Taylor was welcoming, at least. He’d been busy working, but he tried to be there if I needed anything. Despite the first impressions I got from him, he did care about people. He was afraid to make friends, but who wouldn’t be? One could never guess if someone would come up out of nowhere to find either of us.
The little picture that the doctor had printed off now sat on the nightstand in a simple green metal frame. It was too early to tell what the gender was, but I loved the baby nonetheless. I didn’t care what it was. A boy. A girl. I’d love it no matter what.
I really was pregnant. I couldn’t believe I was ten weeks today. It’s crazy how fast times goes by.
Christmas was just a little over a month ago, and I’m still here. I’m surprised that Zachariah hadn’t found me, dragging me back to where our home was. But first, he’d drag me to get rid of the baby, and I couldn’t ever let that happen. I knew it was a matter of time. Only a matter of time before he showed up to do just that.
I just hoped that he would be a bit more willing to see things from my view when the time came. Iprayedthat he would. After all, it was the only thing I could do right now.
Sighing, I flipped my legs over the edge of the bed and stood. Taylor was at work, the house was clean, and I was bored. Reading on my e-reader didn’t sound all that appealing, either.
Maybe I did need a job to pass the time. Just not sure what. Taylor had no internet access, and for good reasons. I’d have been tempted to look up information on Zach if I was able to most likely.
Opening the door, I stepped outside. There was hardly anyone around at this time of day. Well, anytime, really. It was a quiet part of the neighborhood.
The thought of taking a walk was a possibility, if I wasn’t afraid I’d get lost or be found by someone that didn’t need to know who I was.
Leaving the screen door open, I took a seat on the steps, my hands hanging between my legs as I stared off to the horizon. Or what I could see of it. A small breeze caused my hair to slightly move. I could feel the incoming cold front that would be hitting us during the night that promised to bring rain.
I wondered what it would be like to live here, caring for the baby. I had no idea what it would all entail, but I did need to find out so I could be prepared. Was there any way to be prepared?
What did I even need? And when did I need to start looking? There seemed to be so much to do, yet nothing to do at the same time.
“Hello!” greeted a little girl as she bounced her way over to me, stopping just feet before me. She could only be five years old or so. She wore a pale yellow dress, her hand playing at the bottom of it. Her dark red hair was pulled into pigtails, showing off her gray eyes as she took me in.
“Uh, hi,” I said, giving her a smile.
“Catrina,” called a lady, who I assumed was the child’s mother. She looked a lot like the little girl, but a bit darker eyes and a few freckles along her cheekbones. “So sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I shrugged. “I like kids.”
“She likes everyone,” she laughed. “I’m Krissy, by the way.”
“Avidya,” I replied.
“I haven’t seen you around here before,” Krissy mused, placing her hands on her daughter’s shoulders.
“I just got here not long ago,” I said. I hadn’t hardly stepped foot out of the house until just this week, so of course she wouldn’t have seen me here since I arrived.
“I didn’t know that Mr. Shantez had any family,” she hinted.
“He doesn’t have much,” I laughed, running a hand over my bare arm. Glimpsing the fading mark that had been left on my upper arm, a pang of hurt hit me. I brushed it off. “I’m his niece.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Krissy said. “He always seems so lonely. Glad he has family then. How long do you plan to stay?”
“For a while,” I answered. “I was in between places and he offered me a room for as long as I need.”
“If you need anything, I’d be happy to help,” Krissy stated.
“Know of anyone hiring?” I asked jokingly.
“I do!” she said, her stormy gray eyes lighting up. “My friend runs as in-home daycare. She could use an extra pair of hands. Three days a week.”
“Really? That’d be perfect,” I said. “I used to work with kids at Sunday School.”
“Do you have a phone?” she asked.
“A really old one,” I laughed, holding up the flip phone that I had stuffed into my pocket. It was a burner phone, but worked to get ahold of Taylor if needed.
