The Maternalistic Maid {UNEDITED; BOOK 2}

Chapter 5: Nausea

Shadé

Have you ever realized that the absence of someone can actually make a big difference in your life? For example, let's say you have a crush who somehow has always made it seem like the days just aren't long enough for you to interact with them. Then one day, said crush is absent for a week for some kind of vacation with the family. You notice your days without even seeing them or interacting with them seem so much longer and all you want to do is scroll through their Instagram feed to see what they're up to.

That's not how it was for me during Vincent's four-week absence but I just felt like using that as an example. Contrary to my example, this was the best four weeks I've ever experienced in a while. It was even better that he left almost immediately after our last conversation, which didn't end on a really good note.

I tried to be as nice as I possibly could but there's only so many ways you can be nice about turning down someone's affection. I didn't know why he felt that it was okay to just throw that L-word around like a party favor but I wasn't going to get my heart broken again. That word should have been reserved for the woman he was getting married to, Lady Melanie. Adding that just ends up complicating things.

It was a good thing I knew my place as a one-time sexual partner. Had I not been aware of that, and continued to pursue him, all of this really could have been messy and chaotic.

I was in an pretty good mood, despite the cramping pain in my abdomen and the mild nausea I've been feeling for a few days. I knew it was because my period was starting soon, which I was rather thankful for. But regardless, I was still happy because my 22nd birthday was tomorrow. I didn't care that I had to work, I was just thankful to reach another year of life.

Although I'd been looking forward to living to see a new year, age-wise, I couldn't help the anxious feeling I consistently felt after my night with Vincent. My period had started two days ago, so I was relieved to know I wasn't pregnant. But I still felt anxious for some reason. We didn't use protection because all he had was latex, but now that I'm in my right mind, I should have said no to him. One, because the morning after, he was too clingy and two, because he was a little too willing to have sex with me without a condom. He's claimed he's never had raw sex and he did show me some recent test results, but I needed to double check for myself.

I shook my head and cringed just thinking about it. "Whew child, let me make a mental note to get tested next week," I said to myself as I stretched my arms to relieve the soreness in them.

I was taking this day off to do my hair in knotless box braids. I had a relatively large amount of hair on my head so I was thankful to have started washing and parting my hair the night before so that I could dedicate my actual day off to braiding my hair. I apologized in advance to the ladies of the Staff's Quarters for washing my hair and blow drying it so late, but this wasn't anything like a thirty-minute hairstyle. In fact, I don't think I've ever been able to finish styling my hair in thirty minutes. At the minimum, I needed two hours; three-and-a-half if I wanted the parts to be neat.

I was sitting in the common area, watching some British reality TV show. I wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on, but I was rooting for the only African girl on this season.

"I'm gonna need to see more Black representation than this," I said to myself as I started on a new braid close to the crown of my head. It was pretty early in the evening but I was determined to finally be done with my hair.