Chapter 25- Pray for me
? who gon’ pray for me
take my pain for me
sing a song for me ?
PRAY FOR ME- THE WEEKEND FT KENDRICK LAMAR
A week later and I was discharged from the hospital with a long scar stitch on my left forearm and a complete first trimester.
The bump of my belly becoming a little observable so I did as much to get involved in wearing oversized tops.
Well, I still had to stay at home for another week cause Megan won’t let me move an inch and my parents secretly pleaded with her to keep me there so they could have a chance to talk to me.
And I laughed in the face of chances.
hahahaha.
But today has been two weeks since my discharge and I’m on a ride to school with Meredith.
Believe in me when I say this ride was as quiet as a graveyard.
And that’s a little too odd for her.
“sooo..” and she had to begin
“so?” my attention now on her.
Ever since Meredith found out about my condition at the hospital, she’s been treating me like I could break the next second.
“how’ve you been?” trying to sound cheerful but failing woefully.
“all the same” I had diverted my eyes to the road once more, shrugging to my response.
“what of the… uh-”
“Meredith?” summoning her out of the awkwardness.
“yeah?”
” if you want to ask about the baby, you don’t need to feel shy about it”
” I know, it’s just…” she halted her explanation. But I need to know.
“it’s just what?”
She sighed as she finally started to pour out her mind ” it’s just that I feel like you’re in this situation because of me , so asking you ‘hey, how ya doing?’ or ‘how is the baby kicking?’ feels so much as a heavy stone on my chest”
“what makes you think you’re the cause of anything?” I asked her
“well for starters, if it wasn’t for me, you couldn’t have gone to that party where that douche took advantage of you”
I didn’t say a word because in a way, she’s saying the truth.
But she also came through for me.
The silence didn’t go unnoticed by her, for she looked crestfallen.
“Whenever I try to do something nice for someone I always end up regretting, cause instead of making them happy, they always seem to wish that I never did it ” I took a glimpse of her again as she muttered these words more to herself than me.
But I am pretty sure she knows I heard, so I let her speak on.
” I’m the last kid of my family, we’re five children. My parents bargained on having only four kids but since I showed up as a plus one, I’ve always been seen as a mistake. It wasn’t just the fact that my parents always looked at me like something they could have avoided but also the fact that I do prove their theories right ” She gave herself a pause as her eyes became misty.
” Some years back when I was still a kid, I wanted to go see a friend at night. Mom and Dad were against me going cause the alley which she lived in wasn’t at all the safest, but I ignored them, going ahead by the way and made my older brother come with me. We walked through the dark alley alone in peace, but on our way back a group of guys attacked me and my brother began fighting them. He fought so hard but it wasn’t enough, they beat him. Iris they beat him till he was bloodied and unconscious. My brother had to undergo four surgeries to be normal. He sustained a spinal injury, two broken ribs, an internal hemorrhage in his skull and lost a kidney. My brother went into coma for six months.”
okay, her story is a lot hurtful than I expected.
” That’s not all. Last year on my parents anniversary, I wanted to surprise them-m” her lips were quivering. At this point she’s already broken into an internal sob.
I placed my hand on her thigh to remind her that she isn’t alone.
” I wanted to do something that will change their thoughts about me. So I decided to bake a cake, No one was home and I put my plans to action.” a sad ghost of a smile hovering on her lips.
” But as usual something always has to go wrong. Little gas here and flames there, the next thing I know our house was on fire. I was lucky to have escaped but my parents saw it as another bad luck for themselves. When they heard their home was on fire, they called my other siblings to make sure they were safe, but they didn’t call me. They got to the scene expecting to hear I was lost in the accident but to their disappointment I was alive. In the presence of everyone at the scene they expressed how much they hated me, how much they wished I was diminished in the flames, how much they regretted having me” she was in full tears now. This is definitely a day she doesn’t like remembering.
“They showed no qualms about their display in public, that’s what made me realize they said the truth, I was nothing but pain to them. I cried, I cried so bad. All I wanted to do was make them happy but I ended up being rejected. That was when a lady police officer comforted me and took me under her. We moved to this town where i started school and met you” She turned to me with a smile on her tear drenched face.
I couldn’t help but smile back. She had a rough past and here I am making her feel a lot more guilty than necessary.
” Iris, I’m sorry for everything. I really don’t know how to make it up to you ” she continued after fetching a handkerchief to wipe her face.
“Every thing happened for a reason. I’m sorry for making you feel worse” I held her hand.
She laughed loud and sniffled a tear.
“If I were you, I’ll do the same. By the way, my face looks hideous at the moment doesn’t it?” checking out her eyes in the rear view mirror.
“err… how do you say yes without sounding mean?” really. She looks like she was just washed up ashore.
But she laughed again at my words and I joined in the happiness.
She has been through a lot but she’s still strong. Her parents were simply stupid to let her go.
But the thing is, she had a redeemer. but me? who’s gonna pray for me?.
¥¥¥¥¥¥
Lunch time had gone in a blur and I’m on my way to a class. Holding my books to my stomach to hide my bump, I kept my head low and walked at a speed incomprehensible to human movement.
I hoped the pace would get me to class and back without getting into trouble, but I had to be proven wrong.
I walked into the most muscled wall in the middle of the hallway.
“what the-Shawn?”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
And I almost wet my underwear.
Hunter.
This made me realize we were alone in the hall.
A smirk crossed his features as he folded his arms, while I gazed at the new hall tiles.
“you’re really alive? last I saw you, you were whoring around. How’s your business been faring lately?” I could hear the smug smile on his lips.
But my composure was as stiff as a rod. I remained still to avoid provoking him.
“you know…” he turned to his locker to grab a book before shutting it “for a first timer, you weren’t as bad as I expected ”
You idiot.
“look at me” a curt command came from him, one I’ve learnt not to ignore.
But today i had to let that command pass. The baby to this soul is currently growing in me.
i don’t know about you, but I really don’t know what to do.
“I said look at me!”
Still no response from me.
He grabbed my stitched forearm and pulled me to himself.
“when did you become a stubborn dog !” he growled in my ear and I whimpered.
He threw me down to the floor as he released me and landed a kick on my back.
I felt a really painful sensation grace my lower abdomen.
“Hunter stop!” I cried out while crouching to hold my belly in case of impending hits.
“give me a reason why I should?” he replied grabbing a fistful of my hair to pull me off the ground.
“I… I… I’m..”
should I say it?
“you’re what? say something before I discover a reason to connect my knees with your stomach ” he hissed and held his knees at a threatening position.
And that was the only boost i needed.
“I’m p-pregnant”
His face scrunched in confusion foe a few seconds before realization struck him.
Maybe he’s gonna-
My back was slammed against the nearest locker.
“why do you still have it?” he asked like he was on the verge of exploding.
what?
My brows furrowed in lack of understanding and I’m sure he could read the expression clearly.
He glanced round the hall to make sure no one had heard or was capable of hearing.
In a low tune that almost resembled a growl he expatiated his point.
“It’s been four months Shawn !, Four fucking months since we met, why haven’t you gotten rid of that thing!”
thing? he expected me to abort it?
For the first time since I ever encountered Hunter, I felt angry and it was not at myself.
” I could have died aborting it you know, the doctor practically explained my immunity was weak to carry a child, talk less aborting it ”
“who cares if you live? what the hell are you useful for?!” he shouted into my face.
The feeling in my lower abdomen still lingering.
“If you know what is good for you, I’ll give you two weeks to make up your mind and get rid of that creature. Or else I’ll do it myself”
With that he threw me down once more with my weight landing on my waist and walked away.
This I believe, wasn’t an empty threat.
Getting up and ignoring the snaps my belly was making, I went to class.
______
“what are you going to do now?” Megan was the first to ask after narrating my ordeal with Hunter to them.
“For me, your parents should get involved at this moment” Meredith said with Clement and Megan nodding in approval.
“that’s not an option, they’ll brush it off like they always do” that’s always it with them.
” I doubt they will, they don’t even know their own kid is preggers ” Megan started. “plus they’ve been dead on worried about you. Believe me, I’m the only one they ask”
I snorted at Megan’s statement because I knew it was all eye service.
“Well if you don’t want to tell them so they’ll protect you, you can’t be here. Hunter’s parents got your own parents in their palm. Which means he can show up here at any time and your mom or dad can’t question it” Meredith added which was a whole lot true.
Our house is a business benefit from working with the Brooks. Here isn’t safe either.
” I have an idea” Clement propped up that pulled all our attention to him.
“what if you move in with my mom at the other end of town till you deliver?”
Isn’t his mom Megan’s mom?
” That sounds like a good plan but what of her own parents. won’t it be strange their kid got missing for the next five months?” Megan pipped in.
okay, maybe it’s Clement’s real mom.
So his parents are divorced. I’m learning more by the day.
” Just tell them I needed time away from them and I’ll be back ” I shrugged.
it’s not like they care that much.
“they’ll buy that?” Meredith asked fully displaying shock on her pretty eyes.
I nodded a reply and everyone held on to the plan.
“sooooo……. now can we have ice cream? if it’s good for the baby that is.” Megan asked like a whimsy little girl.
I chuckled at her character before ending with a smile on my lips.
“ice cream it is!” Megan jeered and every other person cheered in approval.
remember when I asked who’s going to pray for me?
i think they’re already doing that.