Leave Me If You Dare

The announcement made Arabella paralyzed. Her mind went blank and she even felt her heart had stopped beating. The expression on her pale face was merely disappointment and highly strung.

“Ms. Jones, Are you okay?” The doctor snapped her back to her senses. “Please see your ob-gyn for the complete ultrasound and check-up.” He added.

That’s the only time, she got to blink her eyes. Staggering, Arabella walked throughout the hospital and stopped at the park just right in front of the building. She sat down on the bench and let go of all the tears that were already assembled in her eyes.

‘How could this happen to me?’ She kept on questioning herself. When she was young, she had always imagined herself as a princess living in a huge palace and a prince would come to marry her. The prince would love her so dearly and she also loved him so deeply. They would marry each other, then, made a family and they would live happily ever after. Why her imagination seemed so different in reality? How could she end up with a baby with a father who only knew sex without love? Her ideal princess romance was shattered instantly.

‘What am I going to do?’ All she could feel was so much heaviness in her heart. The kind of relationship she had with the father of her child, Bill, was not ideal nor it couldn't be named as good even. ‘Why it has to be Bill?’ She was saddened by the fact that the father of her child was the person whom she hated the most. Of how many times she cursed his name, now, she had felt life was playing a big joke on her. She smiled and laughed, mocking herself, then cried again. If someone could see her, one could easily say that she’s paranoid or having brain damage.

At this moment, she was lost and her mind was in a mess. There was only one thing that made her go through the deepest sadness, it was the fear of the future.

Just when a soccer ball rolled towards her and hit her leg a bit. To avoid someone seeing her crying, she quickly wiped her tears with her hands and leaned over to get the ball but before she could touch it, a small boy got it first and gave her a sweet cutie smile.

“Thank you, Miss.” The little boy with blue eyes, red cheeks, and lips, nodded and smiled at her sweetly before he went back to play with the other bunch of little boys.

The sweet smile and charismatic face of the little boy made her freeze. For some reason, her heart became calm. Deep happiness inside her, covered her deepest sadness. Unconsciously, she put her hand on her belly and she gently stroked it up and down.

Caught in between sadness and happiness, she cried again. Then, in just a minute, she stopped seeing someone offered her a tissue. Surprised, she looked up to see the man standing in front of her with the tissue in his hand.

“Jayson?” Her eyes widened to see an old folk.

“Hmmm… Why are you crying here? Why are you in the hospital?” Jayson asked with an unhappy facial expression. He was about to wipe Arabella’s tears, but she quickly got the tissue to do it for herself. Feeling her indifference, Jayson sat beside her with his dissatisfied expression who was obviously waiting for her answers.

“Hmmm…” Arabella was staggering that she couldn’t even find just a word to say. “Hmm…” She tried to talk again, but she couldn’t make it. Her mind had many things inside, but when she thought of a word to speak out it became suddenly empty. With a heart that extraordinarily thumping, she tried her best to compose herself.

“Hmmm… I am here to visit a friend. Farrah. You know her, right?” She tried to put up a fake smile. “I cried because I haven’t seen her. The doctor had released her this morning.” Then she added with another lie. How could she actually tell him her real situation?

“You actually want me to believe that?” Jayson folded his two arms in front and looked at her frowning. He had been with Arabella for a long time and he could easily tell if she was lying or not. With eyes scrutinizing and entering her bottom, Arabella couldn’t help to weep again.

The palpable scene made the people around turned their heads to them. Being alerted by her crying, Jayson gently hugged her and stroked her back to calm her down. In Jayson’s arms, she felt secure and protected for having a shoulder to cry on. At this moment, she couldn’t help to wish for Bill to hug her instead of Jayson but she immediately erased her wishful thinking because she exactly knew that it’s next to impossible.

After her tears ran dry, she quickly withdrew herself from Jayson’s embrace and put her gaze on the little boy who was playing then, she smiled.

Judging from her reaction, Jayson had a little hint.

“You wanna drink? Maybe we can drown all our problems somewhere?” Jayson was obviously putting up a breather for her and him of course.

“Sure!” Without thinking too much, she answered. Even without Jayson, she already planned to drown all her sorrows with alcohol.

Jayson drove his car and they arrived at the Luxury Bar. It was too late for Arabella to notice that they were exactly in the same place where she had met Bill Sky for the first time. Memories of that night came rushing to her mind as she tried to block them away. So, what if she’s here again? Those memories of them were nothing special. Plus, the fact that all her problems occurred and her life got twisted because of that night, she had nothing to be thankful for. Running from memories would not take away the shadow, instead, you have to face it and stood up in the light.

“Shall we?” After pondering for quite a while, she smiled at Jayson and strode inside the bar. Everything inside was all the same. The spot where she kissed Bill caught her eyes. She had felt sad in an instant, but she smirked, thinking about the catastrophe she went through because of the father of her child.

They went directly to Jayson’s private room. Inside, all expensive liquors had been already set up on the table with their corresponding glasses. A huge French cheese and charcuterie on a board were placed at the center of the table.

“Here’s to forget all our problems even just for tonight. Cheers!” Jayson raised his glass. Though she was putting an awkward smile on her face, hearing the word ‘problem’, she felt a bit sour in her heart. Could you really get away from all problems? She thought while asking for the bottle of wine.

While sipping her wine, “So tell me, why were you also in the hospital?” This was the only time Jayson’s appearance in the hospital came across her mind.

“Isn’t that sound so unfair?” Jayson looked at her with no happiness on her face.

“Hey! I thought we are here to be happy. What’s with that look?” For long years that they had been together, she could clearly see he went through a bad day just by seeing his gloomy face.

“Okay. Okay.” Jayson let go an ample air. “I promise to tell you the truth only if you promise me to do the same. Is it a deal?” Jayson looked at her sincerely and obviously waiting for her approval.

“Deal!” Without thinking too much, she answered not to torture him that long.

Drinking his whiskey in one gulped, “To answer your question, I am there for the CVS paternity test. With the help of money, Margaret’s ob-gyn got everything I need without her knowing it.” He drank another mouthful of whiskey.

“What? What’s the result then?” Arabella couldn’t withstand the suspense anymore.

“I was right. Margaret had played a trick on me.” Jayson’s grip on his glass tightened as he remembered how Margaret had schemed him. Then to calm himself, he drank his whiskey again in one go. No wonder Jayson’s face was so gloomy, he had all rights in the world to feel that way.

Thinking of Jayson’s problem and her problem, Arabella had found it a bit weird. He wanted to have a baby, but he had nothing and she had a baby in her tummy, but she was still undecided to keep it or not. One thing in her mind, she would choose what’s right. Realizing the situation, everyone had different problems, it’s just a matter of how you cope up to survive, and quitting isn’t an option.

“Hmmm… Well, I am happy that you found it early. What are you going to do with Margaret then?” She asked with a wine glass in her hand.

“I already fired her in the company. I don’t know, I still haven’t seen her yet.” Jayson’s face had shown irritation when he talked about Margaret. “Let’s not talk about her. Now, the floor is all yours.” Jayson then looked at Arabella expectingly waiting for her confession.

“Hmmm… How do I say this?” Arabella was finding the right words for her confession but she couldn’t compose it rightly. She gulped a mouthful of wine before she continued. “Hmmm…Jayson I…” This time, her lips quivered every time she tried to depart it. “Jayson, I am …” She drank again and poured more wine into her glass.

“What Arabella?” Jayson’s eagerness to know was beyond her imagination. “I am what?” Jayson felt palpitation from her suspense. He had already something in mind, but he wanted to confirm it and most of all, he hoped that his thought was wrong.

In one gulped, “Jayson I am pregnant.” Gathering all her courage and with the help of the alcohol, Arabella said it directly, then she got the bottle of wine and poured it into her glass. She had felt relief after the words finally came out of her mouth.

“Stop!” Retrieving his shock, Jayson held her hand to stop Arabella from pouring the wine into her glass.

“What? Why?” Arabella was quite stunned by Jayson’s abrupt reaction. Is he angry?

“You are pregnant. You can’t drink too much.” Jayson said angrily while taking the bottle away from her.

“But I almost finish that bottle.” Arabella murmured.

“Who’s the father? Is it Bill Sky?” Jayson asked with a gloomy face.

“Unfortunately, yes!” Arabella answered with a heavy exhaling.

“Did he know about it?” Jayson took a shot of his whiskey and cross his long legs.

“No. And please promise me that this will be kept only between the two of us. Please? Arabella’s begging eyes captured Jayson.

“Why don’t you want to let him know? He had the right to know?” Jayson tried his best to be a friend, but the truth, he wanted to smash everything in the room. He loved Arabella more than everything but Bill Sky had just ruined her.

“I am still thinking about it. I may or I may not tell him. It just depends on the situation.” Arabella let go of another heavy breath. Her face was full of disappointments.

“Don’t worry. If he would not accept that child. I am here. Don’t you ever forget that?” Jayson said with full of sincerity.

“What more can I say?” Arabella had felt his sincerity, but she couldn’t just give him high hopes. Never in her life, she would just use someone to be responsible for her.

Hours had passed and Jayson had been already drunk. Since Arabella was prohibited by Jayson to drink, she just enjoyed eating the platter of cheese.

“Jayson time to go.” Arabella said while assisting Jayson, who was already half lying on the couch.

“Where are we going?” Jayson drunkenly asked.

“To your house. Give me the car key I will drive.” Arabella found him like a little boy when he’s drunk.

“No. No. No. Not in my house. Margaret is surely there. I might kill her if I see her. Just send me to a nearby hotel please or you can just drop me off on the street.” Jayson then laughed while clutching at Arabella’s shoulder to maintain his unstable balance.

In a narrow hallway, Arabella was busy assisting Jayson when suddenly, they stopped. Coincidentally, a group of six people blocked their way. It seemed the group was also surprised by their presence that they also stopped abruptly. Arabella then slowly raised her head to look at the first two entities standing in front of them, only to find out that it was Bill and Trishia.

Then her heart suddenly ached.