Chapter 5: Coming Danger
Elena’s P.O.V:
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of the bell going off over and over again.
Groaning, I reluctantly got up from my bed and padded over to the door in my slippers so that I don’t accidentally step on a glass shard. But as soon as I opened the door to Helena Hugh, Robert’s wife, I hunched over as nausea hit me full force and ran to the bathroom, leaving Helena worried and startled on the other side of the door.
“Elain!” I heard Helena standing by the bathroom door an instant later, and then she was pulling my hair back from my face as I pucked out guts.
“I’m sorry.” I told her when my gut stopped wrenching, my back to the toilet and my head in my hands. “You shouldn’t have had to see that.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” She chided me good naturedly as she wet a washcloth and dabbed it on my face. “You’re like my daughter and a mother has every right to take care of her daughter.”
She helped me off the floor and took me into the bedroom, stepping on one of the shards with one heeled foot. But she didn’t say anything as she placed me into bed, pulling the covers over me and that’s all I remember before falling under a deep sleep.
When I woke up next, it was to the house smelling like French toast and the sunlight streaming in through the windows to bath the entire bed in it. I sat in bed, my back against the head board and pulled off the blanket I had on me, the temperature in the room too hot for a blanket.
“You’re awake!” Helena said from the doorway, her shoulder length black hair in light curls and a tray of toast and orange juice in her hand. She wore a white blazer and a plain white skirt paired with nude plums, her enormous diamond wedding ring her only ornament.
“Shit! I’m so sorry, I fell asleep on you.” I told her guiltily as I scratched the back of my head.
“Elain…what did I tell you about swearing?” She mock glared at me. “Here, I’ve got you some toast and OJ. Forget about coffee for the rest of your pregnancy and eat only home cooked and healthy food. If you can’t cook on your own, tell me right now so I can send you meals every day, in fact, don’t cook at all, I will be sending you meals every day.”
She finished her rant as she crossed the short distance from the door to my bed and placed the tray of food next to me. Then she gave me a worried look. “I cleaned up the glass from the floor. At first I was thinking about giving a piece of my mind for compromising your safety, but then I saw the newspaper next to the glass and realized why you must have been so angry.”
“Robert told you.” It wasn’t a statement. Robert and Helena were one of those couples who you consider as #couplegoals. It’s not that they’re always lovey dovey, they fight alright, I myself have been witness to some pretty mean ones, but they always get through their differences and come out stronger than before. So it was natural that Robert would share everything he knew with his wife.
“Yes. And I’m so sorry for what happened to you, honey.” She petted her hands through my hair and then cupped my cheeks. “But remember that you’re never alone. Robert and I will be there with you all the way. Now, eat your breakfast, we have plenty of things to discuss after that.”
“I’m sorry for being so gloomy today and not to mention such an awful host. You had to not only cook for me but also clean up after me.” I told her after I’d finished breakfast and Helena had cleared away the dishes. “And thank you for being so kind.”
“I’d do the same for my daughter and you’re no less than her.” Her smile was sad as she spoke of her daughter. Clarissa, Robert and Helena’s daughter had been twenty-two years old when she’d died. After graduating from college, she’d gone on a trip to Vegas with three of her friends, but their car had been all but destroyed when an eighteen wheeler has lost control of the staring and crashed onto them. Three people, including Clarissa had died instantly due to collapsed lungs and severe head injuries and the fourth passenger, a girl named Aurora, had barely survived the crash but had lost a leg and is still undergoing therapy even though four years have passed since the crash.
“Thank you for that.”
“Now, let’s move on to some important things, shall we?” Helena’s tone was serious. “Have you told your parents?”
I immediately shook my head, my eyes nearly popping out of my skull. “No! No, please don’t tell them. I don’t want them to find out about it like this.”
“Okay, calm down. I won’t tell them, but Elain they’re your parents, they have a right to know. And this isn’t something you can hide for long…you’re carrying a baby.”
“I’ll tell them Helena; I promise…just not right away. I need some time.”
She nodded her head in understanding before adding, “And have you booked an appointment with a Gynecologist? Have you done a scan yet?”
This time, I lowered my head, fiddling with my fingers as I shook my head. “For two weeks I couldn’t even believe that I was pregnant…I didn’t know what to do.”
“Oh baby!” Helena engulfed me in a hug. “I’m here now baby girl so don’t worry about a thing. But Elain, you’re going to be a mother now, you have to take proper care of the baby and yourself. I’m going to call my OBGYN right now and see if she can fit us into her schedule. Go freshen up and get all the documents of your medical history, the doctor will need to see that.”
I nodded and got up from bed to go take a shower. I took a quick shower and finished my morning routine and then got dressed in a short white dress with tiny red roses dotting the hem and the waist region, the skirt reaching just below mid thigh. I let my hair down to dry naturally and applied some eyeliner and lipstick before exiting the bathroom. As expected, I found that Helena had already made my bed and was rummaging through my kitchen cabinet for something to cook for lunch.
“Helena, if you step into the kitchen again, I swear I won’t eat a thing.” I warned her when I saw her fishing through the fridge for vegetables.
“But you need healthy food…” she pouted.
“I know I need healthy food and I also know how to cook. You’ve cooked me breakfast, so no you’ll let me cook lunch.” I told her, my tone final.
“Or…we can go to your doctor now and have lunch on the way home.” Her smile was wide and wicked.
“What happened to home cooked meals?” I asked her frowning.
“I said healthy meals,” Helena reminded me. “I never said we couldn’t eat out.”
And then Helena was pulling me towards the door, giving me hardly enough time to fetch my purse and then she was dragging me with her to her car and we were off to see the doctor. But as the miles to the hospital grew shorter, I couldn’t help this sinking feeling in my stomach that something bad was about to happen. Somehow, I felt I’d learn more from the doctor than just about my baby, it felt like I was heading straight into something I wasn’t prepared for.