Even If It Kills Us (On hold)

Chapter Thirty-One

The sound of sniffles coming from Justin's room caused Ember's heart to drop. She was just getting in from work and her parents were in their room with the door shut. She hated when they left him alone especially when all the lights were turned off.

Justin had nightmares sometimes. He always thought that someone was inside of his closet watching him or underneath his bed.

She slipped inside of his room and turned on his light. He did have a nightlight, but he was still afraid. Justin sat in the middle of his bed, staring towards his opened closet.

"Justin." Ember whispered.

"Something's in the closet." He said.

"It's okay, Justin. Look." Ember walked over to his closet, and pulled it open wider, turning on the light. Nothing was inside but his clothes and some of his toys were spread across the floor. "See, no one is here."

Ember looked at Justin and smiled a little. He pulled his covers over his head, refusing to look.

"Justin, I promise it's nothing here." Ember assured him. She watched as Justin slowly peeked his head from underneath the covers. Ember traveled over to him and sat next to him on the bed, "Justin, I will always be here to protect you. I won't let anyone, or anything hurt you."

She reached over to the nightstand and pulled a tissue from the box, handing it to Justin. He calmed down and wiped his tears away.

"Can you read me a story?" Justin asked.

Ember nodded, "Sure, which one?"

"The new one." Justin climbed out of bed and picked the book from the bookshelf that he wanted. He placed it inside of Ember's hands.

She had never seen the book before, yet the cover was quite interesting. There were two brown skinned children. A little girl with a low side puff hugged another little boy tightly. The title read, My Brother Charlie, and it was written by Holly Robinson Pete & Ryan Elizabeth Pete.

Ember waited until Justin snuggled inside of his bed before she opened the book and began reading to him. She loved reading to him and spending time with him. It melted her heart to see how happy and excited that he would be. He was like a little kid, and she adored him.

After reading to Justin, she placed the book back on the shelf. He had fallen asleep before she got the chance to finish the full story. She left his lights on, and his door open before she made her way inside of her room. Tonight, was really a long night at work. Her feet were hurting so bad that they felt swollen. She was up on them for hours and could not wait to get off them.

She gathered some clothes and stepped inside of her bathroom to shower. Removing her clothes, Ember stood in the mirror, examining her naked body. She ran her fingers across her growing stomach. Tomorrow she would be three months.

She was starting to show and the only thing that she wore was t-shirts now. In any other clothing, her stomach showed. Before her pregnancy, Ember's stomach had been very flat and toned, but now it was not, and her mother would notice the second she stopped wearing t-shirts.

Ember was so nervous each time her mother came near her. In her gut, she felt as if her mother knew already, yet there was no way that she did. Ember disposed the pregnancy tests in the dumpster at work. She could not risk it.

The baby would not be here after graduation, but Ember would not be in the same household with her parents. She refused to have her child around her cruel father and delusional mother. They were her parents and she loved them dearly, but she could not trust them.