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We're a team. We have been since forever—us against the world, or at least against Uncle Craig's bitter moods and sharp words. Adam's the only pure thing left in my life, and I'll be damned if I let my problems taint his childhood any more than they already have.
"Thanks, buddy," I say as a wave of dizziness washes over me. I lean back, close my eyes, and feel Adam's small hand patting mine, a silent promise that we're in this together.
Another fortnight slinks by, each day a carbon copy of the last. I wake up nauseous, drag myself to work, stumble home, and repeat. I realize I should have had my period already, but it hasn’t come. My breasts feel tender.
My body's turning traitor on me, and deep down, I begin to know. I just know. I still pray I’m just late or have a weird case of the flu.
I slip out after dark, leaving Adam asleep, curled up like a kitten under the threadbare blanket. The streets are empty, the neon signs of pharmacies casting long shadows on the pavement. I keep my hoodie pulled up, praying I won't run into anyone who knows me.
"Be cool, Robin," I command myself once inside, my heart racing as I snatch the pregnancy test off the shelf. The cashier barely glances at me, too engrossed in her magazine, chewing gum with the indifference of someone who's seen it all.
I pay in cash, the crumpled bills sticking to my clammy palm. "You got this," I whisper, but my voice trembles, betraying my bravado.
Back home, I lock myself in the bathroom, the test clutched in my shaking hand. The silence is suffocating, amocking backdrop to the chaos in my head. "Just do it," I urge, peeling the wrapper with fumbling fingers.
Two minutes later, my worst fears are confirmed. The result is glaringly, undeniably positive.
I'm pregnant.
The test slips from my fingers and clatters to the floor as I grip the edge of the sink, lightheaded and dizzy. My throat clenches into a pained lump, and tears spring to my eyes.
How could this happen? I took the emergency pill just at the end of the three-day limit. It was the only time I’d ever had sex, and I was careless enough to have it unprotected. Now, I’m going to have a baby.
I’m such an idiot.
Panic rises in my chest, tightening like a vise around my lungs. I can't afford a child, not when I'm still struggling to provide for myself and my brother. And the father... I don't even know his name.
How am I going to handle this? I have no idea. All I know is that everything is about to change, my hard-won freedom and independence shattered by two pink lines.
I pick up the test and throw it in the trash, hands shaking. When I emerge from the bathroom, I am relieved no one is around to notice my pale, stunned expression or the turmoil roiling inside me.
Life goes on as usual, but mine will never be the same again.
Chapter 7 - Boris
Outside the closed club, I pace for fifteen minutes, wrestling with my own decisions. Despite promising myself never to meet her again, I find myself here, haunted by thoughts of Robin. The mysterious woman from our heated one-night stand has invaded my thoughts like a relentless hurricane, and I can't seem to shake her.
A truck pulls up, and a group of men exit the club to offload the supplies for tonight that it carries. I can already imagine the club coming to life at night. Sleazy men throwing cash on the dancers, women throwing their bodies at them for an extra tip or two.
Of course, not every customer and dancer fits that criteria. But a majority do, and that thought scares me.
I remember how she bravely told me that she needed this job to help her brother. It wasn’t her first choice, but it was something she needed to do. I pray the tip worked. I need to make sure she got the tip.
I’m doing this for her, I lie to myself, to see if I can help her out in some way. Her story touched me.
Right?
Before I can chicken out, I step inside.
"Yo, Tony," I call out, catching the attention of the burly boss. He turns to me, a cigar clamped between his teeth, and raises an eyebrow.
"Ah, Boris! What brings you back? More business?" He winks. His voice is rough and gravelly, but there's an underlying sense of joviality in his tone.
"Nah, I think you’re mixing me up with my wretched brothers." I scratch the back of my head, feeling sheepish. "I wanted to make sure that girl, Robin, got her tip."
"Robin? Yeah, she got the tip," Tony puffs out a cloud of smoke and squints at me. "But y’know, she don't work here anymore. She took that cash and bounced."
"Really? That was fast." I frown, disappointed that I won't be able to see her again so easily. Yet, I am also happy to know that she received the money and that it made enough of a difference for her to leave. "Did she leave any other information?"
