Decided By Fate (Preview)

Act 1, Chapter 21

With everything said and done, I remained lying there naked on the hotel bed while Simon cleaned up the mess he had made on my stomach. My hands had been covering my face for countless minutes while tears streamed down my cheeks. The two of us had no idea what to do, and neither of us had any money. Simon could only watch, knowing that all of this was his fault. The condoms were hanging out of his pants pocket, sitting across the room from when he threw them. If only he had realized what was going on.

"Are you okay, Fate?" He asked.

"Do I look fucking okay!" I shouted at him.

"Look, don't be angry with me!" He said as I was already ready to fire back.

"Excuse me? You dumb fucker, you might have just put a goddamn baby inside of my body!" I shouted again.

"Well, we don't know that yet." He replied while trying to hide the frustration in his voice.

"You're right. We don't, and I leave town tomorrow. So I guess that'll just be your way out, eh?" I asked him again; my anger had no end in sight.

My words caused Simon to look down at his feet, and I knew I had just cut into him like a hot knife through butter. Simon wanted to help me but knew he had screwed up and that I was right. He couldn't drive, and he couldn't be there if it turned out that I did end up being pregnant. I'd be alone because Simon wanted to lose his V-card before I left. Simon seemed to hate himself and then looked at my body again, getting the sick reminder that no matter how he felt about himself, I had him beat. The scars on my body, some fresh and the rest old reminded him that he was the guy in this room with me. He could walk away but knew he needed to support me more than ever, especially when I was three hours away.

Giving me a minute to relax, Simon walked to the bathroom and started running a bath. I continued laying there on my side, crunched up as I tried to fight the endless tears, but they kept coming no matter what I did. I'm such a piece of shit. The words repeatedly echoed in my head until I felt Simon touch my shoulder. It prompted me to look at him as I was faced with his nudeness then looked up at his eyes. A weak smile rested on his face as he rubbed my shoulder, likely praying I wouldn't push him away again.

"Fate, I'm running a bath. Do you want to join me?" He asked.

"A bath?" I whimpered.

"Yea. It's big enough for two of us, or if you just want to be alone, it's your call." Simon repeated.

"A bath sounds nice right now," I answered, my mood finally returning to a simmer.

Rolling off the side of the bed, I followed Simon into the bathroom, where I saw him standing beside the bathtub. I didn't want to be held, but I still wanted to be close to him. Not saying a word, I stepped over the side of the tub where there wasn't a faucet and took a seat. Leaning my back against the tub wall, Simon seemed to realize we weren't going to cuddle, but I didn't tell him to leave. Taking the hint, he climbed in the other side and avoided the faucet as best he could while I rested my legs on top of him and soaked in the warmth of the water.

Simon was at a loss. He didn't know what to say to me; he just remained concerned that something had changed between us, and I wondered the same. In his heart, Simon knew that he needed to make things right, and that was what he intended to do with his coming actions. A list of musts manifested in his mind, and he would begin mending things immediately. Making sure that he could take care of me, the girl who might soon be carrying his child.

"Why are you so quiet?" I asked from across the tub.

Tilting his head up so that he was looking at me once more. Simon's eyes stopped momentarily on my chest, which was barely exposed by the water. Only his stare lasted less than a second when normally it would stop him in his tracks if it were any other time. However, the look in his eyes made it seem as if I was speaking gibberish to him.