The Sadian Chronicles: Book 2: From Mercury To Venus

Plus or Minus: Part 2

Her mind went crazy with all the possibilities that went with the madness of Brenda's claims. She raced up to her apartment, only to crash into Cynthia upon reaching the door.

"Hey, where's the fire?" Cynthia said, holding up her hands in surrender.

"Sorry, Cyn," Marianna apologized. She opened the door, motioning Cynthia to come in. "So, why the late visit?"

"I just got kicked out of my dorm room by my new roommate. She's such a bitch."

"What did she do this time?" Marianna asked as she put her purse and her bag of purchases on the table near the kitchen area.

"What didn't she do?" Cynthia lashed out like Marianna should already know. "She borrows all my clothes and doesn't have the decency to wash them afterward. She's a complete slob, and what's worse. She tells me to get out just because she invited over her latest conquest."

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Marianna asked sympathetically. "I have a perfectly good couch that barely gets any use."

"I thought you would never ask." Cynthia threw her arms around Marianna in gratitude. "I knew I could count on you." She looked over at the drugstore bag letting her curious nature take over. "So, what's in the bag?"

"Don't ask," Marianna said, not wanting to think about what was inside.

Cynthia rifled through the bag anyway. "What's this?"

"Cynthia, put that down," Marianna said, trying to snatch the bag from her, but Cynthia was too fast and kept hold of the treasure. She pulled the box that held the pregnancy test. "What does it look like?"

"It looks like you and Marcus have been playing thrashing in the sheets," Cynthia said with a little giggle in her voice. "So are you or aren't you?"

"I don't know, so that's why I bought the test," Marianna said trying to make light of the situation. "Brenda had this weird notion that I could possibly be..."

"Pregnant?" Cynthia was the second person to say that word to her that night. Marianna didn't want to hear that awful word. It made the idea of having a baby all too real. "So, you and Marcus do more than just hold hands." Marianna looked embarrassed not wanting to discuss her sex life with Cynthia. "So what are you going to name it?"

"Don't say that," Marianna fired at her. "I can't have a baby. I don't know the first thing about it." What she said was true. She grew up an only child and never even held a baby before.

"You're smart, so you'll figure it out," Cynthia said and handed her the box. "Now go take the test, so I can start planning a shower."

Marianna reluctantly picked up the box. She stared at it for a few seconds before slowly walking into the bathroom.

"Brenda's wrong," she whispered to herself, but if she wasn't pregnant then why was she feeling this way. She tried to talk herself into thinking that she was just being manipulated into thinking she was pregnant. It was a farfetched possibility. In fact, it had happened to many women.

She read the instructions carefully and was appalled at what it wanted her to do. She felt like one of her specimens at the lab. Just a few minutes were her wait time to learn the results of the experiment. She could hear Cynthia's pleas from the outside of the door, but Marianna ignored them.

She followed the instructions on the box. They were quite simple. It was one of the newer tests. Stick it in a little pee, and that was it. She used the plastic cup for the urine sample and stick the test in it. For the longest time, she refused to look at it. In a way, she didn't want to know. As long as she didn't look she could delude herself into believing that it wasn't true.

She tried not to look, but something inside her had to know either way. She hesitatingly glanced at the test and to her horror saw a plus sign. "Oh, no," she whispered. She was quiet so Cynthia couldn't hear. "This isn't happening. It can't be."

She dumped the test in the trash trying to forget she even saw that plus sign. She walked out of the bathroom slowly. She saw the anticipation in Cynthia's eyes.

"Well, what's the verdict?" Cynthia asked anxiously.

"You can cancel the baby shower, because I won't be in need of it." She hated lying, but she was lying more to herself than to Cynthia. She refused to believe the plain truth, feeding herself all sorts of lies to wash away the reality that threatened to change her life.

She excused herself. She felt the pangs of sleep while Cynthia crashed on the couch. As Marianna drifted into sleep that night, she held steadfastly to her denial. Time had come to a standstill for her. Calm waters once reigned on her existence only to be crashed down upon a solitary but powerful wave.

Dreams did not plague her that night. The call of oblivion ruled her night as sleep came as easily as death.

Thanks for reading and there will be another chapter. Watch what happens when Marcus' true colors come out. Will Marianna's life be in danger and if so can she get out of it?