Chapter 66 THE MESSAGE
ARYA'S POV
I picked up the phone. Went back to the missed calls. I looked at Justin's name. Then I looked at Mike's name. I knew I could not ignore the phone calls from Justin and Mike forever. I had to talk to Justin and Mike even though it was going to be really tough and scary, for me.
The room was quiet again. Stella was quietly twisting her hands together. I could feel the guilt that she had.
I closed my eyes for a long time trying to find the strength to face the two men who now knew my secret and had my heart.
“Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.”
The phone was still in my hand when it started ringing. This really startled me and Stella. I looked away, feeling scared.
“JUSTIN.” That was the name that flashed on the screen.
Stella reached out slowly, putting her hand over my hand.
She nodded, encouraging me to pick it up. I picked up the call.
"Hello?" I said into the phone.
"Why did you not tell me? Why did I have to hear this from Stella? Why did you not say something to me about it Arya?"
"I was going to.” I started with a lie.
“I just did not know what to do. I was really confused. I did not know the right way to handle the situation.” I replied in a shaky voice.
The line was quiet for a minute. Justin didn't get angry, he didn't shout, he was just quiet.
“The abortion, Arya. Why did you not tell me you were going to have an abortion? Why didn't you tell me to start with that you were pregnant? Are you proud of yourself for doing that?” Justin asked.
He sounded more like a brother than a lover right now. Wasn't he upset? Won't he ask whose child it was?
“I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do. I thought this was the best option I had.”
“Do mum and dad know?” Justin asked me.
“No, they don't know about it.” I replied firmly.
“Is Mike aware?” Justin asked.
The mention of Mike made my stomach twist.
Wait, if he was asking me of Mike's knowledge on the abortion, that means Mike has no idea— at least not from him directly.
“I don't think so. I didn't tell anyone.” I replied, hiding my fear.
There was another pause. This one was longer and it felt really bad. My hand started shaking.
"How are you feeling now? Is the pain bad? Did they give you any medication?" Justin asked me.
I breathed a sigh of relief that he had changed the questions.
“I'm feeling better now. The cramps have reduced. Stella is taking care of me.” I replied briefly.
“That's okay then. Make sure you rest well.”
His reaction was really calm and normal. This left me feeling very confused.
I was wondering why he did not ask me anything. Did he already know the answer? Was he just being nice to me? Or did he not care about whose baby it was and just wanted to make sure I was okay?
“I will, I'll be fine soon.” I replied without thinking.
“Mum told me you will soon be coming back to the camp.” He changed the topic entirely.
“Yes.” I replied, massaging my temples.
“When will that be?” He asked me in a calm voice.
“I don't know yet but soon.” I replied, not wanting to give him the exact date I'd be going.
“Okay, I'll be expecting you then. Take care of yourself, bye.” He said and hung up afterwards.
Stella folded her arms across her chest. Her face looked twisted and calculative. She was thinking about the way he acted.
"That is really strange is it not? Justin is usually very serious. He always wants to know what is really going on. Justin always demands the truth from people. That is what Justin does."
“Yeah… He probably doesn't find this a good time to scold me or question me a lot. That's the brother side of Justin.” I replied, pushing off the thoughts as I rubbed my temple.
Stella did not say a word, she just looked at me with a lot of sympathy. Her face still showed that she felt guilty. I closed my eyes again. The picture of Justin's face appeared in my mind. He looked worried about me. He did not blame me for anything.
I really wanted to go to the camp soon. Being away was not helping because the drama was getting worse and worse. I did not want to be by myself, with Stella and her feelings of guilt. The camp was where I needed to be to deal with all of this drama.
I needed the comfort of Justin and Mike, I needed to feel loved again.
I had to see his face to look into his eyes to figure out what was really going on behind his voice on the phone. I wanted to know if he was really okay with what happened, if he was truly willing to forgive me or if he was just waiting for the moment to do something without saying a word.
The idea of seeing Mike still scared me; it was something I did not think I could handle but since he wasn't aware of the pregnancy nor the abortion, I had little to worry about.
“Ding.” My phone vibrated with a message.
“Who could it be again?” I wondered.
I was almost done dealing with everyone involved in this.
Every message that popped up on my phone screen scared the shit out of me.
I picked up my phone, I was worried about what the message was going to say.
“Mike.” That was the name that popped up.
Mike? Why would Mike send me a message? What message could it be? He was the only person I was yet to contact.
Even though I felt relieved, I was still housing fear within me.
My stomach churned as my chest tightened.
This wasn't good at all. My head spinned as a slight headache seemed to pound over my temples.
“What is it?” Stella asked me.
“Mike sent me a message.” I replied.
“Then pick it up.” She insisted but I wasn't feeling right about it.
“I'm not sure babe.” I replied sincerely, showing my lack of interest.
“It doesn't have to be a bad one. Justin didn't say anything to him about it so obviously he doesn't know. Now pick it up please.” Stella persuaded me.
“I’m not ready for another drama, Stella. Just let it be. I don't care whatever the message will read. I'm done with all of this shit.” I replied as I turned over my other side of the pillow.
“I started this mess and I'll make sure I clean it up. Please carry your phone and open the message.” Stella insisted.
“Babe, can you just let me have some rest please? I'm having a throbbing headache. My head is literally banging right now.” I replied.
“Hmm, it’s fine. I'd have really preferred we finish all of this right now though but whatever you say.” Stella replied.
“Yeah sure.” I answered.
“Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.” My phone began to ring.
“Jeez.” I squeezed my eyes as I pressed my hands against my temple. My head was throbbing badly.