Bethany

Chapter 5-Bethany

I woke up this morning feeling really sick. My head was pounding and I felt nauseous. I didn't feel like doing anything, but I had a few errands to run, so I had no choice but to get up and get ready.

As I stepped out of my apartment complex, I saw the old lady who walks her dog every Saturday morning. She always waves at me, so I waved back and made a mental note to get her some flowers on my way back. I then made my way to the bus stop to wait for the next bus.

I was on my way to visit Claudia today. She had invited me over to help her move her things to her new place. As I was walking down the street, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked around, but there was no one there. I brushed it off and continued my walk.

When I got to Claudia's house, she welcomed me with a cup of coffee as usual, but I was feeling really disgusted by the sight of coffee so I politely declined and asked for some water instead. Then we got to work packing her stuff into the big brown boxes.

“So, you haven't heard from Mr. Hottie at all?” She asked while I was bubble-wrapping the vase.

“Nope, no sight of him. I have come to terms with it anyway,” I said.

“Yeah, his loss. Look what he's missing out on,” she said with a suggestive smile.

I laughed, as I didn't tell Claudia he left me money after we ‘did it’. I'm sure she didn't know he was that cruel.

“Hey, Beth. Can you help me carry that box over there?” Claudia said.

“Be careful. It looks heavy,” she warned.

“Okay, got it,” I said before going to lift the box. But as I bent to pick it up, I felt really dizzy, and so I fell to the ground, and the box slipped out of my hands.

“Beth, Beth, are you okay?” a worried Claudia ran towards me and sat on the floor where I was.

“Yeah, I guess,” I replied.

“Come, let's get you comfortable. You don't look too well,” she said as she led me to her bed.

“Let me get you some water,” she said and left.

What was wrong with me? I wondered. Claudia stepped back into the room with the water. “Drink up,” she said.

I took the water and gulped it all down. Then she asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Still dizzy and nauseous, but I'm okay,” I replied.

She looked at me weirdly and asked when it started, and I said just this morning.

“When did you last see your period?” she asked out of the blue. Shocked at where that type of question was coming from, I replied, “Last month.”

“When is it due this month?” She asked again. I was about to reply when it clicked that I was supposed to have started and completed my period about two weeks ago. I didn't even know I missed my period because I had been so busy.

“It was supposed to come two weeks ago,” I replied.

She looked at me for another while before running to her bedside table and rummaging through it for something. She finally stopped and threw a pregnancy test kit at me.

“Use this,” she said.

Feeling confused, I grabbed the pregnancy test kit and headed to the bathroom. The morning's events were still fresh in my mind, and I couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in my stomach. As I did the test, I couldn't help but wonder if I was pregnant. My heart was pounding in my chest as I waited for the results to show up. 

Suddenly, a frightening thought crossed my mind; what if I was pregnant for the stranger I barely knew? I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the idea. No, no way, that couldn't be possible. Could it? I had been so careless, I hadn't thought about the implications of sleeping with a man before I did it. 

I anxiously waited for ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity. My hands were shaking, and I could barely catch my breath. Finally, I mustered the courage to pick up the test and read the results. What I saw on the screen made me scream in horror. 

I dropped the test kit on the floor and ran out of the bathroom, completely shaken. Tears were streaming down my face, and my mind was racing with thoughts of what could happen next. I didn't have anyone to support me. How would I raise this child? And what if the money I made from my job won't be able to cater for us both? All these questions were buzzing around in my head, and I couldn't make sense of anything. 

Shaky and breathing heavily, I turned to Claudia, “What do I do? I don't even know who the father is.”

Claudia came and put her arms around me and said, “Don't worry, you've got this, just breathe.”

I sat on the bed with my head in my hands, feeling overwhelmed. I had just become a mother, but I didn't know the first thing about taking care of a baby. My own life was a mess, and my baby wouldn't even know his/her father. I felt ashamed and started crying, something I hadn't done in a long time.

After gathering some strength, I helped Claudia with what little I could before leaving her house. On my way home, I bought some flowers and felt like someone was watching me. I quickened my pace, feeling uneasy.

When I arrived at the old lady's apartment to give her the flowers, she expressed her gratitude and then said. "Be careful, your life is about to change. Make sure you protect your pup”

 I looked at her, she said "pup". I was a bit confused but before I could say anything, she corrected herself and said "Sorry, I meant baby". With that, she entered her apartment and locked the door.

How did she know I was pregnant? Maybe she heard me throwing up this morning.

Still puzzled, I walked towards my apartment, trying to make sense of what just happened. I thought maybe she had a dog that had recently given birth to puppies and she was used to calling them that. With a small chuckle at the funny old lady's words, I opened my apartment door. But as I was about to close it, a dark figure suddenly jammed its foot in the doorway, blocking me from shutting it completely.

Before I could scream, he covered my mouth and said,“If you scream, I will not only kill you but every other person in this building” with that threat, my screams seized in my throat.

He entered my apartment and looked around before asking, “What are you?”

When I didn't respond, he said, “If I have to repeat myself, your death will be very slow and very painful”

I didn't respond because I didn't understand his question. Tears streamed down my face from hopelessness. Was this really it? Was this how I was going to die? What of my unborn child? Oh no.

As he was about to strike my face, another figure entered my apartment and held him by the neck before slamming him on the floor. What was going on?

The new stranger asked, “Who sent you?” But my attacker smiled wickedly and pulled out a knife, before the stranger could react, he held the knife to his neck and killed himself. 

I let out a shrilling scream. That man, he just killed himself, in my apartment. I looked up at the stranger before I ran to my kitchen and picked up a wooden ladle. I held it in front of me and asked, “Who are you? And what do you want from me?”

He let out a chuckle, “Don't worry darling, you will find out who I am soon enough, for now be careful and aware of your surroundings” and with that, he picked up the body and left.

As I stood there, staring at the very spot where the unbelievable had occurred, I had to pinch myself to confirm that it wasn't just a figment of my imagination. Once the realisation had sunk in, I quickly scanned the room for any signs of intruders and made sure to secure my door with an extra lock. After that, I carefully wiped away the blood stain from the floor, as if trying to erase the memory of what had taken place and I made my way to my bedroom.

As I walked into my bedroom, a million thoughts raced through my mind. I couldn't help but think about the day I had just experienced. It was one of those days that felt like I had been pulled in a million different directions. I had been feeling sick, I found out that I was pregnant and now I almost died. All I wanted to do was relax and escape from the chaos of the day.

I undressed and took a deep breath before stepping into the warm, soothing water of the shower. The sound of the running water and the steam enveloping my body helped me to relax. I closed my eyes and let the water wash away the stress of the day. As I stood there, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I was to have a warm shower to come home to even if I didn't have all the luxuries many other people had.

Suddenly, I placed my hand on my stomach and smiled. I was carrying a little human inside me. A wave of warmth spread through my body as I thought about the new life growing inside me. As I stood there, feeling the water run down my skin, I thought about how I was going to afford to cater for a new life.

When I was done showering, I quickly dried myself off and went to my bed. As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, my mind was consumed with thoughts about the father of my child. I couldn't help but wonder where he could be now and if he would ever come back. Even if I did find him, would he be willing to take responsibility for our child?

The weight of my thoughts and uncertainty was overwhelming, so I felt the need for some fresh air. I got up from my bed and stepped out onto my small balcony. The cool night air hit my face and I took a deep breath, hoping it would clear my mind.

As I stood there, lost in my own thoughts, my eyes were drawn to the bushes below. I noticed movement and froze. My heart was pounding in my chest as fear took hold of me. After a while with nothing happening, I began to relax and continued to ponder.

After a while, I started feeling hungry and the thought of eating noodles suddenly crossed my mind, which was very strange because I had been feeling nauseous and disgusted by the mere thought of food since morning. It's crazy how pregnancy can mess with your cravings. During pregnancy, your hormones are all over the place and can cause you to crave the most unexpected things. I remember how a character craved pickles and ice cream when she was pregnant from a movie I watched. I mean, who would have thought that combination would be appetising? 

 I went to the kitchen and started making my dinner. I decided to make some spicy noodles with vegetables. The aroma of the spices filled the air and made my stomach grumble with anticipation. It felt so good to finally have an appetite and enjoy food again, especially after feeling sick all day. I savoured every bite as if it was my last meal. 

After finishing my meal, I crawled into bed to rest and catch up on some sleep.