Little Bit Yours 💜

Twelve

*Four and a half years ago*

Throwing up; that's the first experience Audrey has in her new apartment. She barely has her clothes hung up in her closet before she's launching herself into the bathroom. She groans, flushing the toilet before brushing her teeth and tongue furiously when she finishes. How can she be sick already? She just arrived in Washington.

Her phone lights up with Andy's face. He had been calling her nonstop since she walked away from him. Since he told her that he wasn't choosing her. It had been a week. She took a chance and moved across country just to get away from him. She had to start over. She presses the red button, ignoring the call.

Nausea is joined by cramping shortly after and she left crouching on the small couch of her tiny apartment. She opens up her phone to look at the calendar, thinking it's probably just her period. But that can't be right, everything over the last few months had been sort of a blur. And she realizes she never had her period last month. No, she stands up, going back into the bathroom to look in the full-length mirror on the door. She lifts her shirt, inspecting her stomach. She wasn't exactly someone that had ever had a flat stomach, always carrying around a bit of pudge. But she can definitely tell that she had gained weight. She began to laugh at herself, shaking her head.

After a ten-minute walk to the nearest pharmacy and the trek back to her apartment. She sits in the kitchen and waits for the pregnancy test to do its thing. Of course, it decided to snow on the way back, so she's left frozen, waiting for the water to boil to make hot chocolate. When she sees the two pink lines pop up on the tiny screen, the tears come automatically. She's on the floor in a sob, alone in a strange city, crying like an idiot. Make stupid choices like sleeping with a married man and get stupid consequences like having a child thousands of miles away from the father. She hears an erratic knock on the door, and she tries to wipe most of the tears away to make herself semi presentable before opening the door.

Standing in front of her is an attractive man around her age. His dark hair is wet from a shower, and he pushes it back out of his face, his dark eyes concerned. "I'm sorry. I heard you crying, loudly. I live next door and these walls are thin. I wanted to check on you." He glances inside, trying to decide if she's alone and she shuts the door slightly so he can't see past her."

"I'm really sorry. I'll try to keep it down." She hears the whistle of the kettle behind her. "Fuck!" She leaves the door open and rushes to the tiny stove, pulling it off and turning the stove off. The man is still in the doorway, watching her. She can tell he's trying to decide if he should fuck off or invite himself in. Frankly, she hopes he chooses the first, but before she can tell him that, he enters and closes the door behind him. "What are you doing?"

He smiles, small dimples appearing in his cheeks. "You're upset and alone. Let me help you. I'm Simon, by the way."

"I didn't ask," she retorts quickly.

Simon laughs, grabbing two mugs from the counter and grabs the cocoa packets, taking it upon himself to make them both cocoas. He glances at the pregnancy test, and she snatches it off the counter and tosses it into the trash. "I see. Where is the father?"

"Not here."

"Not here as in not on Earth, or not in Washington?"

She can't help the smile that forms and he notices, smirking at her. "He lives in Boston... with his wife."

"Oh..." He takes in a sharp intake of air and grimaces. "I'm sorry."

She shrugs, sitting at the small kitchen table as he sets the mugs on the table, sitting across from her. "Thank you."