A man, not known to many, enters the life of an unstable family, plunging it down through its already weak restraints.
(Previously known as "The Serial Rapist")
COMPLETED.
The Californian heat forced us to switch the air conditioning on.
"Well that was weird," I laughed with a frown as soon as Chris was out of earshot. I'd finished the large plate of omelette I'd made, and placed it in front of Nina along with a medium glass of milk. She needed all the nutrients she could get if she wanted to go back home to her without raising suspicions. Nina took a bite out of her meal, gulped down some milk and looked up to me with panicked eyes. "Is something wrong?" I asked, already on the alert. She scanned the kitchen area, and slummed a bit closer, leaning over the counter to me.
"You're not safe," she whispered. I blinked twice, hoping she'd further explain, but she just remained in her current position, her eyes penetrating me with its intensity.
"I'm sorry, what?" I replied.
"Shh!" she quickly summoned, motioning her hands to exaggerate the command. "I can't say any more here," she continued, removing hair from her face. I was about to question her further when I was interrupted by the sound door opening. Luckily, it was only Candace walking in with a handful of shopping bags. Once she'd removed her shoes, she looked up at the both of us with a raised brow.
"Well, if it isn't newfound romance," she commented. I narrowed my eyes, knowing she'd taken the position Nina and I were in all wrong. With that being said, Nina regained a proper posture and resumed eating her food. "Weren't you missing?" Candace as she walked up to her, leaning aside her with a curious look. I frowned at how blatantly she said that.
"Candace, leave her alone," I sighed, removing my dirty dishes and placing them in the sink.
"Oh? So you're housing fugitives now?" she asked, placing a hand on her hip as the all the bags dropped to the ground. I rolled my eyes.
"I'm helping her until she gets back on her feet. So back off!"
"Does mom know about this?"
"No."
"Hmm."
"And you're not telling her." I narrowed my eyes at her grinning stance. Candace threw her head back in laughter.
"I have so much dirt on you," she taunted pulling up her bags. "I have some unpacking to do."
"This is actually the first time you went out to do something instead of fucking some guy," I replied, with a sly smile. Even Nina choked on her milk. Candace narrowed her eyes.
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"Watch it, dweeb." And she walked off with her nose in the air.
"What a snob," Nina giggled, and I joined her. It felt almost like old times, but then reality clicked into place. My smile vanished immediately and so did hers once she sensed the change in my mood. "What is it?"
"You're pregnant." I more likely said it to myself, and I wanted her to repeat it as a confirmation. I looked up to her with grave eyes, obviously looking for some kind of explanation. She was stolid, the way she usually got when she was on the verge of blocking others out. I edged closer to her, abstaining from embracing her, knowing she got sensitive around that time. "You have to embrace that." I felt it for her, bringing a new life into this world, wasn't easy.
"I want an abortion," she whispered, sniffling. "I want nothing to do with the child." My eyes widened in surprise.
"Why?"
"I was raped Zoe," she replied, looking up with red eyes. "Why would I want something like that. It's tainted." She shrugged, but I knew it was eating at her inside. I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You know you don't mean that." We both stared at her tummy, still reasonably flat, but we knew it won't stay that way for long. She didn't reply, so I tested her boundaries, moving in to seat on the stool next to her, as she stared at her empty plate. "At least tell me what happened. Where were you for all those days?" She looked reluctant, but I mean, I was all she had.
"I just wanted to have some fun," she sighed, pulling her hair back in stress. "So I decided to run off to Las Vegas, just for one night... but it obviously graduated to more." She shook her head in pity, as she recalled the events. "I went to a club with the guys, and you know, we fooled around and got drunk, and next thing I knew, I was in some apartment with a bunch of guys." My eyes widened, already thinking ahead of what she was going to say. "We didn't do anything!" she quickly declared, and I sighed in relief. "But I can't lie and say I didn't enjoy the fun we had."
"What happened next?"
"There was this guy. He was a total catch out of all of them, so I made my move." She rested her head on her palms. "And not long after, we were going on boat rides, dining at fine restaurants, going sightseeing. It wasn't like those usual quickies... it felt so real." I frowned.
"All that happened in one month?" I even counted the days on my fingers. It must have been a blissful vacation.
"Impossible right? But I enjoyed every bit of it. I wanted to take it slow, and not jump into things like I usually did, and he seemed like the gentleman to wait. I guess I thought wrong." She sighed and spun on her stool to face me. "I never saw it coming. The least suspected ones are the ones that disappoint you."
"Do you remember him?" I asked, placing a comforting shoulder at the nape of her neck. Nina glanced at me before looking away, a glimpse of sorrow caught on her face, and regret.
