An Ocean of Consequences

Chapter Fourteen - Pt. One

(1072 words)

The next three days went by easier than expected. My parents were in brighter moods than I had seen them in a very long time. They alluded to conversations they had while at the Plateau. Something about an election and representatives from different groups. It sounded like things would change after all, and instead of angering them, it made them seem excited about the future. While they were happy, I was just trying to make it through each day with my sanity.

My mother seemed content with her warning to me, and had been nothing but kind since that night. I kept up my routine of cooking overly extravagant meals and keeping to myself busy with reading or cleaning in between. Day by day, I calmed down a little more, but my extended period of anxiety had wreaked havoc on my body. I felt fatigued, achy, and could not keep down much of anything I ate.

That afternoon I had tried unsuccessfully to eat lunch, and emerged from Serah's room, bumping into my mother.

"Oh, Keerah, you look horrible!" Thanks, Mother, I thought.

"I'm not feeling very well," I admitted, hoping to gain some sympathy.

"Oh, sweety, no..." my mother cooed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I tried not to flinch. "Come sit down." She moved me towards the breakfast bar and I sat.

"I must have caught something," I told her. "I've been throwing up for the past few days."

"I have just the thing," she said, and went to prepare me a drink. T and Valin were nearby carrying on a conversation, but paused, amused at the sight of my mother in the kitchen. I smiled at them both, but Valin continued watching my mother with suspicion. He still did not trust her. I did not trust my mother's cooking one bit, but she still had inherent maternal skills for creating home remedies when someone was sick.

After a couple of minutes, she brought me a steaming mug. I took it from her. It was some kind of tea, but had fresh mint leaves floating in it. Smelling it instantly soothed my stomach. I took a sip. It slid hotly down inside my chest, followed by a cooling sensation that settled into my stomach.

I sighed with relief. "Just what I needed," I told her with a smile.

She smiled back with a proud nod. "That was the only thing that kept me from getting ill when I was expecting you and your sister." She walked around the bar and patted me on the head. "If you had gotten married when you had planned to, I would think you were pregnant rather than sick!" She laughed and walked away.

My body turned to ice.

Pregnant? There was no way I was pregnant, right? Only the very first time Valin and I were together did we do anything to put me at risk. We had been extremely careful since. But how long had it been since my last period? Three, four weeks?

No. It had been around my birthday. I remembered staying home for a couple days instead of going to the beach. How long had that been? I did the math in my head.

Eight weeks.

I froze. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. I instinctively looked towards Valin. When he looked back at me, his brow furrowed with worry.

T's communication device went off and he stepped aside. Valin made his way over to me and I tried not to cry. "What's wrong?" he whispered, leaning over the counter towards me.

I tried to find the will to speak. I contemplated not telling him, but was too afraid to keep it to myself. "Mother said this is the only drink that could keep her from getting sick when she was..." I could hardly say the word. "Pregnant."

He took one look at me and understood. His face went pale and a look of sheer terror crossed his face. He looked like he wanted to say something—anything that would make it better, but nothing could. "H-how...?"

I covered my mouth to hide my quivering chin. I was scared, yes, but the last thing I wanted to do was cause Valin pain.

I looked up at the swimming emotion in his gorgeous eyes and burst into tears. Valin tried to shush me but I failed to stop myself from sobbing. Valin scanned the room, then helped me from my chair and walked me down the hall to my old bedroom.

We squeezed through the door but he did not close it. "Keerah, please, stop crying."

"What did I do? What did I...?" I broke off again into sobs. Valin pulled me to his chest and stroked my hair to soothe me. "I told you it was fine, that we would be fine, and now everyone will know what we did. It's all my fault."

"Stop it." He grabbed my face and forced me to look him in the eyes. "You did not do this alone and you will not have to do anything else alone. You have me. We will figure this out."

He pulled me close and kissed me. I breathed in a calming breath while my lips were against his. The kiss ended too soon. 

"Have you confirmed it yet?" he asked. I shook my head. "Is there a way you can?"

I nodded and backed away from him to wipe my eyes. "Yes, I have a testing strip in one of my lab kits."

"Take the test tonight after everyone goes to bed. I'll meet you." He rubbed his hands up and down my arms in support. "If it's positive... There is no reason to worry about anything yet. We can wait, figure things out. We have time." I nodded.

I heard the door slide open further, and looked over to find T standing in the doorway.

He peered at us. "What are you two on about?" he asked with suspicion.

I wiped my eyes, trying to think of something innocent, but my mind was too clouded. "Just Mother being Mother again," Valin said in my stead.

My face crumpled, and I started to cry. T looked at me with pity. "Oh, Keerah, you can't let her get to you like this." He walked over and wrapped me in his big arms. I cried more for having to lie to him. "Everything will be all right."

If only he knew.