Chapter 3 #3
“There is also a key for the house. If you go anywhere, make sure to lock up. I should be back around six.”
“Okay.” Coast reacted. “Thanks.”
She couldn’t believe she’d called her mom.
The last thing she needed was that woman in her business, trying to give her advice when her own life was a mess.
Shaking her head, Coast decided to take another shower after brushing her teeth and flossing.
She didn’t have to work until later tonight, so she was going to relax until then if possible.
“This ain’t no free ride, Coast. If you plan on sticking around, you have to pull your weight. Clean up after yourself at least. I need volunteers sometimes at the Haven too.”
“I have two, sometimes three jobs, Bee. I just need to breathe before I figure out my next move. This isn’t a permanent situation.”
“Nothing ever is with you,” was all she heard as her auntie shuffled away.
Coast had to start her shift at Comfort Kitchen at 5:00, so she figured she might as well get her shit together so she could push through the four hours she signed up for.
Later, she planned to pick up some Speedy Eats orders since she wouldn’t be working at the lounge tonight.
Deciding on a mineral blue high waisted midi dance skirt, she paired it with a simple white baby tee and completed the look with a pair of matching slides.
She grabbed her sneakers to take with her for her shift and slung her hobo bag over her shoulder.
With her phone also in hand, she shuffled down the hall to the front door as keys rattled outside it.
Out of breath, arms full of groceries, Bee burst inside with her gold Chanel shades propped on top of her head as she kicked the door shut with her foot.
“Well, it’s nice to see you moving around.” She huffed.
“Don’t want to be late for work.” Coast plastered a fake smile over her lips.
“Before you go, take this with you.” Bee dug around the brown paper bag in her arms and pulled out a slim rectangular box.
The words Clear Blue were in bold print on the side, and Coast’s stomach tanked.
“I work around a lot of young people. Do you know how many girls have come into that home pregnant?” She held the test out for Coast to take.
“I’m not pregnant,” she denied.
“Then you won’t mind taking it.” Bee shrugged. “You plan on making it back for dinner? I’m making chicken parm and pasta.” She moved on casually as if she hadn’t dropped a bomb on Coast, who snatched the test from her.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled, taking the box in her hand and examining it.
She was kind of relieved that she hadn’t been the one to buy it, but she didn’t like Bee in her business.
Lowering her bag onto an accent table with a fresh vase of white roses, Coast sighed and leaned against it.
She was only twenty-seven years old. Most of her life she’d spent not planting roots and figuring out a way to survive while she lived out her own adventures.
She’d been backpacking through Europe and slept on different campgrounds and in various hostels.
With all her worldly travels, she seemed to always be looking for something but never finding it.
She didn’t know what she expected in Ree Heights, but a baby damn sure wasn’t it.
Facing the inevitable, she ducked into the bathroom off to the side of Bee’s living room and quietly closed the door behind her.
After following the instructions to the letter, she set the test on the back of the toilet and perched herself on the edge of the clawfoot tub.
Her legs were in no condition to hold her up while she waited the allotted time for the test results.
Staring at the wall, the seconds seemed to stretch too long.
“I can’t be pregnant,” she muttered.
When she finally looked, her heart skipped several beats.
A plus sign. It was clear. Unmistakable.
Surprisingly, her first reaction wasn’t tears or blind panic as she held the stick in her hand.
She sat still, her mind immediately running through logistics.
Money. Work. Housing. Sipes. That last part churned her stomach, and she jumped up.
Flipping the lid to the toilet up, she spewed the half an omelet she managed to eat along with the orange juice she washed it down with.
With both hands gripping a side of the toilet, the future rearranged itself without asking her permission.
Once the weight of her reality settled in, a twinge of fear crept up, followed by a protective instinct she didn’t know she had.
Pressing her hand against her stomach, she flushed the toilet and stood tall.
“This changes everything,” she whispered to herself.
Shoving the test back into the box, she stepped out of the bathroom.
With a bottled water in one hand and a bowl of fruit in the other, Bee sauntered toward her from the kitchen. She didn’t need her to speak to know the results. Coast looked defeated and alarmed, a red undertone flushing her face.
“I need to get to work.” She rushed past her aunt to grab her purse so she could go.
“You can stay here as long as you need to, Coast. You and that baby.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m not going to be some little project for you,” she snapped, grabbing the strap to her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I can take care of myself.”
“Then why show up on my doorstep?” Bee’s brows cinched together. “You obviously have nowhere to go. Take the handout. I don’t give those to everybody.”
“All you do is go around trying to fix everything and make things right for people you don’t even know. I’m not one of these social work cases. I know how to provide for myself.”
“And where exactly has that gotten you?” Bee called her out. “Does this child even have a father?”
“That’s none of your damn business!” Coast screamed, tears misting her eyes.
“I think it is.” Bee nodded. “I know a hell of a lot more about situations like this than you think I do. You’re not the first girl to get pregnant and not have much of a present or future.
The world is full of that, and a lot of them come across the doorstep of Haven House, lost, confused, and needing support.
You said yourself you’re working two, sometimes three jobs at a time, and still barely getting by.
How do you plan to do that with a child? ”
Coast had no rebuttal. Bee made her point. Pivoting on her heel, she marched toward the door and slammed it shut behind her. She planned to go about the rest of the day like the last five minutes hadn’t happened.