Meet Again

Chapter 5

"After that, I woke up a mother. I named her as I wanted, and I swore to always take care of her." The grey-eyed girl had picked at her nose so much while informing her best friend, small drops of blood had slowly covered her fingers and fallen on her pants.

The blonde girl looked up the stairs where the little girl's bedroom was. She had only just met Lauren, but she couldn't imagine anyone wanting to give her up. "Okay, wait. How did you guys end up in Boston?" Finally taking her eyes off the steps, Abi turned her head to face the young mother. "I mean, Santa Ana is all the way across the country."

Melanie stopped picking her nose ring and looked down at her bloody hand. "To be honest...I don't really know." Laying back on the couch, the Cuban tried to explain. "One minute, I was in my room, caring for my little girl, all my siblings, and friends gushing over her...The next I'm looking at apartments with Zen and helping my friends move." She finished with a sigh.

The model looked at her friend worriedly. "Is...did all of our friends move here?" She asked.

Furrowing her dark eyebrows, Melanie shook her head slightly. "No. I mean...most of them were here when we first made the move. But some stayed in Santa Ana, others moved to other states." She said, thinking of all the friends she hadn't talked to in years. "You remember Isaac?"

Abi smiled. "Do I? Damn, how could I forget him?" She chuckled.

Melanie smiled. "Yeah, well, he's going to school in Oxford."

"Wait, what?" The model said surprised. "Oxford?"

"Yeah. He's getting a Ph.D. in medicine."

"Wow," Abi whispered.

"Eh, we always knew he was gonna go big." The Cuban stated.

"Wow...Isaac, a big shot doctor..." About to say something about dreams, Abi thought of something. "Hey, what happened to you becoming a famous author? I saw some of Zen's pictures in his apartment, but...I see no published books of yours in here."

Melanie sat back up and bit her lip. "Yeah well...while all of my friends only had to worry about...portfolios and applications, I was trying to raise a child. On top of that, I was looking for jobs to give her everything she wants or needs and going through a divorce. It just seemed easier for all of them to continue their dream." She said, a few small thoughts of the last five years passing through her head. "I mean hell, you got a job for five years before you even graduated high school." The grey-eyed girl chuckled out. "But...I did work on it some, while I was pregnant with Lauren."

Abi scooted closer to her. "But...not after. While you were pregnant, you worked on some stories?"

Melanie nodded. "Not many. And it was only during the second trimester."

"Why only the second? Why start halfway and then stop?"

The raven-haired girl sighed. "Well...in the first trimester...my depression was coming in at full intensity. I could barely get up and I would only eat so that the baby inside me could grow. If I could barely do simple things, writing an application for...college or even a small newspaper wasn't even a possibility." Melanie explained to her. Abi put her eyes on her worriedly. "I mean...I was pregnant with the daughter of a jackass and my best friend, a person I was in love with for the better part of five years, felt a world away. But, during my second tri, Oscar tried to be a decent human being and encouraged me to continue my dream. I did, and right as the third tri started, I stopped."

"Why?" Abi asked, not understanding still. "Why did you ever stop?"

Getting frustrated, Melanie shook her head and turned to look at her best friend. "I don't know, Abs. I don't really remember much from the last three months." The mother said desperately. "But...even if I did continue, I wouldn't have time to deal with it on top of-of Lauren and jobs and the divorce. I'd just...ugh." She sighed out, resting her head in her hands.