The Best Mistake

Chapter Five

I stood in the mirror and adjusted my fitted red dress. I stared at my flat stomach expecting to see a little bump  although I'm only two months into my pregnancy. I puckered my lips adding a bit more lipstick to darken the red shade. My eyes were finally going down from all the puffiness and I tapped around them to help relieve the pressure.

"Ava, are you sure you're still up for this?" Cat asked coming to stand next to me.

I nodded.
I had to go to this party to see if anyone looked familiar. If there was even a slight chance of confronting my stranger than I have to do it.

"Look, you have been through a lot these past two days, I really don't want you to push yourself." I quickly shook my head, turning to face her.

"Cat, I have to. I have to at least try." I whispered.
My voice sounded raspy to my ears. My throat was definitely sore.

"Well, okay, if we leave now we can make it. We can stay there for an hour and we'll head back home." Cat said.

I wrapped my arms around her gently. "I couldn't go through any of this without you." I mumbled.

She pecked my forehead and returned my embrace.
"Sure you can. You look great by the way." She said.

"Yea yea" I laughed.

We grabbed our things and made our way out of the house.
"Have you thought about what you'd say if you saw him?" Cat asked.

"I've been reciting different conversations for days. I don't have a clue." I admitted.

"Well, you can start by getting to know him a bit and telling him who you are." She suggested.

I nodded taking her words into consideration.
The car was silent after that and it helped me to relax a bit. The past two days were an emotional turmoil for me. I haven't spoken to or heard from Royce since my big reveal. I moved some of my things out of the house and went to stay with Cat. I felt so embarrassed, so stupid and careless, things I never wanted to be. I've cried so much and I don't think I have any tears left. My throat ached, my eyes were sore and I could barely keep anything down. I have to constantly remind myself of the little person growing inside of me. It's hard to take care of myself properly with all of this going on. I want Royce back, I want this baby to be his, I want our life to be back to normal. I wish I could go back in time and never went to that stupid party. One night of fun caused me almost everything I worked so hard to keep.

"We're here." Cat whispered.

I jumped at the sound of her voice. I was so engrossed in my thoughts, I hadn't realized we were at the hotel already. I looked at my watch and realized it was only 7:30pm. We slowly got out the car and made our way inside.

"Hold your head up and stand tall. You're okay." Cat whispered.
Taking a deep breath, I did what she said as we approached the front desk.
After asking a few questions, we were directed to the Christmas party that was open for the public. I tugged at the sleeve of my red dress nervously as I looked around the ballroom. Cat nudged me gently, signaling me to relax. The ceiling was adorned with sharp elegant ice crystals that glittered beautifully against the marble floors. There were tables with finger foods, ice sculptures and drinks. A huge Christmas tree stood at the top of the stage which was in front of the room. Cat took my hand gently and guided me across the floor. Her white sleeveless dress looked lovely against her skin and her short red hair swayed gently against her neck.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked.

I shrugged. "They all look so stiff." I noted.

"Yea, like they're dancing with rods up their asses." Cat mumbled.