Chapter Eleven
She woke up to peculiar dizziness she never felt before. Unable to get up, she lay in bed. A soft knock on her door made her drag herself up to open it.
Her youngest brother Sebastian, stood, with a tensed expression on his face. The moment he saw her, he looked concerned. "What happened to you Sera?" He asked.
"Nothing. What did you want?" She asked him.
"Mom's calling you to help her with the extra orders she got today. Also she needs some money, whatever you have. She's asking for the pay you received at the library. She needs it," Sebastian said with an embarrassed look on his face.
Sera stared at him incredulously. She hadn't been eating, for the last ten days. She looked sick, felt sick, didn't have any dinner last night, yet all her mom could ask for was her money?
"Tell her I didn't get any pay. I don't have any money now. When I get a job, I'll give her," she said, as she lay down again. Her head was spinning and she couldn't stand, let alone help her mom.
She wanted to test again but today since morning she just couldn't stand straight. She might have dozed off when the door was flung open, waking her up with a start. Her mom strode inside the room. She looked at her with disgust and went straight to her handbag. She opened it and took out her purse. She took out all the money she had, whatever she had saved from Vegas trip as well as the pay from the library.
"What did you mean by you don't have any money? What's this then? Get up and look for a job," she said, in a disappointed tone. She placed the purse back and her glance fell upon the pregnancy strips. She took them out with a frown.
"What the hell!" She said as she stared at them. "Don't tell me that you're carrying some b*stard's illegitimate child in your womb?" She shouted, coming towards her and lashing out a tight slap across her face.
Sera was already dizzy and hungry and immensely weak. The slap was so hard that she fell on the bed, with her mom's hand mark imprinted upon her pale skin. When she didn't get up even after her yelling and abusing, her mom got scared and rushed outside to call her dad from the garage.
Her dad rushed inside his daughter's room. He was shocked to see Sera. "My God. What happened to her?" He asked in concern.
"Sera's sick dad. She couldn't eat properly for 11 days. Last night she didn't have dinner but mom just took all her money and slapped her so hard that she's fainted," screamed Sebastian in panic.
Her dad looked at his wife with disbelief. "What were you thinking, Ella? Do you want to kill the girl? She's always helped us. She's sick now. Please stop this immediately, " he threatened.
"What will you say when you get to know that your dearest daughter is pregnant with some b*stard's child? We're doomed Harry, I tell you," she said as she walked out of the room.
"We'll deal with that later. First bring the girl to her senses. Seb, go get some lukewarm water from the kitchen," he said. "Also tell your mom, I need some ginger lemon chicken soup, now," her dad ordered.
After ten minutes, Sera's mom brought what her husband asked her to. He took the warm water and sponged her cheek where the red imprint was still prominent and throbbing.
"Don't hit her in future, Ella, please. She's an adult. If she wanted she could have gone away and not helped us at all, but she didn't. Please learn to appreciate, " he said and her mom, huffed and puffed angrily away.
Sera opened her eyes groggily. "Here have some water," said her dad as he offered her a glass of water to drink.
"You have to eat something. Here, let me feed you this soup." He fed her the soup and then let her sleep. He quietly left her room.
"Let her gain her health back. We will talk then. Till then you will not enter her room Ella," he said. His wife was short tempered and the constant lack of money made her depressed and always irritated.
The next two days, Sera felt much better. She still couldn't go to college but she could help around the house slowly. In the evening, her dad came home early and her mom took up the topic that she'd been dying to discuss.
"Sit down, Sera. We need to talk," said her mom. Sera was scared and still she sat down.
"Where's the child's dad?" Asked her mom and Sera looked at her hands, not knowing what to answer.
"In that case you need to abort it immediately," said her mom, and Sera's face fell. She wouldn't kill.her baby. Never.
"No, I'm keeping it," she said quietly. But her mom jumped up in agitation at her statement.
"Harry, tell her please. We live in a small town where news spreads like fire. We will lose all our goodwill. No one will come to the garage or order any baked goods from us. We'd be out on the streets, Sera. We'd have to end our lives," wailed her mom.
"Your mom's right, Sera. Please abort the baby. It's for your own good," said her dad, not able to look into her eyes.
"No dad, I can't abort. I want this baby," said Sera, unhappily.
"In that case young lady you have to leave Huntsville and go elsewhere and live on your own. Since that's impossible, the only choice you have is to abort," said her mom with a twisted smile on her face.
"It's the final decision. Tomorrow we'll go to the hospital to abort it," said her mom, getting up and going to the kitchen. Her father too got up and went to his room.
Sera felt a tear trickle down her cheek. No, she wouldn't abort. She would leave if that's what they wanted. She dragged herself to her room.
The whole evening, she locked her room and packed her stuff into two trolley suitcases. She called River and asked her to wait in front of her house at 11:30 in the night. River agreed wordlessly. She had been worried sick about her for the last few days. She knew some storm was brewing at her house. Now she was glad that Sera had reached out to her for help.
Sera had her last dinner with her family. She kissed Sebastian and gave him her watch as he didn't possess one and gave her spare mobile to Steven as he didn't have one.
She wished everyone good night and went to bed. Everyone was fast asleep by 10:30 in the night. She wrote a note to her family,
Mom and dad,
I didn't know that the man I love would betray me. I can't abort my baby. It's all I have. I have loved and lost. I can't love again. So I'm going away forever to live with my baby. Hope you all have a good life.
Sera
She left the note on the dining table for all to see.
At 11:30, she carried her luggage to the main door and opened it carefully. She went outside and closed the door behind her. She saw River's car waiting outside. She got down, seeing her and loaded her luggage onto her car.
They both climbed in wordlessly and drove away.
