Bittersweet

Bittersweet: Chapter Twenty-Six

THIS BOOK IS CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN AND HEAVILY EDITED. NAMES, PLACES, AND SOME SCENES WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. SOME STUFF WILL BE TAKEN OUT AND SOME WILL BE ADDED.

THE INITIAL PLOT STAYS THE SAME.

So, if you begin reading as of 5/21/2021 and choose to read ahead further than I have updated-some things might be confusing or might not make sense. As of right now and will continue, slowly, adding the new chapters as I write them. CHAPTER TWENTY- SIX has been rewritten & updated.

**IF A CHAPTER HAS BEEN REWRITTEN/EDITED THE ^^ABOVE^^ NOTE WILL BE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Eliza 

The sound of rummaging around my room roused me from a deep sleep. As I rolled over and glanced at the alarm clock on my bedside table, I contemplated shutting my eyes again and ignoring whatever was going on around me. It read nine a.m., which normally wouldn't have been too early, but the past few days had been different. My sleep and wake schedule had been all screwed up the past few days. I was up at all hours of the night and sleeping until almost noon on the days I didn't have to get up to work. If I wasn't working, I was couped up in this room, sleeping. And if I wasn't sleeping or working, I was in the bathroom, vomiting. I'd gotten so violently sick yesterday morning that my ribs and throat were still aching in pain every time I moved or swallowed.

I couldn't keep anything down, which told me that the nurse's calculation had been correct. After rereading all the pamphlets, I'd learned that morning sickness normally started around the sixth week of pregnancy. I'd been sick on and off for the past week or so now-I could only assume that conception happened the first time Austin and I were together. A little over seven weeks ago.

But I didn't need to think about that. Not now.

Groaning, I turned to see Ava running around my room like a madwoman. There was a duffle bag sitting at the foot of my bed with a few pieces of clothing hanging out. Without moving, I watched her as she shuffled around. She pulled out a pair of black stretchy pants and a white t-shirt, sitting them on the back of my rattan chair beside my bed.

When she notices me, she gives me a thin smile. "Oh, good. You're awake." She walked over and sat on the edge of my bed. "I can't watch you be couped up in this room any longer. You're father thinks we're taking a few day hiatus-a girl's trip. You need to be ready to leave at least by noon today. The clinic is on the outskirts of Jackson so it shouldn't take us too long to there. We'll need to get checked into the hotel and settled before the procedure this afternoon. I've booked a room for the next two nights because you probably won't be up for traveling afterwards."

This afternoon?

I swallowed hard and willed myself not to tear up, "I didn't think it would be so soon."

It was only Monday, I'd only made the decision to go through with this on past Friday. I thought that I at least had a few days to mentally prepare myself for what I had planned on doing. I wasn't sure if I was ready for it yet.

Get real, Eliza. You won't ever be ready for something like this. Don't ask questions, just get on board with it and get it over with so that you can move on and put it behind you.

Ava laced her hands together and looked to the ground, unable to meet my gaze. For a moment, I felt remorseful for even bringing her into this to begin with. I had a feeling that she'd be weighed down with the same shame and guilt I would for years to come just for being by my side as I did it. But knowing that? It still didn't change my mind. I had to be reasonable here and look at the big picture.