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THEN, NINETEEN YEARS OLD
ELLIE'S FLOODED EYES seeped with bitter tears as she released a shaky breath, until, finally, she peered down at the home pregnancy test, her chest spigoted with distress as she gaped down at the two small lines. She was pregnant. She shook her head repeatedly as she slammed the test on the ground, shakily scurrying over to the packet to snatch at another. With her hands shivering, Ellie gulped down the sediment of her drink, and proceeded to pace around the bathroom until finally she could go to the bathroom once again.
Ellie obeyed the instructions on the package dauntlessly, consuming every secondary detail in its entirety, until the moment came to await the results once again. Five minutes could feel like an eternity when waiting was the main event. She attempted to even out the ragged breathing she had been enduring, until her eyes peeled open once her alarm beeped, her eyes immediately docking on the two lines below her once again.
"Fuck," she whispered, gentle tears fleeing the confinements of her tear ducts as she peeked around the empty house, "Fuck..."
Ellie's skin almost wilted away as she had been startled, and quickly stumbled in fear as her cellphone rang at an alarmingly piercing pitch, alerting her from the situation at hand. She shakily grabbed at the phone, and placed it to her ear as she awaited the receiver. It was none other than Merle Dixon.
"You home?" Merle inquired, his voice had been slurred and raspy, suggesting he was out on one of his favourite evenings. The strip club.
"I'm home," Ellie squeaked, her mind not barely comprehending their encounter as she concentrated wholly on the pregnancy test perching in her hand. "Merle, I'm pregnant."
Merle's voice cleared his throat over the receiver, breathing out heavily into the microphone as he steadied himself, almost as though he hadn't been listening, "Perfect!" he slurred, a smile evident on his lips from his voice, "My baby bro is outside your house, right this second! Just remember, we love you, Marilyn Monroe."
The dial of the phone rung out loudly as Merle had hung up, allowing Ellie to publish the puff of air she didn't know she was holding. She shakily gripped onto the counter as she observed Daryl's head bobbing outside her window, slowly approaching the front door as she felt her chest tightening. In a moment of sheer panic, Ellie quickly stuffed the pregnancy tests inside her purse, and tucked it behind her back as she plastered a feigned smile on her face to greet him as he entered the house.
"Your mom ain't here?" Daryl questioned as he entered, avoiding Ellie's eye contact entirely, ensuring he stared intently at the ground.
Ellie shook her head silently, unable to speak as she swallowed down the hard lump in her throat. Their encounters had never been quite as awkward as that one, leaving the two wondering what it was the other had been hiding. Ellie slowly approached the man, ensuring she kept her hand neatly tucked behind her back as she outstretched her free hand, allowing it to cup Daryl's face adoringly.
