Chapter 6

ELI

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I cut through the water, arm slicing, legs kicking. The pool always felt like a haven. It always made me feel clean and my body light. 

It’s been two weeks and John still refuses to tell me what’s in the letter. Whether my father was out or not hung over my head like a guillotine ready to drop. I didn't know why he was hiding it from me.

I climbed out, water dripping from my skin. I reached out for the towel Louis was handing over to me.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw an omega boy surrounded by our teammates, their laughter filling the otherwise silent Natatorium. An attention, I’d never get.

John was there too, eyes glinting, smile too wide. 

An ache shot through my chest, and then my stomach twisted. Too hard.

My legs moved before my brain caught up, stumbling towards the bathroom. 

The door gave way for me. My wretching sounds ricocheted off the walls as I threw up. My knuckles lightened as I gripped the wet rim of the sink. My throat burned like my stomach was about to claw its way out of my mouth.

The door opened again, and Louis stood before me, gaze assessing.

“I think you should go to the hospital,” Louis said, “this is getting serious. Are you sure it’s food poisoning?”

I rinsed my mouth. “I’m fine.” My voice coarse.

“Nope. We’re going now.”

He went behind me and gently pushed me out of the bathroom.

*********

In the hospital, the test occurred so fast, blood and urine test.

I sat in the doctor’s office, my chest tighter than it should have been.

The man came in. Settling into his chair, he handed my result to me.

Written boldly on it was Pregnancy test—positive.

My stomach flipped, and I almost threw up again. I scoffed; this couldn’t be mine.

But when I dragged my eyes to the top, Elijah Blakes was written.

“How could this be?” My eyes snapped to the doctor. “I don’t even experience heat.” 

Calmly, he nodded. “I know it’s confusing. One in a hundred Omega males with hormonal dysfunction, especially those with a developed uterus do get pregnant even without experiencing heat. Rare, but not impossible.”

I shook my head. No…No…this couldn’t be happening.  I’ve always wanted to be a father, to love my child. 

This should’ve been a miracle but not now, not when my first semester exam was around the corner. Not when the swimming competition was middle of next semester, a few months from now. 

How could I participate with a baby bump? I couldn’t drop out of the competition, I’d lose my scholarship.

My heart pounded, its heavy thuds filling my chest. 

Everyone knew me as a Beta? And now this—pregnancy? My teammates, my coursemate, they’d all find out I’m an omega. With my features, they’d mock me. They’d whisper.

I remembered my high school days. My heartbeat tripled. I tried to breathe, but only thin wisps of air reached my lungs. 

The panic hit me so hard, I almost didn’t hear the doctor.

“Abortion would ruin the chances of you having a child of your own in the future. You can always give the child up for adoption.” The doctor said, “Your pregnancy is risky, you’ll need therapy, regular checkups, and medications.” 

All I could hear was bills.

I had barely enough for myself.  My mother’s hospital bill still hung over me. And now this. How could I pay for all this? Work more? In this state?

By the time I left the doctor’s office, I could feel my heartbeat in all the wrong places; my foot, my back.

Louis was waiting at reception, in the quiet corner.

“Did they give you something for the nausea?” He asked.

Dropping beside him, I showed him my test result.

Silence snatched our corner—footsteps, voices, they all faded.

Then Louis’s voice threaded out, low, careful. “Are you going to tell John?”

My chest tightened. “I…I..” I swallowed, but the painful lump in my throat remained. “I don’t know who the father is.” My voice thin, barely recognizable.

Louis narrowed his gaze expecting an explanation.

And I gave him. Told him about my night with Zane and how I had sex twice with John that same day.

A heavy exhale surged out of him. “So…you don’t know if it’s John or Zane?”

I nodded.

Louis began. “You could still tell them—”

“Tell them what?” The words snapped out of my throat, dry and rough. “That I’m pregnant, and I don’t know if it’s yours because I had sex with someone else too.” I paused and exhaled. “I’m sorry.”

Even if it’s John, how could I tell him? He never wanted kids, he didn’t like them. His parents had already planned his future for him: get married, have children, carry on the legacy. That’s why we wanted to run away, away from the expectations the world had for us. 

And now I’m pregnant. The same thing John was running from.

And if it’s Zane’s…I remembered how he panicked when the condom broke, even a dumb person could tell he didn’t want a child.

I mean which final year student would want to have a baby?

My spine curved, and I buried my head in my palm. “Fuck, how could I be so stupid?”

“It wasn’t your fault. You don’t have to tell them yet, at least until you know, you figure it out” Louis rubbed my back.  “Whatever your decision is know I’m here for you.”

We sat there in silence for a while, and Louis jumped to his feet. 

“I have a test now,” he said, “I have to go to class.”

Louis left, and I’m all alone. I hailed a cab. I didn’t even have enough cash to get all the way back to my hostel, so I dropped halfway and began walking towards my hostel. 

The midday sun burned down on me, the weight of its heat ripping me out of my head. But my spiraling thoughts sucked me back in.

How was I going to survive? To juggle everything, pregnancy, bills, exams, and swimming competitions. 

A small part of me wondered, since John had always protected me, maybe he’d protect me if it were his. 

Another voice crept in. And if it’s Zane.

My stomach tightened. God, I’m so fucked.

I climbed the stairs to my hostel,  my chest tight, my mind spinning. 

At the door, a figure waited, leaning against the door frame.

It was Zane.

My chest seized.

I remembered he had sent me a text, but I didn’t respond since we had agreed to go back to being strangers.

Conflicting sparks jolted through me. My body remembered that night—the warmth, his touch, the pull. And yet his presence burned against the other part of me, the path that remembered that he looked down on the swimming team.

…And possibly be the father of my child.

“Hey, Cinderella.” Zane smiled at his words, swaggering towards me, hand in his jacket, shoulders swaying.

“Stop calling me that,” I said, my jaw ticking. “My name is Eli and not Ella. Don’t know how you ended up with that pun.”

Zane stood before me, too close, his musky scent invading my senses. “Aren’t you the one who ran out that night, leaving your shirt behind?” His tone was soft but edging with a roughness I couldn’t place.

“What’re you doing here?” I held his gaze even if I didn’t want to. My heart drummed even if I didn’t want it to.

“Or have you forgotten what you said that night?” I added.

He let the silence drag, making my insides shrink. Then Zane said. “I want to discuss a deal with you.”

His gaze bore down on me, and I could swear it had weight.