Back to the Place We Knew Before

I woke up in the morning, exhausted with a throbbing ache under my rib cage. I avoided the mirror in my bedroom at all costs. I grabbed the clothes I bought in the maternity section at Target and walk through the hall and to the bathroom. I stepped in the shower, the hot water slightly eased my tense muscles.

After my shower, I dressed myself in a pair of jeans that have an elastic waist and navy blue collared shirt that barely has enough material to stretch over my whale stomach. I spent minimal time on my hair and my make up. I was running late. I slipped on my red vest and straightened out my name tag.

I did this every morning, I prepared to drive to Wegman’s and deal with all of it’s unholy ways. I got a job there a few weeks after everyone abandoned me here. It sucked.

I worked full time along side with once retired senior citizens, those who never felt the urge to go to college, and other girls who were in the same situation as me. Pregnant and stranded in this God awful town. While all of our classmates and friends were off making something of themselves, we were here earning money to pay doctor’s bills, cribs, changing tables, diapers, strollers, car seats, bibs, clothes, wipes, formula, baby body wash, baby shampoo, special blankets, special thermometers, and every other thing a new born baby needs.

Not to mention if another person stared at my stomach while I scanned their groceries I would pull their teeth out of their mouths one by one.

I mentally prepared myself to deal with Satan face to face when Whitney Morison walked up to my register, her fake tan glowing brighter than the fucking sun.

“Hey.” Whitney smiled sweetly at me. I glanced at her unsurely, waiting for her heard of friends to come out of nowhere and start taking pictures of me so they could post them all over the internet so I could be the joke of MySpace…again.

“Hey.” I responded coldly. I had no reason to try to be decent to this girl, she made high school a whole hell of a lot harder for me, Rea, and Brae then any of us ever let on.

Mindlessly, I scanned the random assortment of items listening to the “boop” sound after each item slid across the scanner.

I spotted it there on the belt, mixed in among the bag of pretzels, bag of oranges, and a case of water. A box that I recognized all to well, a box containing the outcome of her future, a pregnancy test.

I looked up again, Whitney was staring in the opposite direction, obviously not wanting to acknowledge the test. I smirked to myself and placed all the items in the bag.

If that test was positive that would a victory for me. Whitney Morison would finally realize she is not in anyway better than me, that she isn’t some Goddess who is a gift to every human on Earth.

- - -

“Seriously? Whitney might be pregnant?” Braelyn asked, sounding slightly happier than she did at the beginning of the conversation.

“Seriously. She was at my register today.”

“Well it could be for someone else. I mean, I bought yours – people thought it was mine. So this could be another – those situations. Ugh. Hang on, someone is on the other line.”

“Kay, hurry up.” I said taking another bite of my lunch. The break room was entirely empty and I occupied myself by tapping my nails against the table.

“Okay, back.”

“Who was that?”

“Uh. Just this guy who keeps calling me. Natalie gave him my number and”

“Guy? Is he good looking?”

“I don’t know…kind of, yeah. But he keeps calling me.” Braelyn stated.

“Why don’t you just for it?” I asked poking my salad with a plastic fork.

“What?”

“Come on, Braelyn. That’s obviously why he keeps calling and it’s not like Zack is going to show up at your door and beg for you to take him back. Why not just get yourself back into the dating world instead sitting alone in your room watching TV and waiting for phone calls.”

“I don’t know.” She said quietly.

“Trust me, Brae. If nothing has happened between you and Zack yet what are the chances that anything ever will.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Of course I’m right. Braelyn and Zack are done. They both need to move onto bigger and better things. They don’t need to hold onto the past. That’ll create more problems. I’m just trying to be a good friend here.