Flowers for Florence [HIATUS]

03 . Stalker Unmasked

TW! Talks about minor-aged pregnancy, I'm not sure if this could be triggering for anyone but better safe than sorry!

It was Saturday night and I hadn't left my room save for the few times that I had to eat and go to the toilet. Janice didn't bother me both times, but was clearly worried. She ended up knocking on my door around 7 PM.

"Ence.. someone ordered flowers for you."

I stayed silent. Janice continued to read the message out loud for me to hear.

"'Hey Florence,
Stay strong.
Hayley may try to spin a story.
But I will always be by your side.

-C'"

She was trying her best to make me feel better.  And I appreciated it. But I just didn't want to do anything but lay in my bed and die. I didn't want to talk to Hayley to Joshua or anyone else in the school. I didn't want to talk to Janice. I didn't want stupid flowers.

No, the last one is not quite true is it?

"Hey, Florence... I don't know what happened at the party yesterday. But I think I can guess from what I've heard." I heard her sit down, and lay her back on the door.

"I can understand you."

"No, you can't. You have never been through something like this." I call out. I sound like I'm about to cry.

"Now what makes you think that?" She chuckles drily. "When I was 15, an 18 year old high schooler left me pregnant." I stared at the door, waiting for her to continue. She did, once she realized that I wasn't stopping her.

"I wanted to have an abortion, the dad did not care, he outright denied that he was even related to the baby, and my parents... they wanted me to keep the baby." I got up from the bed and sat on the opposite side of the door to her, we were back to back now.  "I did. And I birthed a beautiful baby boy... I named him Florence."

I held my breath. Million questions ran rampant in my head yet when the chaos cleared I could see how much sense that it made. How I had always looked more like Janice than either of my parents. How my curly hair did not resemble any other in my family.

"And my sister... your 'mother.' She and her husband were having a hard time. They wanted a child, but the doctor said that either one or both of them were unable to reproduce. So the solution? Since I was 15, I'd give them my child so they could raise him. So we did that. But when you started middle school, and when I got my job here in Stonewall, they started to travel a lot more. And I got to look after you. They could still pretend to be your parents, I could be closer to you. We both won."

I got up from the floor and opened the door to face Janice. Face my mother. I hugged her without a second thought. In her right hand was a bouquet of lilies. They smelled like sorrow.

"I love you Janice." I did not feel quite ready yet to call her my mom. I believe she respects my decision, since she hugs me back, tightly. "I love you too, Ence. Whatever happened was not your fault, okay?" I nod. She smiles, satisfied. "Now let's go get some ice cream."

"Are you going to be at work tomorrow?"

"Sadly, yes." I sigh. Janice sometimes works even on Sundays.

After getting some ice cream on Saturday, and spending all of my Sunday in bed watching shows, I wasn't sure I wanted to go back to school. I didn't want to face.. him. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and stay at home. The parts of my neck he had kissed feel like they're rotting pieces of me that I need to cut away. It's as if his hands has burned my skin.