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Prologue
Idon’thavetoconvince myself I’m being watched because I already know I am.
Their probing eyes are like needles digging their way into my flesh with their curiosity. I keep my head down, minding my own business, not that it makes a difference. The ringing of the bells when I passed through the door already alerted them of my presence.
I can’t blame them, the watching that is. I’m honestly shocked at how I ended up here too.
The old me, the one from days earlier, wouldn't have cared at the looks. She would have relished in the attention. Thrived at being seen on the arm ofhissuit jacket.
Not anymore.
The knotted-up ball of hair atop my head, puffy and swollen eyes, and wrinkled old clothes, my new style. I’m positive I stink, seeing as I haven’t bothered to change them or take a shower in days.
I know I should care more; it’s selfish of me not to—it isn’t only me I have to worry about anymore, but I can’t find it in me to bother.
More determined to put as much distance as humanly possible fromhim.
“What can I get for ya, sugar?”
I keep my face placid. Smiling would be a waste of effort seeing as I hadn’t felt the need to do that in some time. Even though the woman standing before me could easily make it contagious.
It’s warm and inviting and everything I no longer feel.
“I’ll just have some toast.”
She arches an eyebrow; the movement causes the freckles along her nose to dance. “You sure that’s all you want?”
My hand unconsciously flies to my stomach not because it gurgles in hunger but because her eyes glance down at the swell of my belly. It’s barely a bump yet, but somehow, she understands.
Her lids soften and the sight suddenly angers me all over again. Easily she reads how pathetic I am.
I grit my teeth. “Toast will be fine.”
This waitress knows nothing about me, and never will. We are boundless strangers with one common purpose. This diner she worked at in a location as deserted as the way I was when I left the property.
She walks off then, not bothering to write anything down. Coming back as quickly as the old me had been wiped away with a few harsh words and threatened sentences by the man I thought loved me.
Swallowing, I look up from the most mouthwatering-looking cheeseburger and fries. They are far more favorable to the toast I asked for.
“This isn’t what I ordered,” I say, even though everything inside me screams to shut up. My mouth continues to salivate the longer the smell of greased meat and melted cheese tickles my nose.
“You may not want to eat, but it’s not only about you anymore.” Those razor-sharp eyes once again flick down at my belly before she walks away without another word. Leaving both the discussion and her disagreement for my choices completely invalid.
The woman, she’s being kind, but also intrusive. She’s assuming things that are most likely accurate. Anyone with a pulse can guess that I’m a breathing statistic—probably assuming the worst, and maybe it’s all true, but that’s not anyone’s business but my own.
Like them, I stumbled into the first place off the main road that looked quiet and had a halfway decent place to rest my swollen feet.
I wasn’t in charge of what anyone thought of me, but I can’t blame them if they’re concerned. I know I look bad, but I’m on my own now, well sorta.
My hand finds that spot below my belly button for the second time in minutes. Selfishly—and purposefully—I refused to think about the little girl growing inside me since everything changed.
I’m here now because of her.
A shock wave of the truth douses me, looking around as my new reality sets in. I gulp, but it’s as dry as the air in this new area.
Fisting my clothes, my agitation grows. I’ll be raising this child alone. Too selfish and shocked at my own grief to fully understand what this meant before the waitress brought me this oversized meal.
She’s right.
