Chapter 50: Chapter 50

Chapter 50

ALICIA

Happy shouts echo all around me as Clarissa and ten of her ex high school classmates bounce around a ball. Truth be told, it looks like the ball is bouncing around them instead. They're all a sweaty mess. I can't even call it football anymore, it's more like bodyball, with the way Clarissa keeps tripping and falling, bringing a new meaning to the art of playing football.

The others are doing good, but she - just, no.

Luckily, no one else in the vast field has taken an interest in what they're doing as they're fully engrossed in their own brand of sports. Why I decided to follow them in the first place, beats me, especially as all I've been doing is sitting and watching as I silently bad mouth them - actually - Clarissa.

It's a wonder I was able to leave the house, what with this latest threat to Ash. I had to plead with him like it was going out of fashion so he could allow me leave. Luckily, he eventually caved in and made sure Night eyes and Rip brought me. They're somewhere around now, blending into the shadows and keeping an eye on me. It makes me feel smothered, but there's little or nothing I can do about it.

I sit up straight as another wave of nausea hits me. I try to swallow it down but my body is not having it. When I know I can't contain it any longer, I launch up, clutching my stomach as I lurch to the side like a drunk, where I offload the contents of my stomach - what's left of it - onto the dry patch of grass.

I feel a shade better as I amble back to the wooden bench to watch, rather, bad mouth Clarissa. I watch as she breaks away from the others and jogs to where I'm seating. She picks up the water bottle from beside me and cleans the sweat from her face before asking in a breathless voice. "Allergy still acting up?"

Yeah, 'cause allergies would make me puke up to three times now.

"Dunno." I say instead, shrugging.

She flops onto the bench and cranks her neck this way and that. "Don't say it, I know I can never be a Lionel Messi."

Our eyes connect and we both sputter out laughter. "Honestly, you're not all that bad."

She groans into her open palms. "You're just saying that 'cause we're besties. I was a mess out there." She points to the field where the others are still playing. "It's best if I just stay out here with you."

"Come on, Clar, don't be a sissy, go out there and scrore some goals. I'm rooting for you."

She rolls her eyes. "Easy for you to say. And to think I was the one who planned this disaster. It's a wonder they're not already booing me."

I sigh as I place a hand on her's, deciding it's best to change the subject, 'cause when she gets this way, it's difficult to stop her. "So tell me, have you made your move with Night eyes yet?"

This snaps her out of her pity party as she straightens and leans close to me. "I got his number when he dropped you off." Her eyes suddenly widen. "Even the other guy with him is hot as fuck. Where did Ash get these guys from?"

I shrug. "I don't butt into his business."

Clarissa is quiet for a few seconds before she speaks. "I still can't believe you're dating The Ash Thunder, and then you go and move in with him?" She shakes her head as her eyes widen and a look of wonder crosses her features. "That's taking your relationship to the next level."

I say nothing because she doesn't need to know what prompted it. I just hope it gets settled quickly because I would like to move back to the apartment. Alright, I'm kidding. I'd like to move to a better apartment. That flat sucks. It's not like I don't like living with Ash, because I do. It actually makes me feel like I'm mooching off him. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served to the room, without fail at 8 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, and 6, in the evening, like its a five star hotel, and then when Ash gets back from work, wild ferocious love-making. . . rather, fucking, takes place.

The man is insatiable when it comes to my body. He doesn't give me a moment's respite in that department, and I welcome it, because just like him, I can't get enough.

From the corner of my eyes, I see Clarissa's classmates calling on her. "They're waiting for you, Clar. Go on and finish what you alone started."

She groans loudly before standing. "Alright, but I'm getting a double dose of sandwiches for all this trouble." She gesticulates to the basket of food beside me.

I wave her words away and watch as she jogs off. Once she's a distance away from me, I bring out the plastic stick I wrapped in foil paper and peer at it. Imagine if Ash had seen it. I shudder just thinking about it. What I need to do is confirm if the double lines I'm seeing on it is actually correct.

I'm still ruminating about that fact when my phone rings. As usual, I don't check who it is before picking.

"What's up, sis?" Tanya's loud and cheery voice makes me cringe.

"Hey, T, how are you? Where are you? When are you coming back?"

"Whoa! Slow your roll, already. Anyone listening to our conversation will think I've been gone for almost a year."

I roll my eyes at her words. "Tanya, just tell me when you're coming back so I can come-"

"Naah! There's no need for that, I'll come over to the. . ."

I don't hear the rest of her words because a loud shout echoes off from the field, cutting them off. When I look towards the area it came from, I notice there's some commotion on the field. Clarissa's friends have stopped playing, and instead, formed an uneven circle. I crane my neck but from this distance, I'm not able to see anything.

"Hey, T, I'll call you back in a second, okay."

"No, wait-" Tanya objects, but I cut the call and stand to go check out what the fuss is all about.

Frenzied, heated words, ebb and flow all around me as I move closer. It's like a real unorganized mob, trying to push through ten sweaty females.

The first thing I see when I barge into their tight circle and peer through it is something out of a horror movie. The ground is stained red. So red. Too red for my liking. There's blood everywhere, and the worst of it is I think it's streaming from one of Clarissa's friend. I edge closer, wanting to know who it's pooling out from. Who I see lying and clutching her leg on the ground is not someone I anticipated anything would happen to.

"Clarissa?" I push through and squat beside her on the ground. Her eyes are closed tightly, and she's clutching her bloody leg and murmuring unintelligible words.

Someone stoops beside me and a high pitched voice chatters off. "We were playing football, and she suddenly screamed and fell. Looks like there was some broken glass on the ground and-"

I stand immediately and call on Night eyes, who materializes beside me and carries Clarissa inside the car. We head straight to the hospital.

Once there, she's taken straight to the ER but we're not allowed to go in with her. I can't sit still, I pace the length and breadth of the waiting room, ignoring annoying looks from the other occupants there. Night eyes and Rip are silent as they sit and wait with me, although I can clearly see Night eyes mouth is set in a tight hard line.

Luckily, I don't have to wait for long. A nurse comes back in bearing both good and bad news.

Good news - Clarissa will be just fine after she gets some stitches in her leg, but the bad news is she's lost a lot of blood and needs at least a bag of blood to regain it.

Second bad news - The hospital's blood bank doesn't have anymore blood, and can anyone of us donate blood?

Night eyes, Rip and I stare at each other, momentarily at a loss of what to do, and then each of us begins to speak at the same time.

"I can donate!" We all say at the same time.

We stare at each other, and then the tenseness seeps out of us as we all burst into laughter. Even the nurse cracks a smile. "Here's what we can do." She suggests. "I'll take all your blood samples and scan them for any infections, as well as to check if any fits her blood type."

She directs us to the lab where a lab attendant takes our blood samples. The scanning doesn't take too long, about twenty minutes give or take, and then the nurse reappears and calls me into the main section of the hospital.

"Miss. Alicia, I called you in here and away from your friends, because I want to give you the news privately. First of all, your blood type does not fit with your friend's. Secondly, and perhaps, most importantly, at least for you, congratulations, you're pregnant."

I close my eyes against the sudden wave of nausea threatening to engulf me.

So . . . it's really true.