Chapter 7 Memories

Rory’s POV

The moment I approached Nash’s table yesterday, I couldn’t take my eyes off the handsome stranger he was talking to… He was tall and muscular with almost black hair and hazel eyes that I wanted to drown in… I couldn’t stop looking at him! I also couldn’t stop blushing like a freaking teenager.

I’m not a teenager… I may look like a teen, but I’m actually twenty. Next month I’ll be a legal adult… whatever that means. It doesn’t hold the excitement it would for others. It won’t change a damn thing.

It’s not like I haven’t been taking care of myself since I was seventeen. That was when my high school boyfriend raped me, got me pregnant and told my parents it was all my fault… And they believed him!

Of course they would believe him. He’s one of the rich kids and he told my parents I’d begged him for sex. I don’t know if they never knew me or what, but I don’t sleep around. I never cheated on Ash. I don’t understand why he did what he did.

In case you are wondering… That is not what happened. I was not ready for sex and he kept pushing. That night I broke up with him and he didn’t take it well… I guess he got what he wanted in the end, and turned right around and made everything worse than it already was.

I came home crying to my parents, telling them Ash raped me. My mother immediately called him and he spun the whole damn story in his favor. Of course he would. He didn’t want to go to jail!

It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I found out I was pregnant. My parents yelled at me for being reckless and they told me they absolutely couldn’t have a teenage daughter that was pregnant. They kicked me out. I went to Becky’s house and she and her parents took care of me for a little while.

Two months after that, Ash found me again… I never told him about my baby. I wanted to keep it that way. I didn’t want him to use it against me… Actually, I was surprised my parents never told him. It was probably the only decent thing they did for me back then.

I have no idea how he found me or if it was just a coincidence… Maybe I was just really unlucky?

“Is it mine?” he demanded the moment he saw my belly. I wasn’t huge or anything, but I was definitely showing.

I didn’t know how to answer that. I didn’t want him to know it was his, and plus I had a feeling it was better to keep it away from him! But if he had any brains in that pretty head of his he wouldn’t even have to ask. He knew I was a virgin and he knew I didn’t sleep around… So I suppose my lack of an answer was good enough confirmation to him.

I placed my hands protectively around my belly as I ran… It didn’t help. He tackled me to the ground… And then he beat me.

I woke up in the hospital the next day. I couldn’t remember very much. I didn’t know how I got there or what actually happened other than I cried and begged for him to stop before I passed out.

I do remember the doctor coming in and asking how I was feeling… Other than bruised and broken, my belly ached, but I couldn’t figure out why. I was so groggy and confused, nothing made any sense to me.

“Why am I so sore?” I choked out.

“I’m sorry, Aurora. You lost your baby,” he said softly.

Something inside me broke that day. I may not have planned to have the baby, but I had every intention of keeping it. I would’ve loved it and taken care of it… And in return, my baby would have loved me. I would’ve been the most important person to my baby… And now it has been taken from me.

Since then, I’ve more or less stayed away from men. I understood that not all men were as evil as Ash, but I really couldn’t help it. For a year I would flinch when any man came near me… I’ve gotten a little better now.

I found a more permanent place to stay and started working full time as a waitress at Ma’s Diner. I’ve been making enough money for myself… At least enough to pay rent and buy food. Sometimes when I get a good tip I go to the thrift shop and add something to my wardrobe.

I met Nash and his wife Anna. They were very sweet to me. With Nash’s help I’ve been able to open up a little bit to some men. I’m glad to call them my friends.