Like Father (book #1)

| prologue |

I sit perched on the top of a closed toilet seat, hidden away from anything else in the house. My eyes are focused on the bathtub in front of me, more specifically the little white stick that rests on the edge of it.  There's a pretty large chance that I'm not going to enjoy the result of the test.

I've never been good at tests. Throughout my high school career, I was usually too distracted to study. I still, somehow, graduated. If that's not a miracle then I don't know what would be.

Now, here I am, taking a test that will determine the rest of my life. How am I supposed to study for this? Even with all of the precautions I've taken, I'm still forced to face this.

I'm supposed to be downstairs with Mateo watching a movie. Of course, my plans got messed up.  We were just about to turn the tv on when he got a phone call. We didn't even get to relax for a minute. It's understandable that he can't just ditch his job-if you could even call it that- but the fact that three hours later he still is a no show kind of sucks.

I had decided to organize once he left- it's an impulse thing of mine to do. Imagine my surprise when I found a pregnancy test that seemed to be calling my name. I'd had a scare a year ago, resulting in my need for the things. It just so happened that there was an extra that ended up being thrown aimlessly into a cabinet.

If pregnancy tests have expiration dates, then this is all for not. Honestly, I may just be overreacting and assuming the worst. That absolutely has to be all I'm doing.

A part of me hopes for it to be negative, but for some reason, my mind tries to convince me that it may not be so bad if it is positive. Stupid, that's what that part of my mind is. I'm not mentally prepared for a child.

Glancing down at the phone in my hand, I exhale. The alarm I set is just about to sound so I push my thumb on the screen to shut it off. What a great day to find out if you're pregnant or paranoid. Hesitating, I finally stand and walk the short distance to the bathtub.

Grabbing the stupid baby stick, I close my eyes before counting to ten. As if ten extra seconds are going to make things any better. I scoff at myself and open my eyes.

Positive.

"No. No, no, no..." I mumble. If someone else were to hear me they'd think I was crazy. Holy shit I can't be pregnant.

A headache is already starting to form and I genuinely stop breathing. Lowering myself onto the ground, back against the tub, I cover my face with my hands. The stick has long since been dropped on the floor.

Mateo is going to hate me. He doesn't want kids, not right now. He'll probably break up with me right when I tell him. I bet he's going to think I'm just trying to trap him.

Pushing my intruding and unwelcome thoughts to the side, I manage to get my breathing back to normal.

Although I should probably wait until Mateo gets home to go to sleep so I can tell him the news, I'm exhausted. I worked practically all day and the time that was supposed to be for me to relax was stripped away. So, I pick up the unfortunate test and look around the bathroom. I mean, sure, I could throw it in the garbage and risk having Mateo see it before I'm ready to tell him, but I'd rather not.

The window catches my eye and a smile tries to form on my face. Tries being the keyword. I'm too miserable wallowing in my own sorrow and misfortune to actually be humorous about my wise decision. I carefully crack the window, resulting in a huge blast of fairly cool air hitting me. My face contorts disgustingly as I put all of my efforts into popping the corner of the screen off of the window sill.

Somehow, I'm successful and I don't hesitate in dropping the stick from the window just for good measure. I'm completely tired from my midnight charades, so I wash my face and change into my most comfortable pajamas before cuddling myself into a pile of soft blankets that adorn our bed.

It doesn't take much for my eyes to drift closed and soon I'm falling asleep. A rustling noise wakes me slightly and a groan escapes my mouth.

"Hey, Mari. Go back to sleep." I groan once more in response to Teo's words and turn towards his body that's now lying next to me. His arms make their way around my figure, holding me close and tight.

Waking up to an empty bed and the slamming of a door isn't exactly my definition of a good wake-up-call but that's how it happens anyways.

I sit up and look around the room, trying to find the source of the loud noise. To my surprise, Mateo's side of the bed is empty. Usually, I'm the early riser that ends up being awake before him. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and walk out of the bedroom door that leads to a hallway and stairs. When I reach the living room it looks abandoned save for the furniture that's neatly arranged.

"Teo?" I call out into the vacant house. It appears that he's already left from his lack of response. Ok, well, that's strange.

My thirst has grown over the night, probably from my habit of sleeping with my mouth open. I grab a glass out of one of the many cupboards that line the walls of the kitchen and fill it with ice and water. Sitting down on one of the stools in the counter, I notice a piece of paper that definitely wasn't there last night.  I reach over and grab it out of curiosity, trailing my eyes over the handwritten note as my heart slowly sinks to my stomach.

"Movers will be by the house tomorrow to pack your things and take them elsewhere. Be out in twenty-four hours. Goodbye.

             -Mateo"

This is a different prologue than the original one I had written :)

I really wasn't happy with that one so here's a revised and shorter prologue that probably makes more sense than it did before!

If you're new to this book, don't mind that. I hope you enjoy reading Like Father as much as I enjoy writing it!