pregnant.”
The nurse placed the test down on the table beside her to see. Pandora’s eyes fell on the positive sign on it. “I can’t be,” she said, her voice barely over a whisper. Her eyes flitted between her friend and the nurse, who both looked ecstatic.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. She remembered a story where a woman got a false pregnancy test positive and ended up having cancer.
“It must be cancer,” she sobbed out. She looked at the nurse who was shaking her head.
“Ma’am. It’s not cancer,” she replied. “The stories you hear online are about a man who had cancer and took a pregnancy test. It’s not the same thing.”
“Keira, you know I can’t have a baby. Derrik and I tried for years!”
“Pandora, just take a scan and you will know what is going on, right?”
“The doctor isn’t here today, but I am a licensed technician. I can sign you up and perform the scan for you.” She paused. “I want you to calm down so that we can take a look and see what is going on. Okay?”
Pandora sighed before nodding. Soon, she was pulling her pants off and sitting on the table. The nurse prepped her and told her what to expect. Pandora gripped the bed as the scan proceeded.
The nurse made humming noises before she stopped moving. “There you go,” she murmured and turned the screen for Pandora to see. “Do you see that?” she asked as she pointed at the screen.
“Yes,” Pandora said, nodding. She frowned as she looked at the bean-shaped mass. “What is it? Is that the cancer?” she asked.
The nurse frowned. “That’s your baby,” she corrected.
Pandora looked at her and then back to the screen, feeling a sob rip out of her mouth.
Keira helped her sit on her couch and walked away. Pandora knew she was still in the house because she could hear the other move around the house. She was speaking to someone, but Pandora had no idea who it was.“Here, have some tea,” she said, placing a cup in Pandora’s hand. Her hands lingered. “You got it?” she asked and Pandora looked down before tightening her grip on the cup.“I’m going to have a baby?” she questioned, still thinking that the universe was playing a cruel joke on her.“You are,” Keira confirmed. “This is real, right? It’s not a joke.”“No, it’s not a joke.” Keira rubbed her shoulder.“I’m going to be a mom?”Keira squinted, reevaluating Pandora’s sanity.“Derrik and I tried for years and nothing happened. I didn’t even mistake myself to be pregnant. But I sleep with a random guy and I am immediately pregnant?”A stranger whom she didn’t remember, whose face she had forgotten, let alone what his name was.“What’s wrong, honey?” Keira asked, worried.“I don’t know
“If you are ready, we can begin with the breast exam?” he asked but she got the feeling that he was staring at her. Pandora looked his way but his head was not positioned in a way that he could look at her. “I will be touching you now. My hands are warm.”“That’s fine,” she said nervously. “It will be hard for you to do the exam without touching me.”His soft hands touched her breasts, sending tingles throughout her body. He took his time as he pressed and moved his fingers over her. Once he was finished, he covered her back up with the sheet provided. Of course, by this point, her nipples were hard and tenting the sheet in two spots.“You have a small stature. Is your husband tall?” Dr. Parks asked.Pandora frowned, looking up at him. “He’s—” She cut herself short as Derrik wasn’t her husband any longer. How did she answer that question? The doctor obviously didn’t need her explanation but she was curious as to why he needed to know how tall Derrik was.“Is he over six feet?”Pandora
“Have you lost a baby before?”She shook her head. “After the diagnosis and surgery, I was told that the chances were slim that I would get pregnant.”Dr. Parks sighed before nodding. “I take it that you have been trying for a while, then?”“Yes, we tried for years, starting as soon as we got married. But nothing and now—” she said but stopped herself from blurting out her dirty secret. She felt his hand touch hers and she opened her eyes to see a silver wedding band on his finger. The image of him being so happy in his wedding photo hit her again and only made her cry harder. Again, she asked herself why she had to choose and marry an asshole.“I can’t promise that everything will be okay, but I will watch over you. I would like to see you every week until you give birth. According to the scan, you look about eight weeks along. That means you have another seven months to go.”Pandora agreed, feeling a little better that he was willing to watch over her so carefully.“Do you work?” h
Pandora looked at her dad’s house, taking a few deep breaths, trying to muster up the courage to go inside. ‘I am a grown woman with a job, a car, and a house!’ she told herself, but she also had that small voice in the back of her mind repudiate. ‘Did you forget the ex-husband whom your father asked you not to marry?’ Pandora groaned, knowing she was about to start her engine and just leave with how conflicted her thoughts were.She jumped when she heard a sharp knock on her car’s window.“Sorry,” Nina smiled as she looked through the window. Pandora let out a nervous laugh and opened her car door. “Is everything alright?” Nina asked as she looked her stepdaughter over.“Yeah,” Pandora muttered and shut the door.Nina and she walked to the house the older woman shared with her father. They had known each other since high school. They went from being close friends to raising Pandora together. Nina’s husband cheated on her ten years ago and Pandora’s father, Walter, stuck by her side
She quickly got out of the tub and put on her bathrobe before grabbing her cell phone. Instantly, she jumped as it started to vibrate in her hands. She hissed when she saw Derrik’s name flashing on her screen. She pressed accept to answer the call and forewent all formalities when she spoke.“That better not be you at the door!” she stated as she went to the window.“Get your ass here and let me in!” Derrik sneered.“Fuck you,” she hissed out and disconnected the call. Right away, she dialed the emergency number. “I warned the asshole, this is on him,” she muttered as she waited for someone to respond. “Pandora!” she heard Derrik yell and he started pounding on the door again.“What is the address of your emergency?” The monotone male voice asked over the phone.“Pandora!” Derrik yet again bellowed followed by the pounding on her door.She stated her address, her voice breaking.“Answer the fucking door, you stupid bitch!” Derrik screamed again, continuing to pound on the door.“What
“Where is my bracelet?” she asked herself as she looked through her jewelry box. She groaned, unable to find it. She closed her eyes, trying to remember where she had last worn it. But she wasn’t fully awake and after a night of no sleep because of Derrik, it was hard to function.Just as she was about to give up, she imagined the bracelet on her wrist. She could feel someone touching her softly and with so many emotions that it made her whole body tingle from that one spot on her wrist.“Where did you get this?” a smooth voice with the smell of alcohol asked, and her eyes sprang open.“Vegas,” she declared and she shuddered. She moved to the closet and got her bag. She took out the small jewelry bag she had taken with her. She dumped everything out and grabbed her bracelet. As she put it on, a silver ring caught her eye.“Where did that come from?” She lifted it up to inspect.It was a simple silver band. She frowned at it and turned it around in her fingers. Suddenly, what looked li
“See! You don’t pull over for an unmarked car. Similarly, you shouldn’t be talking and going with a person who doesn’t have a uniform on. Part of why I am in the Special Victim cell.”Pandora looked at him playfully. “Well, I shouldn’t be talking to you right now.”“Here it's fine. This is the police station, after all.”“You have a point. I am taking that you wear a uniform to the first meet and greet. Then once they know you are the real deal, you walk out wearing a suit. It’s a bit like a superhero, isn’t it?”“Batman. I like batman, thank you,” he said. “Of course, the best detective in the comic universe.”They walked into his office and Milton pulled out a seat and gestured for her to sit down. Once she was settled, he pulled out a seat to sit down next to her.“Your ex was let out an hour ago. He was not happy. But I did make it clear that he would be in trouble if he went anywhere near your home or work.”Relief overwhelmed her.“Now, we need to work on the restraining order.
“Of course not. He’s married,” she said with a nervous laugh, which everyone picked up on.“Okay, spill,” Keira demanded. “During my exam, I—” she stopped talking. “You what?” Keira prodded.“I got aroused,” she whispered, her face hidden in her hands. She closed her eyes and dropped her eyes, her embarrassment building as the girls started to laugh.“Do you think he could tell?” Sia asked after controlling her laughter.“I am sure he did. He was down there.” She pointed downward. “And I was really wet.”“How wet are we talking?” Keira asked excitedly.“I would have been a water slide if I got any wetter.” They laughed, making Pandora groan. “But he didn’t say anything. I am grateful for that.”Sia took hold of her hand and made her look. “Come on. A lot of women become turned on, more so during pregnancy. I am sure he has seen and dealt with that situation before. Don’t be embarrassed.”Pandora nodded, trying to feel better about the situation. “Anyway, it is better than drooling o