DALIA'S POV
The huge double doors slammed shut behind me, as I stumbled into the empty hallway. Various emotions washed over me, my cheeks burning from embarrassment and my eyes glossy with tears. I let out a heavy sigh, and briefly leaned against the wall nearest to me as I pulled off my shoes and gathered the length of my dress. My moment of peace was short-lived, as I heard the doors open again, followed by brisk footsteps. I whipped my head back to see Jeffrey, rushing out the doors behind me.“Dalia!” His voice boomed throughout the hallway, and shook me to my spine. The scowl plastered on his face told me he was probably the only person more mortified by the situation than myself. Either edge of his lips were down-turned, and his brows furrowed at the center of his forehead, causing the stress lines he so desperately tried to hide to appear. As he approached me, I noticed the veins pulsing underneath his sweaty skin, it was almost as though they were trying to pop out of his temples. I took a deep breath as I felt the nausea rising my throat again, and concluded I needed to make a run for it.Gathering my dress a little higher with one of my hands, and holding my pair of shoes in the other, I began to sprint down the hallway. Thoroughly ignoring Jeffery, who continued to shout my name, I reached the end of the hall, and finally saw a sign which read 'conveniences'. I felt as the vomit moved up and down my throat and chest, reaching the very roof of my mouth at times, and threatening to force its way out whenever I would take too large a step. It seemed like I had run from the hall to the restroom at light speed, my sheer humiliation and Jeffery's angry voice being responsible for this. I shook the thought away, carelessly dropping my shoes to the ground, and threw myself at the open W/C in the first stall I saw. Forgetting to even shut the door behind me, I wrapped both arms around the bowl and emptied my guts inside.As my stomach started to hurt from the wrenching, I fell to the floor, resting my back against the iron divider, and silently thanking the universe for the sleek back which allowed me to throw up without worrying about my hair getting in the way. The sound of swirling water rose from another stall, and it occurred to me for the first time since I came bursting into the bathroom that I was not alone. I held my breath and listened intently to the gentle clanks of a pair of block heels as they collided with the marble tiles. My eyes followed the shoes from underneath the divider until I was able to get a clear view of their owner. A tall, dark woman appeared before me, smiling tightly, with her head tilted sideways as if in question of my predicament. I only managed to shrug in response. The woman was dressed in a knee-length dress, covered in bright gold sequence, that made tiny, almost inaudible sounds as she swayed her way to the sinks. There was a knock on the main door, and my eyes quickly averted from her dress.“Dalia?” Jeffrey stood with his arms crossed at the entrance of the bathroom, right opposite my stall.“Fuck.” I muttered, reaching across to press the round silver button above the bowl. The sound of flushing water filled the room, as I struggled to my feet.“What the hell was that? What the hell is this?” He demanded, pointing in my direction.“Boss, I'm so, so, incredibly sorry.” I began. “I don't know how it happened, I wasn't even feeling sick before we got on stage. Maybe it was something in the drinks? Or the-”“I don't give a damn what it was, Dalia! You just embarrassed us in front of eighty percent of Hollywood.” Jeffrey snapped at me, cutting me short, and sparing us all the pain of hearing the long list of possibilities my mind had conjured up At that moment.“I'm sorry.” I whispered.“Yes, I bet you are.” Jeffrey responded, his voice full of what I presumed to be disappointment. “Get home safe.” He shook his head and took his leave, quietly closing the door behind him. I shut my eyes, and took a deep breath, before dragging myself to the sinks. Gold sequence lady stood quietly for a few seconds, before dipping her hand in her purse, and slowly sliding something over to me.My eyes nearly popped out my head when she removed her hand to reveal the item she had passed to me.“I heard the vomiting.” She explained. I simply nodded and thanked her, as I picked up the brand-new pregnancy test. I make to ask why she just had one of them laying in her purse, but before I can gather enough courage to, gold sequence lady wipes her hands, and exits the restroom, leaving me to my woes.It would not be the first time I had taken a pregnancy test, yet I read the instructions over and over, as though I had never seen one before. My hands trembled, as I ripped the packaging open and brought out the test stick. Looking up in the mirror, I catch the terror in my composure.“I can't be pregnant.” I declared, in a flimsy attempt to convince my reflection. “I have student debt to pay, and Jeffrey still hasn't given me that raise… although, after what happened tonight, I should probably just forget all about that.” I took off the cap and made my way to another stall, avoiding the stench of vomit like it were not my own. I carefully positioned the stick right underneath me, as I stood over the bowl, bent my knees slightly and peed.“Now, we wait.”EROS’S POV.I stood motionless, shocked, and covered in a layer of vomit from the chest down. A hush fell on the room for a brief moment, before the silence was broken by several gasps, followed shortly by the sound of clicking cameras, and flashes. The situation had not yet fully registered in my brain, until I turned to meet Jeffrey's terrified eyes. He seemed frozen to one spot, with his mouth hanging open, as the very person responsible for the mess ran off of the stage, and out of the room."Damn, who's that?" A high pitched voice from the audience said. The voice was laced in malicious intent, whoever had spoken those words intended only to cause a stir. Aside that, it sounded pretty generic, like it could belong to just anyone. I rolled my eyes at the thought straightened my back and turned back to the crowd, and smiled in a way that felt vaguely out of character."That, is somebody who may have already had a bit too much to drink." I retorted, and chuckled lightly. The joke e
DALIA'S POVJeffrey had sent a waitress to make sure I got home safe. She arrived with some aspirin, a big bottle of water, a change of brand new clothes, and a bag to carry my soiled dress in."You're a life saver." I whispered, before popping two pills in my mouth. I threw my head back, and chugged down more than half of the bottle of water in a single go, leaving just a little in case I got thirsty on the ride home.I peeled my dress off, took off the tags, and slipped on the pair of grey, baggy sweatpants and black T-shirt she had brought for me. Once I was fully dressed, I turned to pick up my shoes. I couldn't possibly wear six inch stilettos with the clothes I had on right now, even if it was just to the front door. I considered going caveman style, and walking barefoot, but something told me Jeffrey would not like that very much."You wouldn't happen to have a pair of size seven sneakers here, would you?" I asked, my voice drenched in sarcasm."Uhm, no." The waitress chuckled
DALIA'S POVI woke up on the cold floor in my kitchen, to the sound of my phone buzzing violently where it lay on the counter top. I struggled to stand to my feet, and dragged myself over to my kitchen island, picking up my phone just as it stopped ringing. The previous night had been such a terrible disaster, I wanted so bad to believe it was nothing more than an extremely detailed nightmare. The broken test stick laying not too far from me, the missed calls from my boss and a million texts from Emily told me it was not."Ugh, my head." I winced, clutching the side of my head with my hand, as I called Jeffrey right back. He picked up on the first ring."Dalia? Are you okay?" His voiced pierced through my ears, making my head hurt even more."I don't feel too good, Boss.""Yeah, you don't sound too good either. I've been calling you all morning, last night wasn't a total disaster. You're lucky, Eros West is a forgiving, understanding man." From the sound of it, it seemed like the part
EROS' POVI sat alone in my office when I heard a gentle knock on the door."Enter." I said, from behind the screen of my laptop, my eyes fixed on the figures in bold, black font. I knew exactly who it was that had come in. Not merely because he was the only person scheduled to meet with me at this time, but because I had heard his footsteps as he approached my office. "Mr. Starr, top of the morning to you." I greeted. Over the years of our friendship, I had gained the ability of knowing when Jeffrey was coming from quite a remarkable distance away, simply from the way he walked. That prosthetic left leg of his made it incredibly easy, as every second step he took was always louder than the first."Pleasant morning, Eros." He replied, shutting the door behind him. I finally looked up from my computer to see him walking over to my desk. He was dressed in a white, yellow, and blue plaid dress shirt, with rolled up sleeves. His pants were made from a fine, navy blue khaki like fabric, an
DALIA'S POVFor some reason, the pizza tasted so good this afternoon. I munched down all six slices, and had a big size Coke to wash it down. After I was done eating, I got up, finally ready to clean the apartment. I started by wiping down the kitchen surfaces with a damp cloth, and offloading the dishwasher. I stacked the plates, and pans in their respective shelves, and stored the cutlery and cups back in the drawers. Soon, I moved into the living room. I stared at just how untidy it was. The floor was littered with all sorts of things, from empty Doritos packaging, to plastic hair rollers, shoes, and of course, the dress from last night, which now reeked of vomit.I braced myself, holding my breath before walking over to where the dress lay. It wasn’t until I picked it up from the ground that I saw the bottle of wine that had tipped over and emptied on the floor, soaking the dress as well."Just fucking great." I hissed. Emily would not be happy about this. She had refused to even
EROS' POVThe issue which had taken me out of my office this afternoon, was a supply problem in the transportation department. Isaiah had filled me in on the details during the ride here, but something didn't quite seem right. Preston, the head of department, had sent me an email of complaint two weeks ago. Apparently, he believed someone was sucking out the gas from the larger trucks, and selling it in the black market.Usually, I would not even consider leaving the comfort of my office to attend to such matters, but now that West Incorporated had a new partnership, word of untrustworthy and dishonest staff could not get out."Good day, Mr. West.""I don't believe there's anything good about the situation at hand, Preston." I replied as I walked into the conference room, Preston treading quickly behind me, and Isaiah following him.I took my seat at the top of the long, rectangular table, while Preston and Isaiah sat on the first two seats on my left."So, Preston, you believe someon
DALIA'S POVThe next morning came faster than I had expected. My alarm woke me up at thirty minutes passed six, but I had snuck in an extra hour, getting up just around seven-thirty. Emily was not one to keep to time, but something told me today would be very different. Maybe things were different for me today. For one, I was on my way to the doctor's, to check out the human being growing inside of me. It still seemed very much unreal to me that I was pregnant. I couldn't imagine myself being someone's mother, I could barely take care of myself. I didn't eat homemade meals, unless someone else cooked them, I had the memory of a ninety year old, and I left my laundry in the dryer for way too long. I was not mother material.I rolled off of the mattress, stood to my feet, and made my bed, before going to brush my teeth. As I scrubbed the back of my tongue, I felt something rising in my throat. I pulled out the toothbrush from my mouth, and quickly dipped my head in the sink. I remained
DALIA'S POVI yanked the door of Emily's car open, and slumped into the passenger’s seat, before closing it shut again. I thought back, to the lady and her baby from the elevator."What's wrong with you?" Emily asked, after noticing the look on my face. I took a deep breath, and pulled the seatbelt across my body."Nothing." I said, as the buckle clasped. I felt as tears began to gather in my eyes. I didn't want to start crying all over again, I didn't want to worry Emily, but I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. "What if I don't want to keep it?" I breathed."That's fine." Emily replied. She reached over to me, placed her hand over mine, and rubbed it softly, then raised my chin so that my glossy eyes met hers."It's going to be okay, Dee. Whether you have this baby, or you don't, that's totally up to you. Alright, it's about what you want to doing, and I will be here supporting whatever decision you make, okay?" She said, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears that had eventu