AFTER YOU SAVED ME // ZESSA

Chapter 3: Anna

It was the girl from the reception desk. The blonde one who looked about my age.

"Hey," she says, running up to me and Zed, slightly out of breath, "my name is Anna. I work here. I could not help but overhear your situation, and I felt I could not let you go without knowing there's support here. I mean this is just my job, but I actually do care for the women who come in and out of these doors – some more than others if I am being honest," she says, looking at the older woman who just rudely brushed by us and into the clinic.

"Anyways, here is my number. Please feel free to call me if you ever want to discuss options for you and that baby. Seriously," Anna says, outstretching her arm to hand me a piece of paper.

I stare at her in shock. I do not know if I should feel like my privacy has been invaded – I am almost positive that breaks the HIPPA law – or if I should feel pitied and embarrassed. But honestly, all I am really feeling right now is grateful. Grateful that this stranger who does not even know me is standing in the middle of a parking lot offering a bit of help to a couple that is so, so lost.

"You don't have to do that. Really, I can figure this out," I answer, offering her an out incase she is only trying to be nice or fulfill some protocol the clinic mandates.

"No really, it's no problem. We all have our own messy problems, though I cannot imagine what you're going through. I don't just run after every person who comes here, but I am pretty sure I've seen you on campus before. I get coffee on the corner of 4th and Green. I swear I have seen you there and I thought, 'what if that were me'. I don't know... if someone, even someone who barely knows me, saw me struggling I would hope they would offer me the same."

A small smile touches my face and I take the piece of paper from her hand.

"Well, thank you Anna, I'll think about it," I reply, giving her a polite nod. Smiling widely back at me, she nods as well before turning around and heading back towards the clinic.

Before she enters the front doors, I impulsively shout out to her.

"My name is Tessa by the way! Maybe I will see you around the coffee shop once I figure all this out."

Anna smiles back and says, "I hope to see you around too, Tessa. And please let me know if I can help you with anything! I have a lot of information about this kind of thing you now!" Then, she gives me a quick wink and a wave before the glass doors shut behind her.

She has a point. Maybe I should text her about this.

Folding up the white piece of paper and placing it in my pocket, I turn my attention back to Zed. I almost forgot he was standing next to me – the presence of Anna such a sudden but welcome shock.

Looking down at me, he flashes me that smile I love so much before kissing my nose.

Pulling back, he whispers, "I think you should call her she seems great."

I nod in response, deciding I will text her in a couple days.

"And" he continues, "I think we should get going. It is a bit chilly out here and we have a lot to discuss." The smile on his face fades, but the grasp of his hand on mine gives me the strength to keep going.

We turn and make out way back to the car hand in hand, my feet dragging a bit as the events of the day spin around in my mind. Do I really want to drag Anna into all this drama? I mean she did offer, but it is a lot. I really need someone to talk to about this...baby. I am stuck between loving and hating it, with no way of knowing what to do next.

Just as we reach the car and I open the passenger side door, I hear a familiar shout in the distance.

"Fuck you, too," I hear a slurred, deep voice roar.

I feel my body stiffen and I swallow hard. Turning slightly to my left to peer across the street, I see what looks like an old hole-in-the-wall college bar. Squinting, I scan the windows but don't see any familiar faces. It is mostly empty aside from a few older men drinking beer and a female bartender wiping down the bar top.

Just as I turn back to get in the car, I hear a horrible retching sound. Snapping my head back towards the bar, my eyes search for the sound.

My eyes go wide as I find the source of the noise in the alley next to the bar.

Sprawled out on the filthy ground in a pile of his own vomit, eyes barely open, is Hardin Scott being violently ill.