Complete Chaos

011

By the next day, Julia didn't feel any better; she struggled to get out of bed and change.

Last night she couldn't sleep. The thought that a human could be growing inside of her kept her up all night.

She cried until her head hurt even more, and she could not cry anymore; she fell asleep soon after.

But now she was getting ready to go to Melvards General Store and buy a pregnancy test.

That was the only way she would know for sure.

She took some cash from the emergency jar and shoved it into her pocket. She didn't want to take a lot in case her father grew suspicious.

Her old bike was leaning against the porch. It was rusted and needed a few new pieces, but she didn't have money for them.

So far, it took her where she needed to. There was no rush to buy new things.

The November wind hit her in the face blowing her hair back as she pedaled downtown to the store.

It gave her time to get lost in her own thoughts.

She didn't want to think ahead, maybe it was just a misunderstanding, and she was sick with a virus of some sort.

"Everything is going to be okay," she told herself as she arrived at the store.

The little welcoming bell ding as she walked into Melvards General Store.

Joyce greeted her with a smile once she saw her in the store. "Good afternoon Julia. What can I help you with," she asked with a warm smile.

Julia glanced at her nervously then looked away, "Uh, I'm just looking around."

Joyce could see that something was bothering Julia, but she didn't want to upset the young girl. "Alright then, if you need help with anything, I'll be around." "Thank you, Joyce," she said quietly and walked away.

Joyce followed her with her sight as Julia walked down an aisle. She walked quietly down a few aisles looking for what she needed.

She scanned the row of items until she found the little yellow pregnancy kit. With shaky hands, she grabbed the pregnancy test and read the back of the box.

The steps were easy to follow, but she had to wait two hours for the results. It would be torture waiting that long.

Her heart was beating fast as she walked to the next aisle; she eyed the candy section and stopped walking.

She gazed at the candy and licked her lips. Julia was craving something with chocolate. She grabbed Reece's Pieces and walked to the cashier register.

She placed the Reece's  Pieces and the pregnancy test on the counter without making eye contact with Joyce.

As Joyce was going to scan the items, she stopped "if you want to talk with me about anything, you know where I live," she said, scanning the pregnancy test.

Julia smiled "thank you. Could you not tell my dad about it, please." Joyce placed the items in the grocery bags, "I won't tell him anything is not my business to tell, but I think it's best if you tell him yourself."

Julia nodded hesitantly "if it's positive, I will," Julia said, making eye contact with her for the first time. Joyce handed Julia her bag and smiled warmly at her.

From experience Joyce knew that being a mother wasn't the easiest thing to do, but she knew that Julia could do it.

◦ ◦ ◦

When Julia arrived home, her father wasn't there. Without taking her shoes off she quickly jogged and went into the restroom.

Julia took the pregnancy test out of the bag, and set it on the sink.