Somewhere on Autumn Woods Drive
By Rikku Minouke
Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, but I had a dream that I did the other day
Chapter nine
In the beginning, there was so much chaos that I barely knew which way was left. But you helped me realize what people in my life were the ones that mattered and which ones would only drag me through the dirt.
I sat on the corner of my bed looking at the palms of my hands. There were small tremors that came and went and they would shake my hands quite noticeably. With my elbows on my thighs, I tried to not focus too much on my thoughts. Instead my laptop was playing a set of songs that I focused on instead, not that it was helping much. In my head, I could hear the doctor's voice.
She was blonde and probably the age of my mother. I could tell she cared about my situation, but at the time I just didn't want to hear anything, but what I came for. Those answers did come. Her sincere apology rang through my ears like a heavy thunderstorm.
"There are other options," her voice had broken through the barrier around my thoughts. I remember her telling me my options.
Shaking my head, I raised my palms to hold my head. There was no way I could get rid of a child. It was understandable for victims to do so, but I couldn't punish a child for what its father had done. I plan on having this baby and raising it in a loving home. As soon as I can grasp what I am going to do about it.
A knock on my door made me sit up and look over. Kurama leaned in the door way with a tilted head. I almost smiled at the just rolled out of bed vibe he gave off. His navy blue plaid PJ pants and white undershirt were all wrinkled and his hair was a little messed up in spots. "Sorry, did my music wake you?"
"No," he shook his head but I could see that his eyes were searching for something. "I was playing a game in the living room for a while now."
"Oh," I managed.
"In the last hour," Kurama said and took a deep breath before continuing. "I've heard: Story of a girl by Nine Days, Hey there Dahlia by Plain White T's, and The Middle by Jimmy Eat World. Next your probably gonna play something by Avril Lavigne or Evanescence."
"They are both on this playlist," I looked at him a bit shocked.
"I figured as much," he nodded. "What is going on? Is this 'Self-Pity Day with the 2K?"
"That rhymes," I mumbled.
"Botan, do you want to get out of here?" Kurama asked with all the seriousness in his voice as if he were the president at a press conference. "We can go get lunch before you go to work."
I bit the inside of my bottom lip thinking about my answer. After meeting his eyes, I knew my answer. "Yeah, ok."
His lips raised in an easy smile. "Let me get dressed and we can go grab something to eat."
"Hey Koenma," I strolled into the back room with a subway bag in hand. My bangs bumped against the side of my face as I walked.
"Botan," Koenma glanced over momentarily before returning to the computer. I assumed he was doing the milk order.
"I was hoping to talk to you about something," I said, inhaling through my nose. Opening the giant fridge, I place the rest of my sub on the middle shelf.
"You aren't quitting are you?" he asked before clicking a few more times. Is shaggy brown hair gleamed in the light.
"No, nothing like that," I shook my head even though I knew he wasn't looking at me. Glancing around, I found our fold up tan, metal chair. I grabbed it and set the chair up next to Koenma. "But it is important and I don't know if you're going to like it."
Sighing, he finally stopped what he was doing and turned to face me on the office chair. I could tell he was getting a bit peeved. "What is it Botan?" I counted my breaths for a moment with my eyes on the fabric of my jeans. Raising my head to look him in the eyes, I felt scared. "What's wrong?" This time, he looked a lot more serious with concern in his voice.
"I'm pregnant."
There was silence in our backroom; the only noise was the rumble of the refrigerator. "Do your parents know?"
I shook my head. "No, I just thought that as my boss, you should know. Because I've started getting the morning sickness and you need to be prepared for me calling in."
"Is that why you called in last week?" he asked and I shrugged. Normally it was very easy to read Koenma, but right now it seemed almost impossible.
"No, I called in because that was the day I found out and it didn't go over well," I explained to him. "I haven't told anyone else, so if we could keep this between us… it would be most appreciated."
Raising one hand to rub his forehead, he said, "You know I can't tell anyone. But you also know people are going to find out sooner or later, right?" I nodded. "If there's anything I can do, just let me know."
Out of nowhere, the tears started to flow, surprising me as much as it surprised him. "Thank you Koenma!" I hadn't realized how important it was for me to tell someone until this moment.