Chapter Thirty

~Nicole~

Somehow, in the span of just a couple months, my life turned from a horror story into a fairy tale.

And I loved it, I absolutely loved it.

I was almost through my fifth month of pregnancy and the morning sickness had worn off quite a bit. I still got it from time to time -especially if I smelled something a bit too obnoxious- but those instances were getting further and further apart.

My belly was also really starting to take off. I went from a rounded stomach that looked like it was probably pregnancy, to full on there’s a baby inside here in just a matter of a couple of weeks. When I had my next checkup, the doctor said that I was a bit bigger than average, but nothing to be worried about yet.

James had been relieved at that, because of course he had been there. So far, he had been to the two other appointments I had and stayed for the rest of the weekends.

Those weekends were the best part of the whole deal. We did everything from watch movies, to walk around St. Louis, we even went up in the arch. If either of us wanted to do something, instead of sighing and saying ‘well maybe someday’, we got up and did it.

Except for sex.

It was weird. After that amazing time in the bathtub, I would be absolutely lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to have James throw me down and work me up and over again, but something was stopping us. Don’t get me wrong, we slept in the same bed every night, cuddling and holding each other and honestly that was legitimately magical, but there was no hanky panky at all.

Perhaps that was for the best. Because I was pretty sure that I could maybe be falling in love with him.

I knew that was a terrible idea, especially since we were getting divorced, but I couldn’t help myself. He was kind and handsome and charming, and after the whole bankruptcy and Jason thing, I felt closer to him than ever.

Of all the people in the world, I trusted him the most. I enjoyed spending time with him the most. He was my closest friend, so how could I help it that my feelings were deepening or strengthening? Even the divorce hovering in our future didn’t seem to make much of a different to my heart.

I snorted at that and got back to work. It was a Wednesday, and yet my hump day was depressingly lacking in any sort of actual humping. I remembered reading once that pregnancy could make women quite horny, and now I was experiencing it full hand. Even though my body seemed to be taking me on a rollercoaster ride that I was completely out of control of, most of it being gross and uncomfortable, I wanted to go for a roll in the hay and then some.

“Hey, Nicole. We’re going to be working a special Saturday this shift for a project. Any chance you’d be willing to come in?”

I looked up from the appointment I was writing, surprised to see my boss. “Oh, I’m sorry, no.” I said, trying to look relatively contrite. “My child’s father is flying in and he’s already bought his tickets.” Naturally I left off that he was a billionaire and could buy more tickets at the drop of a hat, but that wasn’t necessary.

“Aw, you sure? We could certainly use you.”

But I held fast. I wasn’t giving up my time with James if I could help it. There once would have been a time where I had no choice but to snatch up any sort of overtime shift, but James had pretty much taken care of that. I had a cool grand hidden away even with needing a new battery, an inspection and registration all in the same month.

“Sorry, if you let me know earlier next time, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Alright. Maybe next time.”

He wandered off, looking mildly surprised at my reaction, but I was more than pleased with myself. It was pretty liberating having the power to say no whereas in my past all of my choices were forced by my need for money. James had opened so many doors for me and I was eternally grateful.

I finished up my shift still feeling quite proud of myself and headed out the door. Maybe I would treat myself to some nice salmon as a treat for a day well done. After all, I was out of groceries and James almost always took me out on the weekends, so I needed to eat something homemade while he was gone.

I made it outside and was about to pull my phone out, when something violently fluorescent caught my eyes. Craning my neck, I saw a neon flyer taped to the wall just by the door.

My heart dropped out of my chest as I stared at it, my mind automatically going back to the last time in my life I had suddenly found a bright piece of paper outside somewhere I had been.

But it couldn’t be. There was no way-

I walked closer and sure enough, there was everything that I was fearing. I couldn’t breathe, and I could hardly read, as shock settled in.

There was my name across the top and a terribly pixelated picture of me in the center. In smaller type below that, it said that I was blackmailing a rich man for the custody of his child, that I was a home wrecker and it listed some married man that I had never heard of, and that I was addicted to drugs.

That was ridiculous! No one would believe that, right?

But I already knew the answer to that. Heart rate shooting up to a hundred, I knew that everyone would eat the drama and gossip up with a spoon. How did that vile woman find out where I worked though? How did she even know I was in St. Louis?

Despite her lapse of judgement with Jason, I knew she would never tell the ex that had worked so hard to ruin me. So that must have meant it was Jason himself who leaked, which seemed purposefully spiteful. While I didn’t think highly of the man, this was a new low.

Quickly, I snatched the piece of paper and shoved it into my purse before quickly walking away. Maybe no one else had a chance to see it yet? Had anyone left early?

I rounded the corner to our employee parking lot and stopped dead in my tracks. Spread out like some sort of hallucinogenic blanket was hundreds upon hundreds of neon flyers, taped along the walls, thrown on the ground, covering cars, it was literal hell.

I gasped, because what other sound was appropriate for what was going on, and ran forward, grabbing as many as I could. Paper after paper, I picked them up and shoved them into my shirt, or my purse, or my pockets. Anything to get them out of public view.

I was in an absolute panic as I hurriedly cleaned up. I noted that some of them said different things, but I couldn’t quite make out the words through the blurring tears in my eyes. Why was she doing this to me? I had just found peace, why was she trying to ruin my life again?! I had told off Jason; I wasn’t looking for any sort of romantic connection or anything like that with him. If anything, I wanted him to disappear from my life entirely.

But that didn’t matter to her, did it? She wanted to make me hurt. She didn’t care about me, or my child, or anything beyond her idiotic fascination with Jason. Just like everybody else, I didn’t matter to her.

My breath was coming in wheezing sort of rasps that didn’t seem to give me the oxygen I needed, but I hadn’t even made a dent in the onslaught of fluorescent papers. My coworkers were going to be out any moment, and I couldn’t handle them seeing this part of my life.

Dammit! This was too much! Why, why, why when I had just found happiness, I hade to have it yanked from me again? I had thought I was finally going to sit back and enjoy the blessings, and now this witch was trying to topple it all over again.

Tears streaming down my cheeks, I heard footsteps behind me. No. No! It wasn’t enough time. I didn’t have even a quarter of them picked up!

“Nicole, are you okay?”

I snapped upright from where I was standing, at the same time whirling to see a gaggle of my coworkers looking at me with a mix of confusion and concern. I opened my mouth, trying to think of some sort of excuse, or explanation that wouldn’t make me sound absolutely insane, but suddenly I couldn’t really move my lips to make words.

I looked to them, their forms hazy in my blurred vision, before suddenly the world winked out and I feel into nothingness.