Page 203 of Hell Hath No Fury
BURN
A SICK BOYS PRELUDE SHORT STORY
CLARISSA WILD
CHAPTER ONE
Emilia
I stare at the stick lying on the sink in front of me, my body feeling numb to the core.
My pupils dilate, and my heart begins to throb in my chest.
It’s as if the walls of this grimy bathroom are caving in on me. Like the ground underneath my feet split open and threatens to devour me whole.
Two lines.
That’s all it takes to destroy my world.
What I thought was just a bloated feeling these past few weeks and nausea from eating some bad food turns out to be a whole different kind of thing. A child … growing inside me.
I plant my hand against my belly and touch my skin, suddenly feeling cold to the bone. I gaze up at the girl in the mirror, the girl whose eyes fill with tears.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
It was just supposed to be a one-time thing.
I’m only nineteen. How am I supposed to raise a child?
“Emilia! Get down here. Dinner’s ready,” my mom’s shrill voice pulls me from my thoughts.
I swallow and rub away the tears, trying not to think about the human growing inside me while I turn and make my way downstairs.
My mother is already sitting at the table, throwing sloppy, hastily made stew into a bowl before she sits down to eat without waiting for me.
She gazes up when I quietly sit down and grab the spoon.
“Kinda late, don’t you think?” she says.
“Sorry,” I mutter, my voice mousy. Quiet. Like I’m supposed to be around her.
“You’d better be grateful for that food,” she growls, slurping the stew like it’s her last meal.
I nod as I pour some into a bowl. “I am. Thank you.”
She gazes up at me again, her eyes searching my face like she’s trying to find the lie.
“Your face is red,” she mutters.
I stop and look down at the stew, which smells so nice even though I know she can’t cook. Any food is better than none.
“Have you been crying?” she asks with a condescending tone.
“No, no,” I say, laughing it off. “The water was just hot.”
She puts down her spoon and stares at me. “Youhavebeen crying.”
I don’t know what to say. “I … I…”
