Ego {Completed}

Chapter 16

Wednesday morning, I finally gathered enough strength to go into work. I showed up a lot earlier than usual though, just so I could avoid everyone. About a half an hour after I got there, my sister came in. She smiled when she saw me.
"Welcome back. You feeling better?" She asked. She came over to my mom's house after work yesterday, and we pretty much caught her up on everything.
I shook my head. "Not really, but life goes on."
She nodded. "Do you need anything?"
Again, I shook my head. "No. But...if he comes by...don't let him in."
"Bey-"
"I know I can't avoid him forever, I just don't want to see him right now."
She didn't continue to scold me. She just nodded. "Okay."
"Thank you."

While I was gone, a lot of people dropped off manuscripts. I had seventeen new ones to read, and for the first hour of my day, all I did was stare at them without even reaching for one. For the first time in my life, I think, I didn't even feel like reading. And I hated that the reason I felt this way was because of a man.
I sighed and figured that the books weren't going to read themselves, so I might as well get to work. Before I could get started, Nicki and Kelly walked into my office.
"Hey girl," Nicki said in a soft voice. "You okay? You've been gone all week. What happened?"
I waited until Kelly closed the door, then I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm pregnant." I said matter-of-factly.
They both looked shocked, but they didn't ask by who. They knew.
"Does he know?" Kelly asked. They were both seated in front of my desk.
I nodded. "Yeah. But he doesn't want me to keep it."
Nicki frowned. "What do you mean he doesn't want you to keep it?"

"He asked me to get an abortion." They were both speechless for a while, so I went on. "He said he's not ready to be a father."
"He's a grown man, not some teenager." Nicki said in a sharp voice. "Damn, and I was really rooting for him."
I laughed a little.
"So, what are you gonna do?" Kelly asked.
I sighed. "Raise a baby on my own. Hope that Shawn will change his mind." I felt my voice break at the end of my sentence, and more tears came to my eyes. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't help it when the tears started to overflow. Then, I started full out sobbing.
"Oh, honey..." I heard Nicki whisper. I covered my face, and I felt both of them move closer to me to hug me and comfort me. It was a nice gesture, but it didn't help. I don't think anything could help.
"You love him, don't you?" Kelly asked as she rubbed my back.
I shrugged. "Maybe it's just the baby..."
"A baby isn't gonna make you fall in love with someone," she started again. "It will only make your feelings for someone stronger. You've been in love with him. The baby just makes you feel it more."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kelly and Nicki comforted me for a little while longer, until I was able to compose myself again, then they offered to get me something to eat. I knew they wouldn't take no for an answer, so I asked them to get me a chicken salad wrap for lunch. I knew I wouldn't be able to read today, so I sent the manuscripts off to a few junior editors to read. I'm sure they'll enjoy the challenge.
For most of the day, I just waited for 5:00 to roll by so I could go home. Nicki brought my lunch around noon, and I picked at it for a while. Then, around 1:30, I got a knock on my door.
Solange poked into my office, and I could tell she was a little hesitant.
"Um, Adrienne is here to see you..."
Before I could decide whether I wanted to see her or not, she was walking into my office. I can tell myself over and over that nothing happened between the two of them, but seeing her still made me hot with fury. She was wearing that same damn lipstick.

"Hello," she smiled and stood before my desk.
I knew I was glaring at her, but I didn't try to help it. "Hi." I kept it short.
"How are you?" I know she wasn't seriously trying to have a conversation with me.
"I'm fine. Can I help you with something?" I wasn't interested in speaking to her about anything, so I wanted her to say whatever she needed to say, then get the hell out.
"Um," I could tell that I had thrown her off a little. "Well, Shawn wanted me to give you an invitation to his release party. He said your assistant wouldn't let him deliver it in person."
She held out an envelope for me that held the invitation inside. I honestly didn't expect him to even want to give me an invitation, and even still, I don't know if I want to go.