Dopamine

9

Surprisingly the weeks had flown by with quick precision. Ebony began to feel less trapped and more like a woman in an intimate relationship. It completed boggled her mind, how quickly the two of them had adapted to a routine. She would go to work and then come back to find him sitting on the couch, typing away at his laptop. She had also grown accustom to his constant caresses and deep kisses. Even his never ending need for sex had become something she looked forward to. He smiled more, he laughed more....he was suddenly morphing into the Lawrence that she had once known.

She pushed the door open after unlocking with the spare key he had given her, walking into the house only to find it empty. She locked the door behind her and proceeded to walk up the stairs. She pulled her sweater off and tossed it onto the bed, heading toward the bathroom. She looked herself over in the mirror before turning on the faucet and splashing water on her face. She wet her hands and gently smoothed her hair back, prepping it to put into a puff. She used her free hand to pull the mirror cabinet open, searching for a pony tail holder. She felt around for one, growing frustrated when she ended up knocked things down.

As she continued to search her fingers brushed over the contents she paused when she felt something familiar. She pulled out a pink container and gasped. Realizing that it was her pill container. She released her hold on her hair and gripped it with both hands, staring down at the pills with wide eyes. She had completely forgotten to take her birth control. She had only been prescribed them because of her irregular menstrual cycle...her breath hitched at the thought of her period.

She hadn't started her period. She ran out of the bathroom and rummaged around in her sweater pocket, pulling out her phone and opening her calendar. She nearly dropped her phone as when she saw that the day she had marked to start her period had gone by. She sank onto the bed, her eyes wide and her chest rising rapidly. She felt like she was going to hyperventilate.

Her mind danced over all the times Lawrence had held her. They hadn't been using protection.

"Oh my God...," she cried, unable to stop herself. She could potentially be pregnant. A strong feeling of excitement washed over but quickly dissolved into an intense paranoia. Lawrence and her dad came to mind and she stood up, her heart racing.

The sound of heavy footsteps walking up the stairs caught her attention and she grabbed the discarded pill container, her eyes meeting Lawrence's as he walked in.

He raised a brow at her, a small smile on his face until his eyes landed on the pills in her hand. He immediately scowled, walked toward her and took it.

"You don't need to take these anymore." He stated calmly as he moved toward the bathroom.

"I could be pregnant." She called after him, following closely behind him.

"I know, which is why you don't need these."

She watched as he tossed them into the trash bin and anger rushed through her. "You knew I hadn't been taking them...," she mumbled, "you didn't even try to remind me and you never used a condom, I never even mentioned you using one...I was so distracted with all of this drama and the fact that I was starting to fa...that you were..."

He turned to look at her, leaning against the sink. "You said you wanted children, think of this as your family extending."

At the mention of her family it all dawned on her. "You did this on purpose, didn't you? Is this a part of your plan, Lawrence? Black mailing me, putting my dad on blast, getting me pregnant...so that you had some physical proof that I was yours?"

He stayed silent and yet his silence seemed to be screaming.

"You sick son of a bitch!" She snapped, "I told you! I told you I didn't want to be any more involved in this than I already was!"

"You're an idiot if you really thought that you could just be neutral throughout this situation!"

"Bringing a baby into this mess won't help solve anything!"

They stared at each other for a long while and then she broke down, tears spilling down her cheeks. His eyes widened and he sat up, taking a step toward her. She ran from the room before he could so much as reach for her.

She snatched up her sweater and sprinted out of the room and down the stairs, headed for the front door. Just as she grabbed for the door knob, Lawrence slammed the door shut.

"Fuck, Ebony. You can't do this shit right now. You could be pregnant and if you are, you can't stress yourself out like this. Sit down, let's talk." He whispered.

She shook her head, sobbing, "You're the one stressing me out! I can't do this...I just can't deal with this anymore, Lawrence. This isn't fair to me! And if I am pregnant, this isn't fair to the baby...you can't...we can't...oh, please just let me go, leave me alone."

"Where are you going?" He asked after a moment of silence. She didn't answer and he leaned closer to her, his lips brushing her ear. "Talk to me, Ebony. You could be carrying my baby, I just need to make sure that where ever you go, you'll be okay."

She kept her hand on the door knob, mumbling, "To my parents'."

He stiffened at her answer but gave her slightly more space.

"Alright, fine."

She moved to pull the door open but he stopped her once more. There was a sick feeling of worry buried in the pit of stomach, a feeling that he knew but refused to acknowledge. He was losing her but then again, had he ever really had her?

"Kiss me first." He demanded, thought he meant for it to be more of a silent question.

She froze and in that moment he knew that she was truly stuck between what he knew she had begun to feel for him over the past couple of weeks and the situation at hand.

"Come on, baby." He said softly, the term of endearment making his words seem gentle, "Give it to me and you can go."

She hesitated before releasing the door knob and turning to look up at him. She leaned up, tilting her head to the right, meeting his lips. She meant for the kiss to be a quick peck on the lips but it soon spiraled out of control. Lawrence cupped the back of her neck, tilting her head further back, kissing her with a passionate abandon that halted all of her worry for a moment.

Time seemed to pause as the kiss went on and on and on until he pulled away after pecking her lips once more. He ran a thumb over her lips before stepping back, pushing her lightly toward the door.

"Go before I realize that letting you leave is the last thing that I want to do."