Chapter Five #3
I laughed a quiet humorless laugh, and I didn’t bother to respond to his weak ass message.
He didn’t say anything else either, like what he gave was all the effort he had in him to give.
I knew otherwise. I had been watching him make googly eyes and laugh at another woman’s jokes for an hour, but he wanted to text me dryly.
In my heart I knew it was more about him checking my temperature than to see if I was actually ok. A mad woman was an unpredictable woman.
The rest of my shift crawled by. By the time it was over, my feet hurt, my head hurt, and my heart felt like somebody had wrung it out like a wet towel.
When I walked inside my condo, I stripped and threw myself into bed.
I wanted this day to be over quickly, and I didn’t know I had fallen asleep until I opened my eyes the next morning.
After texting Brick and letting her know I had to take the day off for a doctor’s appointment I got dressed while avoiding looking at the little white bag with the pregnancy test inside of it that was still sitting on my bathroom counter.
The bastard wanted proof and just couldn’t take my word for it so now I had to do all of this extra shit.
I was fueled with too much anger to not see this through.
Less than an hour later, I sat on the edge of the hospital bed wearing the paper-thin robe with my ass out as I stared at the wall.
Part of me wanted the doctor to tell me I was pregnant.
The other part of me wanted her to tell me I wasn’t.
Part of me wanted to wake up and realize none of this had happened and it was all a bad dream.
I thought back to the waiting room that I had been sitting in for twenty minutes that smelled like coffee and hand sanitizer.
Pregnant women sat in tiny colorful chairs beside their husbands; boyfriends sat next to their girlfriends and looked at them lovingly.
They held purses, rubbed backs while the women filled out paperwork, and were there to offer emotional support.
Then there was me, alone.
Cozart offered to pay for the procedure to be done as I couldn’t afford the four or five hundred it cost to end a life.
His presence would have meant more than him offering to throw pennies at me.
I couldn’t have his presence because he was married.
He wore that title like a badge of honor but conveniently forgot when it was time to fuck me.
After my name was called, my blood pressure was taken, height and weight recorded, piss test, and blood was drawn I was escorted into this room and told to strip.
I was sure that after the doctor found out I was pregnant she would want to do a pelvic exam.
After sitting in the cold room for ten to fifteen minutes, the doctor walked in holding a tablet.
“Hi Ms. McDaniel, how are you?” The doctor asked me sweetly. I smiled as she sat down on her stool.
“I’m doing great. I took a pregnancy test, and it was positive and I haven’t seen my period. I have had a few symptoms a little nausea and some breast tenderness,” I shrugged.
“Well, you can’t trust those drug store pregnancy tests that’s for sure because you aren’t pregnant. I tested your urine sample and your blood, and everything was negative,” she told me as my chest tightened.
I blinked rapidly unsure if I was hearing her correctly, “Are you sure?” I asked the doctor in disbelief.
“You’re not pregnant Ms. McDaniel. That take home test was likely a false positive. It happens sometimes. Your hormone levels are completely normal.”
Cozart was right, I wasn’t pregnant. The relief came instantly and I took a deep breath. The doctor laughed, as I smiled triumphantly.
“I take it that was the result you were hoping for?” she asked.
I nodded my head quickly as I thanked GOD that I wasn’t carrying a bastard child and I wasn’t tied to Co forever.
I wasn’t about to become somebody’s hidden secret or have to be a murderer and kill the child of the man I loved.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, anger followed.
Co had shown me how shitty he would have treated me if I was really pregnant.
The doctor continued talking about reasons my period could be late.
Stress. Hormones. Seasonal allergies. New Medication.
I had barely heard what she was saying because my mind was so transfixed on how terrible Co had been to me. By the time I got back to my car, my phone buzzed. I didn’t have to look at the name to know who it was.
FN DEAD BEAT: You go to the doctor yet?
Cozart Walker didn’t need to know that he was right.
I had spent a year giving him access to my body, and he treated me like I was average the minute he thought our fun had real consequences.
He deserved to sweat for a while. I needed some time to figure out how I was going to make him pay for treating me like shit.
I looked down at my perfectly flat stomach.
Me: No.
FN DEAD BEAT: When you going?
Me: I’ll let you know.
FN DEAD BEAT: You need to handle this.
I laughed humorously under my breath. “What’s wrong Co, want to make sure all your loose ends are tied up before you pursue your crush or you scared wifey will find out about your side baby?” I asked aloud.
I wasn’t pregnant but Cozart didn’t need to know that. For the first time in our entire relationship, I had something he wanted besides pussy. I had his peace of mind, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to give it back so soon.