Travis
I sit at the clinic on the hard chairs. It's not meant to be comfortable. Are they trying to make you think about your life choices?
Is that why this chair is so hard and uncomfortable?
"Are you sure I can't come with you?" I ask.
"Yes I'm sure. Just stay here."
She walks away, into the room. My stomach hurts. I hate this. I hate this so much. But I can't...tell her that. She's made her decision and saying anything else would be...
Wrong.
She walks out of the clinic about fifteen minutes later. She looks no different. She's as curvy as she was when she walked in.
"Did...everything go okay?" I stand.
She nods. "Yeah. Fine fine." She touches her stomach. "Just fine. Let's go. You drive please."
So I do. It's silent for a while. "Do you want a drink?"
She shakes her head.
"Good. Don't know why I asked that. You're not really fine, are you?"
She shrugs. "Why would you say that?"
"Because our relationship is largely based on lies, I guess?" I shrug.
"So are a lot of great things," she jokes.
"No, no you have a point. Religion, American History, Alcohol, Democracy, they're great, but full of lies that poke holes in their legitimacy," I chuckle.
She laughs, and we sit in more silence.
"It totally sucks," she whispered.
I nod. "You gotta do what you gotta do."
She swallows. I think she thinks I don't know. She didn't do anything. She didn't get the abortion. I'm not mad. I guess she's waiting. She hasn't quite decided yet.
But she turned down alcohol.
"Well, let's spend the day together. Netflix, some popcorn, sprinkle in some m&m's some R and R and maybe a piercing, since we're already getting medical procedures done."
She narrows her eyes. "Yeah getting my fetus scrapped out of my uterus still doesn't make me less terrified of needles."
I shrug. And here I thought I'd catch a break.
"By the way, our whole relationship isn't based on lies," she says, "Just some of the stuff I've said!"
I shrug again. Hey, 50-50 ain't half bad. I once almost got married to a girl who wasn't even the race she told me she was and that was an awkward dinner...
"I don't know if I'll ever sleep soundly again," She stated dejectedly
• • •
I narrow my eyes as she snores, shrugging. I guess that was short lived. I sit down beside her sleeping figure and sigh silently.
"You know if you weren't so cute—"
She blinks and I look away. She groans stretching her long limbs.
"God my head is killing me. What are you doing?"
I shrug. "Took the day off I didn't have anything booked. Got good business tomorrow though."
She shakes her head. "No, tomorrow I'm going to blackmail my ex husband so I can refill my savings."
Yesh, okay. Well, we all have things to do. Plus her ex is an asshole so.
"Cool, cool. And should I stick around for that?"
She shakes her head, rubbing her forehead. I get behind her, rubbing her shoulders. She's tense.
"No, no it's fine. I'll just threaten him a little, but I will pull my gun if I have to, I'm still his beneficiary, after all."
I shrug. "I see. Make sure you eat now, you have to keep healthy."
"Mh, yeah, yeah, I will. Thanks for being here Travis."
"Well I'm not leaving yet. We have the Netflix r and r session remember?"
She just laughs. I'm so glad she's laughing. But she's lying too. Or maybe I'm wrong.
I know I'm not wrong. I could be wrong. But I'm not.
We sit down and I contemplate asking her is the baby still alive? But then I don't.
So I talk about causal murder instead cause That's what I'm comfortable with.
"I could, and I'm spitballin' here, feel free to stop me—"
"Uh-huh," she turns to me, pausing the show were watching.
"I could just...yknow? Kill him. Not much hassle," I shrug.
"No, I believe in you, I don't want you to think I don't think you can," she started.
"Well thank you—"
"But I just...I feel like there is...much hassle involved. Like how do I prove—"
"You're assuming I'll get caught—?"
She raises a brow pursing her lips.
I shrug.
"I'm not saying you're incapable of getting away with murder I just don't think it's probable, like, I don't see it for you, yknow?"
"No, no I mean that's fair. It's...DNA technology, high-powered shit, yknow, it's...I get it." I nod, "it's a liability."
"Exactly! Besides, I've been dosing him with weed killer like since I was like, 13, so I'm sure he'll drop of cancer soon," she assures me.
"What? Wow! Wow! That's...some incredible. And congrats, in advance I guess," I chuckle. "Boss lady from the jump huh?"
"I like crawled out of my moms pussy making boss decisions," she informs me.
"No, I see that!"
