2,873 words. SORRY FOR THE WAIT! BUT PLEASE TELL US HOW YOU FEEL AS YOU READ THIS CHAPTER. IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, COMMENT, SHARE, ADD TO LIBRARY! ENJOOOOOY
Aaraya grabbed a non-stick pan from the ceiling rack and put it on the burner and watched as the flames burned their orange and blue flames through it. She grabbed the half-empty cup of freshly squeezed orange juice and took a small sip from it. Smacking her lips together she put the rim of the glass to her slightly opened lips again and let the orange liquid travel down her sore throat.
As she became immersed in the orange juice, she watched as the flames kept flaring up as the empty pan sits calmly on it. She stared tirelessly at the smoke already rising up from the pot, she reached for the handle to the fridge and sluggishly pulled it open, peering inside. Her eyes scanned the various food items. Pulling out the container of eggs she closed the fridge back with the touch of her hip. She sighed. In her mind, she tells herself she isn't ready to do this yet and just wanted to catch up on some much needed sleep, but the constant rumble from her stomach begged to differ. She popped one quarter cup of vegetable oil into the pan and backed away and settled herself on the counter letting her legs dangle.
Aaraya been keeping herself out of the public eye for the past month and instead cooped herself inside the house, and relocated her job in her home. She did that when she noticed the weight gain she was picking up and how her hips expanded in her favorite jeans and how her legs, ankles, and feet were expanding. She threw away the unhealthy food and changed her diet in hopes of getting her figure back and figuring eating badly was the cause of her gaining weight due to her nasty breakup with Jahseh. After that slip up with Jahseh months ago, she screamed how he took advantage of her vulnerability, and how she never wanted to see him again. Jahseh agreed with her and deep down it hurt her to the core.
She really didn't want to see Jahseh ever again, but she at least wanted him to fight for her love, but then again she couldn't really put anything past this man because she always came second to him. She thought about how confused she was when he was pulling a ring off his middle finger, and how her heart throbbed when he put it on his ring finger and realization hit her. How he didn't talk to her for months, but roughed her up when she decided to defend herself against Jenesis on the gram. She felt he only showed up when it pertained to Jenesis. He didn't see her worth by lying to her face for two years and quite frankly Aaraya felt she didn't see her worth either by letting him fuck her again.
She sighed and cleared her thoughts before walking to her refrigerator and pulled out the egg carton she bought a few days earlier. She grabbed herself a bowl, all the seasoning she needed, and a whisk. She cracked open and whipped up her eggs, then proceeded to add her spices. While she was cooking, a wave of nausea came out of nowhere, leaving her utterly confused. She cooked eggs all the time, so she brushed it off as the feeling went away.
Maybe my empty stomach has me feeling off, she thought.
When the eggs became nice and fluffy, she slid them on to a plate. Grabbing a fork from a drawer, she put it on her plate, then walked to her room. She sat on her bed and as she ate she decided to text her cousin, since she really didn't have any friends. She and her cousin, Nya, had the type of relationship where the two of them could go months without talking to each other, but act like they saw each other yesterday once they reunite.
She laughed at the previous messages and shot her a quick text. As she waited for a response, she tuned into the movie she was playing on Netflix. She was eating and enjoying herself when her phone started to ringing. She smiled before she answered the FaceTime call. "Heyyy cousinnn!" Nya said into the phone. Aaraya laughed at her extra character, "Hey, boo, i miss you," Aaraya pouted childishly. Nya smiled and propped her phone up on her dresser, "I miss you too! When you gon' let me come stay with you?" Nya asked. Aaraya hurriedly and chewed her food before covering her mouth, "Whenever you want to, aint shit to do down here though."
Nya kissed her teeth, "You live slap dead in the middle of the city, you just think it ain't nothin' to do cause you probably did everything to do there." She argued. Aaraya gave her a blank stare, but then nodded her head in agreement. "I ain't even gon' lie, you're right. Shit just gets repetitive and boring, so I stay home." Nya let out a 'mhm' before scrunching up her eyebrows. "Girl... you getting a lil thick. Yo cheeks getting chubby, and you look a lil plump all over," Nya said as she observed Aaraya's upper body.
That made Aaraya swallow. She knew she was gaining, but didn't think that it was noticeable. She hardly looked at herself in the mirror anymore. Jahseh had her feeling some type of way about her body. "Oh, u-um, i think i've been stress eating for the past few months, ya'know? I'm pretty sure you heard about my lil "entanglement" or whatever," Aaraya rolled her eyes before putting the now empty plate on the dresser beside her bed. "Yeah, I heard a lil bit, but most of it sounds like bull. And please don't make me have to come down there and run a bitch over, cause you know how I get 'bout you," She fussed as she mugged the camera in a playful manner.
Aaraya laughed before instantly frowning due to that wave of nausea coming back. She stood up, and ran to the bathroom. Nya was talking but they were both oblivious to their duties. The nausea clawed at her throat and as she ran to the bathroom, she tried to force the bile down her throat, but it was too late. Aaraya didn't make it in time before she spewed vomit all over the toilet and floor. She collapsed to her knees as chunks of partially eaten eggs spouted out of her, coughing, gagging mouth. Her stomach was contracting like crazy as she continued to throw up. She cried heavily as she lurched forward gagging as more vomit came out. Perspiration started to build up on her skin as she kept emptying her insides. She groaned as the pungent stench of bile invaded her nostrils and began to pollute the bathroom. There was nothing left to throw up, but still it didn't stop Aaraya from dry heaving.
Aaraya wept heavily on the floor and wept harder when she surveyed the mess with watery eyes. Her throat was even more sore from the stomach acid. Her mouth tasted of vomit and her shirt was saturated with sweat. Aaraya stumbled as she got up and gripped the sink counter for support. She looked at her reflection and grimaced at the bile that dripped from her lip along with her sweat and tears. She twisted the knobs to the sink and splashed warm water on her face and patted her face dry. She grabbed her toothbrush and brushed her teeth and gargled Listerine in her mouth before spitting it back out. "Aaraya, you okay!? Did you just throw up!?" Nya panicked after hearing gagging. Aaraya didn't say anything and she looked down at the sink, thinking.
The last time she had sex was with Jahseh, and that was months ago, so she pushed it aside. To her knowledge, if she was pregnant she would have been throwing up a while ago. She washed her hands and then walked into her room. She picked her phone to see a confused Nya, "Girl, you good?" She asked. Aaraya wiped her eyes and nodded, "Yeah, I probably got a stomach bug or something, because i've been fine up until the last few days." She explained hoarsely. Nya cocked her head back and squinted her eyes. She was contemplating on saying what she wanted, but she just decided to say it. "I think you're pregnant."
Aaraya paused for a moment then shook her head with a small chuckle, "No, I can't be. I haven't had sex with anyone for months, if I was pregnant I would be showing and I would have been throwing up." She said. Nya rolled her eyes at her ignorance, "Aaraya, some women don't throw up at all during a pregnancy, and some don't even show, their stomach stays flat. You need to take a test, like for real."
Aaraya stared at her cousin for a few moments, but telling her she had to go and hanging up the phone. The stood there and let her mind ponder about what Nya said and it only made her anxiety skyrocket. She let out a shaky breath before walking to her kitchen to get cleaning supplies, so she could clean her bathroom.
After wiping it all clean, she hoped in the shower to help calm her nerves. Once she was finished she stepped, out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She walked into her, heading to her closet but stopped when she glanced at her reflection in the mirror for the first time in a while. She opened her towel, and really soaked in her changed body. She saw that her cheeks were wider, and her waist had spread, and her breast had grown a bit. She thought it was just her bottom half, but her reflection said otherwise. Her eyes fell on her stomach, which now protruded a tiny bit. The sight made her stomach do cartwheels and made her swallow her spit. She turned to the side, and it was even more noticeable. That made her stomach drop. She wrapped the towel back around herself and went into her closet, so she could get her night clothes and rest her mind.
-
A few hours later, sleep never really came to Aaraya. She tossed and turned, and whenever she did find her way to sleep, it was only a couple of minutes. She hated that she was drifting in and out of consciousness. The sputter of her ceiling fan brought her back to consciousness. It was a stressful day for Aaraya. She rolled over onto her back and blew out a breath, staring at the ceiling. She could barely sleep. There was a lot on her mind so she just laid awake worrying. Worried about what her cousin said had her mind racing. Was she really that careless? Was she really that self-absorbed that she didn't notice the signs? She sighed and flung the cover off her and stared at her pudgy stomach with wide eyes contemplating if she wanted to feel on her stomach.
"Fuck it," she thought, placing a hand on her stomach. To Aaraya her stomach felt soft and spongy, but she could definitely tell she gained a lot of weight by how she could grasp her stomach fat. As she swept her hand over her stomach she paused feeling something. Every part of her goes on pause while she waits for her thoughts to catch up. Her fingers were jumping rhythmically as if they were in a convulsion. Her eyes and mouth were frozen wide open as she swept her hand over her protruding belly again. She walked her fingers on her abdomen once more and curved her fingers into her skin and pressed hard and damn near jumped when she pressed on what felt like a hard ball..
Aaraya slipped out of her bed quickly and slipped her pedicured toes into her UGG slides. She had on a loose spaghetti strap shirt and non matching satin shorts that cupped her underbutt perfectly. She was careful to bound down the stairs and grab her keys off the key rack. The wind was like a slap in the face when she stepped outside and locked the door behind her and made her way to her car. Leaves was crushed under her foot as she popped the locks to her car sliding inside and slamming the door and staring straight ahead in disbelief. She stuck the key into the ignition, and crunk up the car. She backed out of her driveway, and started her journey to the nearest pharmacy. Walgreens was the first thing she saw, so she swerved into the parking lot. Once she parked, she let out a shaky breath as she stared at the entrance of the pharmacy. She planned that once she got into the store she was going to go straight to the aisle, get what she needed, and head out. She sighed before she opened her car, and quickly shuffled into the store due to the wind.
The automatic doors to the store opened and she was greeted with a warm gust of wind. She looked around and saw one front cashier who waved at her. She waved back with a tight lipped smile before turning her head to look at the aisle signs. She scanned for the pharmacy section, then her eyes fell on it. Her feet felt heavy as she carried herself to her destination. She turned the corner with her arms folded across her chest. She scanned across the entire section. Condoms, Plan B, douches, lubricant, and finally, the pregnancy test. Biting her lip she looked over all the different types they had. Her eyes fell on the Clearblue and First Response, she recognized those two from commercials she saw in the past. She was about to reach for one until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She quickly turned around, kinda frightened because she didn't hear the girl's footsteps. "Can I get in front of you real quick, I just need to scan over them?" The light skinned girl asked. Aaraya nodded and stepped back from the shelf with a small smile on her face. The girl stepped up and scanned her eyes over the test, in a deciding manner. "Do you know
which one I should get?" She asked then turned to Aaraya.
"Um, I- I don't even know which one i'm getting myself." She laughed as she rubbed the back of her neck. She nodded the turn back to the test and kissed her teeth before backing up. "Thank you, I'll end up back here but I have to go." She smiled at Aaraya as she was backing up. Aaraya nodded and told the girl a soft 'your welcome' before going back closer to the test. She picked up the Clearblue first, and flipped it over to read the back. Only a few aisle over, the random girl she bumped into was snickering it up. "Yep, it was X's lil mistress," She covered her mouth to hold in her giggles. Her friend's eyes bucked, "Say you swear, she done got a lil big," the friend said in a judgmental tone. "She looking at pregnancy tests." The girl raised her eyebrows. "Bitch, you fucking lyin'! Ain't know way!" The friend walked quickly to the aisle where the pregnancy tests and stuff was at.
She peeked around the corner and sure enough Aaraya was still there. She walked down the aisle like she was on her phone, but she was really opening her camera. Aaraya saw the girl, but said nothing since she saw that the girl was preoccupied with her phone, she turned back around. The girl made sure her flash was off before pressing record and putting her hand over her stomach to make it look like she was just holding it there. The friend looked on the very top of the shelf to make it look like she was doing something but she kept her camera on Aaraya. She recorded until she saw Aaraya walking in the other direction. She turned around to go back with her homegirl with a sneaky smile on her face. She didn't tell her friend what she had done, because she was going to try and stop her from sending it to blogs, but she knew a blog that would give her up to $200 just for that 30 second video.
The girls walked up behind Aaraya at the checkout. Aaraya looked at them both and gave another tight lipped smile before swiping her card to pay for her items. She grabbed her bag from the bagging area and headed out the store. She got in her car and placed the bag in the passenger seat. She looked at the bag and let out a sad laugh.
"I feel like I already know, but please, I am not ready for any of this." She said to herself as a single tear fell from her eye.
TO BE CONTINUED. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT Y'ALL THINK OF THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE SHIT IS ABOUT TO GET MESSY!!!!!!! DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, COMMENT, ADD TO LIBRARY, AND SHAREEEE.
WOULD YOU LIKE A PART SEVEN CAUSE I'M LOWKEY FEELING IT!