Becoming Rory

chapter eight

At thirteen weeks pregnant, Rory was home alone.

Sadie had left for the weekend to visit family, but Rory had chosen not to go. She had found it terrifying to meet her parents so soon, as well as the fact that she had clients to attend to.

It had been extremely weird to be alone in the apartment. Rory hadn't been alone for a very long time. She had lived with a roommate in college, then with Noah, then with Sadie. She couldn't remember if she liked being alone.

Soon enough, she discovered that she missed Sadie, a lot. She was found counting down the minutes until she came back from the two-day trip. She found herself pathetic, unable to go a few days without her girlfriend. She used to make fun of people like this, back when she was with Noah. She didn't understand how people could ever feel like that, but now she did.

She had gone one night without Sadie already and the bed was so big and empty. Though the bed was vacant, she stayed on her side.

The next morning, Rory tried to get used to the silence of the house but had to leave early. She missed Sadie's loud, off-key singing. She ate breakfast quickly and left for the coffee shop where she was going to meet her client.

The meeting flew by, business as usual. It was after her client had left that proved difficult.

Rory had stayed behind to finish her coffee and her paperwork, while also wanting to stay out of the empty apartment for as long as possible. It was safe to say that she regretted not going with Sadie, even though she would have had to meet her family.

"Rory?" Nadya Cadwell, Noah's sister called out from behind her.

Rory's stomach turned at the sound of her best friend's voice. They had been friends since they were children, even before she and Noah were friends. She, Nadya and Noah became known as the three musketeers, they did everything together.

Later, when Noah and Rory began to date, Nadya had a hard time adjusting, but eventually did. It was hard for her, to see them together. They were all best friends, only platonic, but then Nadya had to listen to her brother talk about Rory all the time.

Nadya and Rory had agreed not to talk about her brother in that way, which was no problem for Rory, since there wasn't much to talk about.

"Oh my God, Nadya," Rory stood, unsure of what to do. The person that she had called her best friend for her entire life, the person that had been her bridesmaid, was now staring at her with a cold glare.

"Don't even, bitch," Nadya snapped, "what the hell were you thinking?"

Rory gulped. So far, the only person that had truly been angry was her mother, but she never had cared about her opinion. Nadya, on the other hand, was someone very important to her. Her opinion really mattered to Rory.

"I'm sorry," Rory forced out, not knowing what else to say.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to," Nadya growled.

"What the hell is going on?" A familiar voice arose behind them, snapping their attention away from each other.

"Noah," Nadya breathed, "I thought you were in the bathroom. Let's go," She grabbed his arm, attempting to drag him out of the coffee shop. Noah didn't budge. His eyes stayed glued to Rory, the woman who broke his heart, the woman who still hadn't told him that she was carrying his child. If Rory knew Noah, he definitely wanted an explanation.

"No, Nadya," Noah said, eyes still glued on Rory, "go ahead. I'll catch a cab,"

"No, Noah. You're not actually gonna stand here with her!" Nadya exclaimed. That was the thing about Nadya. While Rory loved her like she was her own sister, she loved to be in control. She also had a temper. Rory was sure that she saw an opportunity to control someone, not in a bad way, just the way she was, when Rory left Noah at the altar. She did the same thing every time someone was in a state of vulnerability.