Rush

Chapter 1

"Congratulations! You're pregnant."

My whole world stopped spinning at that moment and I looked at her in disbelief. Pregnant. I can't be, I can't bring a child into this world this way.

I knew I couldn't keep lying to myself about this, the slight roundness to my stomach was becoming hard to ignore.

"How far am I?" I asked the overly peppy doctor.

"About eighteen weeks, you're small for being so far along though. We should do an ultrasound so I can see how the baby's development is going, I'm not too concerned but I'd like to make sure everything is okay, lie back on the table and raise your shirt honey"

I laid back, the paper crinkling beneath me, and lifted my shirt. The doctor squeezed some type of blue gel over my stomach and I flinched slightly at the coldness of it. The pretty red- headed doctor smiled apologetically at me. She picked up a doppler and placed it on the lower part of my abdomen and moved it around.

"Ahh, there you are little one."

I looked over at the screen and then I saw it. My baby.

"Okay, everything looks good, they're small but I'm not too worried. We might be able to tell the sex, would you like to know?"

She moved the wand back and forth for a little while, but couldn't seem to find what she was looking for.

"Sorry, I can't see anything, it looks like someone wants to keep it a secret for a little longer."

I let out a little laugh at her joke as she wiped the gel off my stomach.

"Well Miss Hills, everything is looking good so take these vitamins every day and I'll see you in a few weeks, you can make your next appointment at the front desk." We shook hands and left the room.

I made my appointment and left the clinic. I sat in my car and then I started to panic. A baby I can't take care of a baby right now. I can't bring a life into the world, not my world, it's not safe. What am I going to do?

I gave myself exactly thirty minutes to freak out before I glanced at the time.

"Shit, I need to get back before he does."

I buckled myself in, wiped my tears, and sped home. I managed to make it back in fifteen minutes but my heart dropped at the sight of his beat up truck parked in the driveway. I am so dead.

I opened the creaky door of my little car and quickly got out and slammed the door. As I walked up the overgrown pathway that led to our tiny one bedroom, dirty, faded, yellow house, I felt like I was walking to my death. I took a deep breath once I reached the faded front door and twisted the knob. The door groaned loudly when I pushed it open and the floorboards creaked with my every step.

"Ann, get your ass in here!"

I jumped at the sound of his voice. It was coming from the kitchen. I knew what was coming, he would ask why his dinner wasn't on the table when he got home from work but I was too afraid to tell him why. I made my way into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway and looked at a point somewhere in the middle of his chest. He was much bigger than my short five-foot frame. He stood about 6'2, with pasty, perpetually moist skin, at age 45 his greasy blonde hair was thin and graying. He sported a small paunch belly. I looked up at his disgusting face and made the mistake of looking into his sinister grey eyes.

"Where's my food? You know the rules around here I expect my meal to be on the table when I get home from work. And why didn't that happen today?"

I knew he wanted an answer but I didn't know a way to explain myself. He took this as disrespect and before I knew it he was about an inch away from my face and he grabbed me by my hair none too gently and jerked my head back so that I was looking at him.