Chapter 5

Azalea's POV

Lara took me in willingly and happily and even scolded me for putting up with my parents for that long.

I caught a cold after the night out incident and she forced me to be on bed rest for two whole weeks, taking care of me as if I were a child.

She got me new clothes and shoes and even bought me a new phone since the last one got damaged by the rain.

I kept insisting she was doing too much and promised to pay her back but she'd always tell me that her parents money is her money which means that she had more than enough money to take care of us both.

My sister and my parents never reached out to me. They didn't care to know where I was staying. They knew I was unemployed and didn't care to find out if I was surviving, they didn't care to know if I were still alive or if I had been eaten by some wild animal that night.

In the third week, I refused to be forced to stay home. Instead, I went job hunting, much to her disapproval.

Everywhere I went, they kept saying the same thing, they needed someone with more experience.

I had a job before but I quit because of the boss. My parents had a huge fight with me and promised to kick me out if I don't take the job back. They gave me two weeks to get the job back but I refused. Who would have thought I'd have left on my own before the two weeks lapsed.

One thing bothered me so much that it took over all my thoughts, both day and night.

I hadn't seen my period and I didn't know what to make of it. I have also been feeling unusually weak, irritated and I ate twice as much as I did before.

After another day of fruitless job haunting, I came back home to meet Lara, eating pizza. She summoned me over to join her and I willingly did.

The moment I took in the delicious smell of the pizza, I felt a sudden wave of nausea that almost had me retching. I heard Lara immediately ask me what the problem was, and I had to breathe in very deeply before I could reply to her.

“I just had the worst bout of nausea I’ve had in my life” I tried swallowing what felt like a lump in my throat, and my heart was still beating so fast that I had to hold my hand against my chest to keep me steady.

I felt a wave of nausea again as I picked up a slice of pizza, I dropped it and rushed to the bathroom, retching up bile while Lara bursted into the bathroom and immediately held my hair up.

There was no chance those two were coincidences. Nausea and missed periods were two symptoms of something I didn’t want in my life right now.

Pregnancy.

My heart dropped at the thought that I might be pregnant. The last time I had sex was with that stranger. But except with that man, no one else.

There’s absolutely no chance I was pregnant. Zero chances. But I wasn’t going to trust my fate, so I decided it’d be better to know whatever it was.

At that point, I didn't need anyone to tell me to take a pregnancy test before I did.

I could tell by the look on Lara's face that she had the same thought so I went to the pharmacy and got three different brands of pregnancy tests and then went back home.

I went into the bathroom, head pounding from fear, with my heart in my mouth, I peed on the three sticks and set my timer to ten minutes. I went back to the living room and sat on a couch, my legs shaking anxiously. Lara was beside me, also anxiously biting her nails.

The ringing of the alarm almost made the both of us jump from the couch. I slowly walked to the bathroom, hoping the result wouldn't be what I was thinking, but the universe was cruel, the results came out positive.

How could I be pregnant? Me, who could count how many times I’ve had sex on one hand. Me, who was as careful as the word itself.

And just like that, I crumbled, tears wrecking my body as I cried harder than I ever had in my life. Lara held me close, whispering soothing words in my ear and drawing comforting circles on my back.

It felt like the universe’ cruel joke. Maybe my life was just an experiment, one that she feels could be dealt with as she wishes. 

My thoughts went back to that night. I should have known that the universe would use me as a scape goat. For once, I decided to have fun and this was what happened.

Life was so unfair.

I didn't know the name of the father or anything about him. Where would I begin my search for him? How was I supposed to take care of a child when I didn't have a job, barely had a place to live and didn't even have a dollar to my name?

As if reading my thoughts, Lara pulled me closer, wiping off my tears. “My home is your home, babe. My money is your money. I don't mind taking care of you and the baby…my godchild. Don't worry too much. And if you insist on working, you can come help out in the saloon."

I cried even more, knowing that although life has decided to be wicked to me and put me in the worst situations, it also gave me the best friend anyone could ever wish for.

Lara was my soulmate. She had been there for me in numerous ways my real sister would never have thought of. She was the only one I had. My everything.

“I love you, Lara." I whispered while sniffing.

“And I love you too, Azalea. And I love you too, baby." She cooed at my stomach, making me laugh.

Like she promised, I was given a spot at her saloon. I barely did anything but she paid me way more than I worked for or deserved.

She also went with me to every single one of my visits to the hospital, being right by my side through the first trimester of my pregnancy.

The first time I heard the baby's heartbeat, I had Lara by my side, holding my hand and sporting the same red rimmed eyes and snot filled face with me.

The first time the baby kicked, she was right there by side, screaming with excitement, her eyes blazing with joy.

She was even more excited than I was about the baby and kept buying baby things for the child when she went shopping even when we didn't know the gender of the baby. She would buy stuff for both genders, mostly for a boy because she wanted the baby to be a boy.

We always argued about the gender and both decided not to check and let our curiosity only be killed when I gave birth.

Through the money I saved from working at her saloon, I was able to get a small comfortable place and move out of Lara's house. I felt uncomfortable eating her food, indirectly spending her money and still limiting her from spending time with her boyfriend in her own house.

I wanted them to have space so I moved out, ignoring all her attempts at stopping me from leaving.

Everything finally worked out for my good when one morning, I got a call from an unknown number, asking me to resume my position as a wardrobe assistant in Ash Studios on Monday.

At first, I thought it was a prank because I wondered why one of the best fashion companies in the country would employ a heavily pregnant woman but It turned out to be real when a contract was sent to my email for me to go through it.

I called Lara immediately, breaking the news to her. She almost screamed my ear off, happy that everything was finally working for my good.

I went to sleep that night extremely happy, ready to get my life back together and determined to let nothing stop me from doing so.