Chapter Eighteen

“WHY do you keep on covering your nose with your hand?”

She turned to Carmela, who was walking beside her. They were strolling at the mall with Erika and John Paul. After finishing her manuscript, she asked them to hang out.

“No offense, but I don’t like the smell of your perfume. It kinda smells like… You know that smell that lingers on your fingers when you squeeze those big red ants?” She winced.

Her friend’s mouth dropped.

“What are you talking about? I’ve been wearing this perfume for ages, and this is the first you said that.” Carmela went to Erika’s side.

Erika sniffed their friend’s scent and looked at her. “It doesn’t have that strong smell, though. It’s not even sweet.”

“Oh, really?” She caressed her chin. “Maybe there’s something wrong with my nose today. Anyway, why don’t we look for a good place to eat? I’m starving.”

“You skipped breakfast, don’t you?” asked Carmela.

“Mmm,” she said with a nod.

“Let’s go to the ground floor then,” Erika headed to the escalator with Carmela.

Avon followed them. But when she was about to step on the escalator, she suddenly felt dizzy again. Yeah, again. Since morning, she had been feeling dizzy, but she did not pay too much attention to it as it was tolerable. But this time, there was this feeling that she could not understand. She stepped back, away from the escalator when her vision suddenly became blurred. Shaking her head, Avon propped her hand on the wall for support.

She shut her eyes tightly and opened them again. But nothing changed, her vision was still blurry, and it even went black for a couple of seconds.

“Hey, what’s happening?”

She knew it was Carmela through her voice.

“Are you okay?”

Pair of hands grasped her arms. And that was the last thing she knew before she passed out.

AVON knew she was inside the hospital, its smell lingered in her nostrils, and she kinda dislikes it. She turned to her left and saw her friend Erika sitting on a chair, her eyes fixed on her phone screen, and her fingers were busy tapping. It took her friend a few seconds before she noticed that she was already awakened.

“How are you feeling?” Erika rose from the chair and went to the side of the bed. She helped her to sit.

“I’m feeling quite fine now.” She massaged her forehead. “What happened to me?” The last thing that registered on her mind was passing out in the mall.

“You passed out. What did you feel back there?”

“I felt dizzy. Perhaps due to lack of sleep these past few days, or maybe because I didn’t eat breakfast—”

“You are pregnant, Avon,” said Carmela, who just arrived at the emergency room.

“What are you talking about? I just felt dizzy.” Avon laughed. But when she saw her friends’ serious faces, she suddenly stopped laughing. That was when the realization hit her. Her friend was not joking. “I-I’m pregnant?” Her eyes grew wider.

“Yes,” the two said in unison.

She was pregnant with Roeden’s child…

Her wish came true…

Avon lowered her head and heaved a deep sigh, trying to calm herself. The news made her feel ecstatic and anxious at the same time. There were a lot of questions circling her head at the moment. And there she goes overthinking again.

She slowly raised her head and met her friends’ gaze.

“Did you tell my parents that I’m here in the hospital? Did you tell Roeden the news?”

“It’s better if you’re the one to tell him about this. As for your parents, I couldn’t contact them.” Carmela sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.

“But wait… How did you know that I’m pregnant?” She cocked her head to the side.

“Well, the doctor who attended you concluded that you’re pregnant because of your pulse. To make sure, you should see your OB-GYN or take a pregnancy test.” Carmela brought out something from her bag and handed it to her.

It was a pregnancy test kit.

“Go and check,” said Erika.

Avon left the bed and headed out of the emergency room. She took the test inside the toilet and went out only after it was done. Her friends were waiting for her just outside the cubicle.

“What’s the result?” they asked in unison.

Avon showed them the two red lines on the pregnancy test and smiled widely. “It’s positive.”

“God, Avon, what are you doing with your life, and you didn’t even suspect that you’re pregnant?” Carmela stared at her with her arms folded over her chest.

“And oh, they didn’t practice safe sex,” Erika added.

She has the polycystic ovarian syndrome, making her menstrual cycle always irregular. That was why it was hard for her to keep her period on track. If only her period comes on a regular basis, she should have predicted that she was pregnant.

“I didn’t bother to use protection. My doctor said it will be hard for me to conceive because I have polycystic ovarian syndrome.” Avon put her hands on her sides. “And why do you look disappointed with my pregnancy?”

“We are not disappointed.” Erika sighed. “We are just worried about you.”

Carmela raised two fingers. “You and Roeden are together for two months. Imagine, two months, and you’re already pregnant.”

“Yeah,” Erika agreed. “Don’t you think it’s too soon? I mean, you’re going too fast, Avon.”

“Well, for me, it’s kinda late,” she retorted.

The two looked at each other.

“What do you mean by late?” Carmela asked with furrowed brows.

“I’ve been in love with him for a long time and—”

“You know very well that your relationship as friends is different from what you have now. Those eleven years doesn’t count.” Erika snatched her bag and took her wallet. “Anyway, let’s get you out of here so you can go home.”

“I’ll go with you.” Carmela held onto their friend’s arm.

Avon sauntered towards a bench and sat there when her friends left to pay for her hospital bill. After hearing their thoughts, she suddenly felt anxious. Now, her emotions were in chaos. Her feeling towards the pregnancy became half-hearted. She started doubting that Roeden would accept the news the way she did a while ago.

Maybe Erika was right.

Everything was fast paced, as though they were on a race or something. The overwhelming feeling of being loved by the one she wanted the most almost made her forgot about the reality—that they were living in a real world. Her life and their relationship were not one of her novels where the conflict will always be resolved once you turn to the last chapter of the story.

When she and Roeden got themselves in a romantic relationship, everything went back to zero. The friendship that they had back then was just a mere foundation to support them on their journey.

AVON’S mom appeared on their porch when she entered their lawn as if she knew that she will be home at that time.

“You’re home already.” She usually goes home the next day whenever she hangs out with friends. “Avon, you look pale. Are you not feeling well?” Her mom grasped her arm when she walked past her.

“I just got dizzy from the ride.”

She headed straight inside the house so her mother would not ask any more questions.

Avon decided to keep the pregnancy a secret to her parents for now. It would be better to tell Roeden first. She trusts her friends that they would not spill the beans to anyone unless she was in trouble.

Upon reaching her room, Avon fished her phone and checked Roeden’s schedule that he sent to her on his first day in Singapore. He was free at the moment, so she gave him a call.

“At last, you’re out of your cave,” Roeden said when he answered the call. “I thought you would never go online for the whole week. Let me guess, you suddenly miss me, that’s why you called.”

“Yeah. I miss you a lot already,” she said somberly as she lay on her bed. “Come home now…”

“Avon, is there a problem?” She could tell from the tone of his voice that he was worried about her.

“There’s no problem. It’s just that I miss you.”

“You know you can’t lie to me, Avon. Whether you’re in front of me or not, I would know if something were bothering you.”

“Believe me, I’m fine.” She would never consider the baby a problem. Regardless of the time, it came to their lives, it was a blessing. “There’s just one thing that I’d like to tell you.”

“What is it?” There was this sound in the background. “I’m making coffee,” he told her even if she did not ask.

“I’ll tell you when you get home. It’s better that way, though.”

“Avonlei…” There was firmness in his tone.

She bit her lower lip. Roeden would only call her by her full name when he was serious or annoyed. She chose silence.

And the silence lasts for a couple of minutes. If she did not hear the slurping sound, she would think that Roeden already hung up on her.

“I’m going to sleep now. I’m tired…” she told him afterwards.

“Sleep well.”

Avon heard him took a sip of his coffee again.

“Goodnight, love,” she whispered softly.

Roeden did not hang up, and she stayed on the line too, listening to the sound of his breathing.

ROEDEN has a hunch that there was something wrong, and Avon was just trying to cover it up. She would not call him out of the blue just to say that she missed him. He knew her language. Avon was the type of person who gets straight to the point. Roeden would always know. Because even in the old times, she used to confide her worries and heartaches in him though she had friends who were always willing to listen to her. Avon said their friends lift her spirit up, but he was her ray of hope and sunshine. Roeden has a special place in her heart and a great impact on her life.

Back then, he did not know why he would listen to her willingly and comfort her. It was only recently when they started to get into a romantic relationship, he realized that he was doing that because he loves her. Somehow being friends for a long time helped. They had the chance to get to know each other well. He learned how to deal with her emotions. And if there was one thing he learned through the years, it was the right timing. Love indeed has timing. It should not be forced.

“Roeden…” Avon uttered softly.

He halted from sipping the last drop of his coffee and smiled. The way his name rolled on her tongue made his heart skip a beat.

“Why?’ he asked softly.

But instead of getting a response from her, he just heard her breathing. It looks like the plane already arrived at dreamland.

“I love you, Avonlei…” he said before ending the call.