THE UNEXPECTED NEWS

I opened my eyes, the smell of antiseptic filling my nose. I turned and saw my parents talking to a doctor. I sat up trying to unplug the drip from my hands and the doctor noticed and turned to me.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you”

My parents turned around and ran to me, their worried expressions broke my heart. 

“Honey, we came to pick you up and found you unconscious by the door. We were so scared” my mother said. Tears already filling up her eyes.

“We’ve taken some tests and we’re waiting for the results. But so far you’re okay. A little malnourished but okay”

My mother cried more and my father looked at me with a worried look.

“You haven’t been eating?” he asked as he looked at me. “Aren’t they paying you enough?”

“Dad, I got fired two days ago”

“What? Why? Why didn’t you tell us? When you said you were coming home I thought you just wanted to stay with us for a little while”

“I’m sorry dad” I said as tears streamed down my face. My mother turned to my father giving him a warning glare.

“That doesn’t matter right now. Right now we have to keep our baby healthy. Look how lean she’s gotten”

My mother wrapped me in her arms and began to cry. My father stood there expressionless.

“You should have told us. We saw the eviction notice on the table. We could have helped you”

“I know dad. I just didn’t want to burden you or mum”

My father’s face turned sad. He hated when I said that. He moved towards me and took me in his arms.

“Oh, honey. You know that you can never be a burden to us”

My mother nodded in agreement. I began to tear up again. 

 “We found out where she lives” Jared said as he walked into Eric’s office. Eric raised his head up from his laptop and asked.

“Who?”

“The woman from that night”

Now interested, he sat up. His expression unreadable. “So?”

“Well, where she used to live”

“What do you mean?”

“She had been behind on her rent and the landlord said she heard she was going to move out. It looks like she’s in need of financial assistance”

“So you’re back to square one?” Jared nodded. “What about the people from the video?”

“All of them work under companies which are under Grey corporations. One of the guys who just signed a contract with the company. His name is Jeremy Frasier. Turns out he was her boyfriend back in college and they broke up because he was cheating on her with her now ex best friend. Sarah”

“So the cheating ex and best friend decided to humiliate her”

“Turns out this happens during each of their reunions because she’s not as financially stable as they are. This time it was worse because of Jeremy and Sarah’s engagement”

“What was she doing in my suite then? Was she trying to escape from them?”

“Turns out Sarah led her here. I think she also drugged her because they seemed to have pictures of that night. Explicit ones. Turns out they don’t know what Eric Grey looks like”

“Blacklist each of them. They shouldn’t be able to work in this city ever again. And anyone who works with them would be going against the Greys. Withdraw the contract that was given to Jeremy Frasier. And find me Selena Kyle”

Jared nodded as he left the office. Eric closed his laptop and turned to the file once more. He needed to find her if his plan was going to work. He couldn’t make any more mistakes.

I smiled as my mother fed me the fruits she had brought back for me. She had stayed with me all night and only left to bring me food. My father helped to clear out my things from the room and set up a place for me in my parent’s house. All we had to do now was to wait for the test results. The doctors had said I could get discharged after getting the results and I couldn’t wait to escape the draining smell of the hospital. I watched as my father walked into my hospital room.

“How are you feeling honey” he asked concerned 

“Better than I’ve felt in a long time” I smiled as he made his way towards us poking his head in the plate in front of me.

“I see why my plate was almost empty. You brought everything for your beloved daughter” he chuckled as he help my mother. “I guess now that she’s back I would have some competition for your attention”

My mother laughed as she held him back. “You better be careful, because it seems like she’s way ahead of you”

I smiled. Having them here was a blessing, it made me happy. I really thought they would be disappointed in me, especially finding out I lost my job and was going to end up homeless if not for them. But they were being really supportive. I felt a little teary trickle down my cheek and my father seemed to notice as he gave me a concerned look.

“Is everything okay honey?”

I nodded. “I’m just glad you’re here with me”

“Of course dear. We’re your parents, we will always be there for you. That’s our responsibility”

I sighed as my mind trailed back to the reunion. My parents never liked Jeremy and they kept warning me about him, but I never listened. They weren’t surprised when I told them about him cheating on me with Sarah, but they still didn’t judge me. They just supported me and advised me to forget about them. They had told me to cut of contact, and it was easy as that was my senior year. I still regretted it, especially since Jeremy and Sarah made sure I didn’t forget what had happened. They never failed to remind me that they were in a different circle than I was.

“I’m sorry” I choked. 

My apology surprised them and they came to my side again.

“It’s alright honey”

I nodded and smiled again. The door opened, interrupting our moment and the doctor walked in.

“Well Ms. Selena. You’re good to go. Here are your discharge papers, we just need your signature”

I collected the papers and signed, glad I was finally leaving this place that smelt of horror. 

“You have to take care of yourself and avoid anything that may stress you” I nodded and he turned to my parents. “Ensure she has enough to eat”

“Alright doctor. Thank you. What about the test?” 

“Well sir, I was just getting to that. She has to avoid stress and eat enough because she’s eating for two”

“What?” I asked as I say up.

“Congratulations. You’re pregnant”