Page 17 of Return To You

five

Rose

I can’t wipethe smile off my face as I walk into my home, my father following, even with the consent dizzy spells throughout the day, my smile doesn’t stop.

Today couldn’t have gone any better….

“Alright, my Little Rose. Why don’t you go put your diploma on the table, and we’ll head out for our reservations.” Dad says, and I nod, still smiling.

“Do you think he was shocked?” I ask, walking around the cream-colored couch, and Dad laughs.

“Shocked wasn’t the word, sweetheart. He thought you weren’t coming at one point,” he confirms, and I grin, looking his way. He continues, “And just wait until he sees that Duke you’ve been hiding in the garage.”

I snort as I put the paper down, not at all surprised Dad noticed despite him hardly going into the garage.

Noah has always wanted a motorcycle but wanted to wait until he’d made it. I thought if I saved, then maybe, just maybe, I could get him a cheap one as a graduation gift. This amazingman was selling his KTM 250 Duke for only $1200, needing the money for his disabled four-year-old daughter.

After meeting her, I gave him another $200, which made him a little emotional.

Shrugging, I say, “I’ve been saving like mad since I was fourteen, and he deserves it.”

Dad nods with a small smile.

He hoped this would happen when he kept his promise to Mom. He wanted his kids to not be spoiled but to learn to be grateful, and to put others first.

Noah deserves the world, as far as I’m concerned, and I still have plenty of savings, especially with the scholarship I’ve been offered for my online schooling to study marine biology and animal behavior before going onto fieldwork, where I’ll have to work within the marine industry to establish different kinds of mammal behaviors.

I love the ocean, and I am intrigued by dolphins, whales, seals. My goal is to work within the data industry, which means pursuing my PhD, which will take at least six years. After that, I’m hoping to become a mammal trainer, once I know everything about them, which means pursuing my SCUBA certificate, and ensuring I can swim well.

The scholarship will help, but it won’t pay for everything. This is where my dad comes in, offering to help, which I have taken him up on.

Shaking my head at my father’s goofy look, I move around the couch, ready for some food, tbecause I’m pretty sure that’s why I felt lightheaded and sick all day, when suddenly dizziness hits me again but this time everything blurs, nausea pulling at me.

I quickly grab the back of the couch, trying to breathe through the sickness, and squeeze my eyes tight as the room begins to spin.

“Rose!” I hear my father panic, and everything goes black.

“Are you sure?” I hear my father rasp, and I slowly open my eyes.

I hear beeping and look down to see a finger monitor on, and swallow hard before looking around, and instantly, I know I’m in the ER.

“The blood tests came back positive. We can do a transvaginal ultrasound, but….” A strange voice tries to explain but Dad cuts him off and demands, “Then do it right now!”

I squeeze my eyes tight as dizziness hits, and the doctor stutters, “I-I, I’m sorry, sir, but we can’t until she-she wakes….”

I clear my throat. “Dad?”

He comes into view as I gently sit up, his light green eyes looking a little wild and full of concern.

“How are you feeling, Rose?” he asks with a calmness that doesn’t match his expression. I can see his body vibrating from here.

I frown when I notice a doctor sweating a little, and say, “I feel dizzy and sick.”

The doctor steps forward, his white hair neatly brushed back, his light blue eyes looking at me with sympathy.

My heart races with concern until he says, “That’s to be expected. Rose, you are pregnant.” My eyes widen in shock because surely it can’t be possible; we’ve been using protection. He gives me a small smile. “By the hCG levels in your blood test, you're roughly three weeks. We can do a transvaginal ultrasound, where we place a wand inside you to get a good look on the baby. It’ll tell us exactly how far you are, but there won’t be a heartbeat yet.”

My father butts in, “What about an abortion? There’s a pill she can take, right?”

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