7/24/2012: Plot Generator—Idea Completion: Raising the stakes.
The warm water of the shower felt good on my achy body. Everything hurt. My muscles burned. I stayed under the spray for a long time, letting the water soothe and calm me until I felt like I could breathe again.
I scrubbed everywhere and washed my hair, trying to ignore the fact that even this felt different now.
The clutter that usually surrounded the inside of our shower was gone. There were no more frilly lotions or smelly shampoos. No bright pink razors or long brown hairs in the drain. It was just me, and though it'd been months since the last time Bella was here, it was like I was seeing everything fresh. With new eyes.
I shut off the water and stepped out when I was finished, grabbing a towel from the closet. I wrapped it around my waist and walked to the mirror, using my hand to wipe the steam from the glass so I could see myself. I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually looked.
My eyes were dark and dull, the bags under them heavy. I had a cut above my left eyebrow that I couldn't recall getting, and three weeks of growth on my cheeks. I didn't even recognize myself.
After brushing my teeth, I decided to forgo shaving and left the scruff on my face for a different day. I ran a comb through my hair, not really focused on anything until something pink from the garbage can caught my eye. I bent over to get a closer look.
First Response
My stomach rolled as I read the words just below: pregnancy test.
I swallowed thickly and stood there, frozen, staring at the box before reaching down and picking it up with shaking hands.
I was afraid to look, but I had to know.
Bella and I had discussed children, long ago. We both wanted kids, but we'd decided it was best to wait a little bit before we took that leap. We wanted time to ourselves before we brought kids into our life.
But unplanned pregnancies happened all the time.
Inside the box were two opened packages with the tests inside. Meaning these weren't new. She'd used them. She'd thought she was pregnant.
I slid one test out of its packaging and stared at it. My hand wouldn't stop shaking. My heart was pounding. I felt sick again, and I wanted a drink. Badly.
I wished Emmett had never showed up here. If he hadn't shown up...
It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out very easily that she was pregnant. Two pink lines. Two fucking pink lines stared back at me.
How could she?
I dressed quickly in jeans and a shirt before taking the stairs two at a time. I had to get to Forks. She couldn't just not tell me something like this…and then leave. She couldn't do this. No matter how badly I'd hurt her, didn't she stop to think how I would feel finding out about our baby in this way?
In the living room, the bottles had been cleaned up. The divorce papers were still in their place on the coffee table with the pen on top. I could hear Emmett in the kitchen talking to himself, and as I turned the corner he looked up at me. He had picked up the mail from the floor and was sorting through it on the counter.
I didn't give him a chance to lecture me.
Knowing my car had disappeared, I knew I needed his help. I wasn't taking no for an answer, either.
"I need you to take me to Forks right now. Or give me your car keys." I had the positive pregnancy test in my hand.
Em's eyes shifted between my face and what I was holding, and I knew he was going to argue before he even opened his mouth.
"You're not in any condition to drive right now," he said.
"Then take me to Forks. Right now, come on." I turned toward the door and stopped short when he didn't follow. He didn't understand. I had to get to her. "I'm not fucking kidding!" I screamed, moving back in his direction and slamming the test on the counter so he could see. "She's pregnant, Emmett! She's pregnant and she left and I need you to take me to her right the fuck now!"
He took a step back, looking completely shocked at the level of my voice. His eyes landed once more on the test lying on the counter and he sighed. "Maybe we should rethink this…you shouldn't—"
"Emmett," I warned, not in any mood to hear his arguments. He held up his hands in front of him to try and calm me down, but I wasn't in a calming mood. "I should have done this three months ago, Em. I should have fucking done this the night she left!"
My eyes burned as the words left my mouth, and he just watched me as I slowly began to unravel in front of him. I wasn't sure how much he knew. I wasn't sure what brought him here today. I didn't care. None of that mattered.
All that mattered was getting to Bella. Because this…this raised the stakes.
On everything.
thank you for reading. :) i want to point out, too, that the first chapter is just one example of what these two went through before bella left. the actual downfall of their marriage will come out as we get further along into the story. see you tomorrow!