Three days had passed since I told Gomes about the pregnancy and I still hadn't heard anything from him. Nothing. I had tried not to freak out over what he had said that evening, he was obviously shocked and I guess any person might have acted the same way he did so I decided to give him time and space to think about it, to breathe. Maybe that was exactly what he needed at this time.
I picked up my phone and dialed his number;
No answer.
I bit my lip and tried again. Gomes wouldn't do this, he wouldn't ghost me, he was the kind of person that always face things head on. "He didn't mean what he said that day. He was just surprised." I kept telling myself and dialed again, this time, an electronic voice told me I had been sent to voicemail.
"Hello, Gomes I think we need to talk about this. Call me back when you get this okay? I love you." I said after the beep.
I wiped the sweat off my face. No, he's probably in class or something, and with that thought I went to take a shower, changed and headed for campus.
I had missed a bunch of classes but at that moment it didn't really matter, I could always say I was sick or something came up, this was a bigger issue. I went to his department to ask about him.
"I haven't seen him for the past two or three days now." Terry, one of his colleagues, told me when I asked.
"Did you try calling him or something?" I asked, trying as much as I could to hide the terror in my voice.
"Call him?" Terry scoffed. "Dude is a big guy, I'm sure he can take care of himself. Who are you again, his mother?" He asked, smirking.
I closed my eyes in embarrassment and walked away without another word. He wasn't in his department so where would he be? I pondered, and combed every part of campus Gomes was likely to be in. Still nothing.
After going through the entire business block, I concluded he wasn't in the university, meaning he wasn't in class so that wasn't why he didn't answer. He was probably at work then, yes. He was done with classes for the day and decided to hit up the garage. Makes sense.
I turned around and took cab heading for the garage, but this time I wasn't as nervous as I was the older day. When I arrived, the workshop was open, I entered boldy and saw a short, meaty man with a spanner in his hand. His clothes were covered in so much grease that it was hard to tell the actual colour of his vest.
"Can I help you?" He asked in a husky voice when he saw me.
"Good day sir, where can I find Gomes?" I asked craning my neck to see if I could see him through all the cars parked there.
"And who are you?" He asked, without looking at me."
"I'm his girlfriend." I said confidently but somehow it sounded a bit strange saying that, maybe it was because I had never referred to myself as that before in the past. But it wasn't important.
"You said you're his girlfriend?" He asked, finally looking up at me.
"Yes. That's what I said."
"Then how come you don't know he's not feeling well?" He asked, wiping some grease off his nose. He called in sick some days ago saying he had a cold or something, I haven't heard from him since." He said.
Sick? How come he didn't tell me anything.
"Did he say where he was or—"
"Look, lady he just took some days off, how am I supposed to know where he is? In fact you should be in a better position to know, not me."
What was going on? Gomes was sick and he didn't tell me? Something was definitely wrong.
"Where are you going?" The man asked as I turned to leave.
I ignored him and walked off. If he was really sick, he should be at home but Grimes Way was about a ten-minute drive from here so I decided to check the room in the resort where he said he stayed some times.
When I got there, I knocked on the door but someone else opened the door. An old woman.
"Who are you?" She asked, squinting at me.
"Sorry to bother you ma'am but I'm looking for Gomes Moreno."
"Who?" She asked, coming outside to look at me well.
"Gomes, he stays here sometimes. He's about this tall, black hair blue eyes." I described.
"Oh, he used to stay here for a while but he's not around anymore. He went back to his apartment some months ago."
"Oh, okay. Thank you." I said and turned back. All this walking around was really making me tired.
I had only come to his place twice and I really didn't like it. The streets where always lonely and there were a lot of thugs hanging around, but at least it was morning so I was sure they wouldn't try anything stupid.
I ringed the bell of his apartment and listened for any sound. I heard nothing. I tried again, still nothing, so I knocked. After knocking for about three minutes, his neighbor in the opposite flat came outside.
"Hey. Do you mind?" He said irritably.
"Is Gomes with you?" I asked. "I tried his phone but it's switched off." I said, ignoring his expression.
"Uhm, no Gomes doesn't live here anymore, he moved out a couple of days ago."
"What?!" I said, louder than I intended.
"Yeah. He actually stormed off. He looked like he was in a hurry and that was very early in the morning. The only reason I saw him was because I was coming back from a night sermon. He didn't even seem to notice me; he just grabbed his bags and left."
I felt a ringing in my ears. My stomach clenched.Gomes left? First he calls in sick at work then just moves out?
"No." I shook my head. "You're not sure he moved out, he might have just went to see someone or something." I said, refusing to believe that Gomes was truly gone.
"Lady I'm the caretaker of this place. He's gone, he left the key on my porch and as a matter of fact, someone's moving in here next week." He said and went back in.
I stood there. Lost for words not knowing whether to scream at the top of my voice or to sprawl on the floor and cry.
I was convinced when the day after, he sent five hundred dollars and a note saying it was my fault and he wasn't ready to be a father.
*****
(PRESENT)
After bathing the cold water from the roof I ate the cold bread from the cupboard. I had no choice. I brought out some oil and massaged my feet and knees, they had become more sore recently.
Yes most or all this has been my fault but I wasn't going to give up on this baby. No. Abortion was not an option for me. I could have easily just taken ten tablets of aspirin or something but I couldn't. I chose to fight for my child.
During the holiday season I had kept myself locked up in my house to make it look like I had travelled or something so my neighbors wouldn't ask stupid questions, but session had started two weeks ago and sooner or later my friends would find out. That was what I dreaded.
I had been managing what was left of my scholarship money and the little I had made from working in the grocery store but it would eventually get finished, part of the reason would be because of my increased appetite.
The bowl of oil I was using to dab my feet had slipped from my hand and fell to the ground a loud noise.
Oh God. Yesterday it was a bucket, now the bowl.
I had texted Vanessa and Charlotte saying I wasn't at home but I might just have given myself away. I prayed that nobody was around or at least nobody heard it.
I stopped and listened. There was no sound. Phew.
But I couldn't have been more wrong.
A few minutes later, Vanessa and Charlotte came downstairs, straight to my house. The knocked on the door.
"Alina, we know you're in here." Charlotte said, knocking softly. "We've been monitoring for months and we know you didn't travel to Spokane. Please open the door."
I didn't move. How did they know I was around? I couldn't face them, not like this. I shut my eyes, hoping they'd go away. They did not.
After a few more knocks, their tone changed from coaxing to force.
"Alina you're going to open this door right now and tell us what the hell is going on or we're gonna break it down, I swear!" Vanessa screamed. "We're your friends and we deserve to know what the fuck is up, so you either open the door or we go ahead with option two. If you call the police we'll apologize and fix the damage but right now I wanna make sure you're okay. Period."
I still said nothing.
"Okay then, you give us no choice. On three, Charlotte. One. Two…"
I grabbed my blanket and pulled it over my body then opened the door and saw them with a huge log of wood. They actually wanted to bring this door down.
"Alina! What happened?" Vanessa reached out but I stepped back immediately.
"I'm fine. I just wanted to be alone." I hadn't spoken a word in months and was surprised by how hoarse my voice sounded.
"No you're not." Charlotte snapped. "Are you cold or something?" She said and adjusted the blanket covering my shoulder down.
"Yes." I whispered.
Vanessa walked up to me and peered into my eyes.
"This is much more than cold, Alina you've been cooped up in here for God knows how long, you haven't come to work or school for two weeks and you haven't step foot outside here for more than a month. It had to take me, Charlotte and a log to make you open your door. Your eyes are red Alina, what is going on? Talk to us."
I took a deep breath and exhaled shakily.
"I'm pregnant." I said, closed my eyes and let the blanket fall. They gasped when they saw my baby bump.
This was too much for me, I dropped to the floor and broke down in tears, I hadn't been able to cry out loud for a long time now. I wailed loudly and without a word, they closed my door.
They watched me cry for minutes without a word.
"Is it Gomes?" Charlotte asked quietly.
I nodded and continued sobbing like a child. They took me to the bed and waited patiently.
"How far gone are you?" Vanessa asked.
"Three month." I croaked amidst my sobs.
"Tell us everything." She said when I was stable.
"H-he just changed immediately I t-told him I w-was pregnant. He just…" I sniffled."
"What did he do?" Charlotte asked in a strangled voice.
"He blamed it in me. Saying it was m-my fault. H-h-he pushed me away and just d-disapeared!" I wailed.
"Calm down, what do you mean disappeared?" Where is he?" Charlotte asked, wiping the tears from my eyes.
"A few days after I told him, I had tried to reach him but I couldn't. His phone was unreachable so I visited his house and they told me h-he m-moved out that week." I said and let the tears flow freely from my eyes. "He ran away."
"I'm gonna hunt that motherfucker down and teach him a lesson!" Vanessa said and pulled out her phone.
"There's no need, Nessa." I said, holding her hand. "He's a coward, he only just keep running."
she looked at me but said nothing.
"Where he went to is the least of my problems now after..a-after… " I couldn't continue as a lump formed in my throat when I recalled what happened this morning.
"After what, Alina?" They asked simultaneously.
" The school, they..they terminated my..my scholarship!" I cried, pointing at the crumbled envelope in the waste bin.
"Oh my God, Alina." They said and embraced me. I shivered violently from my sobs.
"They said it's because of classes and the test I missed without giving reason. I would have given the reason if I hadn't fallen sick." I shivered. "I can't come to work because I'm pregnant and I can't go to school because I'm no longer a student." I smiled bitterly.
"It's okay girl." They said, wiping my tears. "What do you want to do?"
"I'm not aborting this child. I'm not." It's father might be a coward but I'm not."
"Okay Al, what do you have in mind then? What's your plan?" Charlotte asked.
"I can't stay here." I said, looking at them. "The landlord knows my uncle, if my parents find out about any of this it would kill them. I need to move out of Pullman entirely, I need to start over."
They said nothing for a while. Then exchanged looks with each other then looked at me.
"What do you need?"
With the help of Vanessa and Charlotte I moved out of Washington after a couple of days. They promised to cover up for me when Hector— the landlord and Señor Alonso's friend— asked about me. I wanted to go to either Nevada or California, but I couldn't make up my mind. When I asked Nessa and Charlotte, they had each picked a side between the two, so the day before I left Pullman, I flipped a coin over it; heads for California and tails for Nevada. It landed on heads. That was settled.Vanessa and Charlotte had tried their best to make sure I would be comfortable wherever I decided to stay, they had given me powder, some clothes, oil and Charlotte even insisted on giving me some foodstuff."No. I can't take it." I protested when they gave me an envelope containing some dollar bills."Don't be silly, girl!" They had scolded me.I was in the fifth month of my pregnancy when I arrived in San Jose, California. In normal circumstances I would have been ecstatic about moving to the famous G
My water broke two months later, on a Thursday afternoon. After a long bout of pushing and screaming, I heard it—The cries of a baby, my baby— I was extremely exhausted but just that brought me comfort."He's a bouncing baby boy!" I heard Dr. Brown say happily."Can I hold him?""Of course." She wiped the blood off him with a clean towel and put him in my arms.I couldn't describe the way I felt holding my baby in my arms, he had caramel skin and beautiful brown eyes just like mine. He really was a gorgeous baby."What's his name?" A nurse asked with a register in her hand."Niguez." I said without thinking. It was as though the name had been on my mind forever. But I liked it. "His name is Niguez Dias."She nodded, wrote it down and asked me for Niguez so she could check his weight. He weighed exactly 3.2 kilograms.I waited patiently for her to finish so I could go back to holding my baby in my hands."You'll have to rest, Alina." Dr. Brown said when she saw me watching the nurse cu
It was a nice peaceful Saturday. Niguez was still sleeping, he had outgrown his cradle and was sleeping on the small bed in the centre of the room. I folded the little mat I had used to sleep on the floor got up and tucked him in so he would feel more comfortable. He had grown so fast, a few days from today he would be two, meaning it would have been two. Two whole years since I gave birth. Wow. I felt a bit guilty when I got up and saw him lying on the bed. I couldn't provide for him as well as he deserved, the dish washing and laundry job I was working didn't provide for any more than little food and rent. I had tried to start doing delivery services for a small firm some time ago, but it was a disaster because I had to pay for my own transport wherever I was going to deliver, at the end of the day the money I was paid and what I spent on transport was almost the same. I quit the following week. I opened the door and picked up the mail on the porch, the newspapers were always i
TRENT POV"What are you wearing sir?" Clarence's voice came from behind me."I think you mean just Trent, Clarence." I smirked. "You scared me there. What's up?" He looked confusedly at me. Probably wondering what I meant. Then continued;"I called you all day, sir. I have been looking all over for you since the afternoon. I had to hold a meeting between Otega Group and our board myself." He said frowning."And how did it go?" I asked seriously, even though I knew what was coming."We secured the deal sir, but it wasn't easy, I could have really used you there today.""Yes. But I wasn't there and it seems like you had everything under your control. That's impressive Clarence, I know I can count on you any time." I said, giving him a slight pat in the shoulder. He smiled warmly, Clarence always beamed when he was complimented for a job well done and I always appreciated his efforts.I had known Clarence for a while now. We had graduated together in the University Of England, and when
ALINA POV"Can I get everyone's attention please." Clarence Jacobs said as he stood in front of the crowd of workers in the firm's large hall. "Some of you might be wondering why I we are all gathered here today. The company will be throwing a party to celebrate the completion of our latest high-speed, 4G telecom tower in San Jose!" He announced.There was a loud round of applause from the audience including me. When the applause had died down he continued."This new tower will enable a faster, stronger and more secure connection for us to work better and more efficiently while also serving our customers better. It is a major breakthrough here in the minority part of California. There is no doubt we will be having more investors from far and wide and eventually overseas. So the management has decided to throw a bash tomorrow evening in honour of this achievement. You all deserve it." He said and there was another round of applause, and cheers from the crowd."Be sure to attend the par
TRENT POVGilbert had proposed that I moved out of the mansion for now go keep my cover hidden."Move out?" I asked, bewildered when he came up with idea."Not technically move out, just to find a place to lay low now that you want to keep your identity hidden." He said."That doesn't sound like a very good idea.""Just think about it. Imagine if maybe someone followed you and you were unaware of it. You'd lead them straight to this multi million dollar mansion here in the GRA. I don't think that's a good idea either." He pressed on. "Trent Williams is a technician working at Suntech right. But Trent O'Neil is the CEO, the main man, the alpha of the company. Keeping your identity a secret will not be easy but at least we can try. First off, you'll need to move to someplace less… exotic." He said, motioning around the living room.I thought about it. He was right. As always.If I stayed here, it would pose a bigger threat to revealing my true identity and as soon as it was out, the med
ALINA POV"Hey are you okay there?" He asked, racing across the street to help me up.I closed my eyes in embarrassment, he hadn't seen me yet but there was no escaping now. My hair was messy, I was in my pajamas and worse? I didn't have a bra on. How delightful.He helped me up to my feet. His eyes widened when he saw my face."Alina?!" He asked, visibly shocked. What… what are you doing here?" "Oh, Trent." I said, forcing a smile. I was embarrassed and I couldn't help feeling annoyed that he had seen me just when I prayed he wouldn't. "Uhh.. I live in Gordon's Drive, that's about two blocks away.""Wow." He said smiling. "So, What's up? No work today for either of us huh?""Nope." I smiled. Uh.. Trent?" "Yeah?" He answered."You said you live here but I don't think I've ever seen you around this area before." I said. That part didn't quite make much sense to me."Oh, that. I just moved in. Actually I just moved in this morning." He smiled. "Soni guess we're kind of neighbors now o
ALINA POVOn Monday morning, I got to work later than I usually did."You're a bit late, Alina." Gloria, my coworker said when she saw me."Sorry about that, I think I overslept." "We shouldn't form a habit of arriving for work, there's always someone watching and if you keep it up, you could be leaving here far sooner than you think." Gloria said."Noted." I said and gazed around the floor I was in. The offices were full, employees were already in their offices working, with a laptop in front of them."Hello there." an unfamiliar voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw a man in a suit, probably a department head or assistant judging by his suit."Good morning." I replied.He smiled, showing a bright set of teeth. I had never seen him before. He had black hair, brown eyes and was about my height, he also had a very deep voice when he spoke. He was obviously an important person in the company so why was he talking to me? Was I in trouble already?"You must be Alina." He sa