Once inside, I took an attentive look around. The wood floor was well worn but clean. The off-white walls of the living room held no pictures or personal mementos. Along one wall, next to the window, sat a light brown sofa. Across from it, was a fireplace with a TV mounted not far above.
The place felt homey, which I was not expecting. I hadn’t been sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.
The man shut the door behind us, still basically not looking at me.
“So, what can I do?” he asked bitterly.
“I won’t take much of your time,” Carlos said. “Avidya, this is Taylor. Taylor, Avidya.”
The man, Taylor, nodded at me before returning his eyes back to Carlos.
“She needs to stay low for a while,” Carlos stated.
“How long is a while?” Taylor asked. “I have things to do and can’t be held up. You know I don’t want to be dragged into your messes.”
“Until she is ready to return,” Carlos stated. “It’s not my place to tell you her reasons. But she’s not safe with my family.”
“Why?” Taylor asked, glancing at me. His look was different than when he looked at the man that had brought me here. It almost looked like Taylor felt sorry for me.
“I’m pregnant,” I stated. Surprisingly, my voice was even and didn’t break, despite how much I’d been crying. “I can’t stay there anymore.”
“So, it’s not his, then?” Taylor asked, almost knowingly.
“My son is the child’s father,” Carlos stated, a threat to his words. “He’s not happy with his wife’s choices. But Avidya doesn’t want to do what Racheal did.”
“Good,” Taylor stated as though he didn’t want that either. “She is welcome to stay for now. You make sure he doesn’t show up here.”
“He won’t,” Carlos said, a sigh of relief with his words. “If so, you can deal with him how you like.”
“Wouldn’t do it any other way,” Taylor grunted out. “I have a spare room. It’s not much, but should work for now.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“It’s what family is for,” he shrugged. Then, turning back to Carlos, he asked, “How likely is it that he will show up here?”
“Not likely,” Carlos said flatly. “You know I am one of only two people who know who you are, or where you are. You will both be safe here.
“Here,” he stated, pulling a brown envelope from the inside of his coat pocket. “To cover any costs.”
“That’s not needed,” Taylor said, waving it away.
“Fine,” Carlos said, setting it atop the fireplace. “Just in case.” He paused, thinking over his words as he turned to me. “You are doing the right thing, Avidya. Just do what you need to. When you are ready, you know where to call.”
With that, Carlos left without a goodbye.
“I’ll show you the room,” Taylor croaked. I didn’t argue as he showed to me the guest room.
And now, I found myself still in the bed barely leaving it but for bathroom breaks as I was hardly eating anything.
“I’m not hungry,” I muttered.
“If you want to waste away, go right ahead,” Taylor grumbled. “You ran to keep that thing, you shouldn’t give up on that. If that’s what you’re going to do, you might as well head back to that man you left.”
“He’ll kill it,” I whimpered.
“And you will too if you don’t get up and eat. You gotta take care of yourself if you expect to keep it,” he huffed before leaving me alone once more. Unlike the last few times he had told me to eat, he left the door open. A clear sign that he expected me to get my butt up and take care of myself. Maybe he did care about my wellbeing.
He was right. I ran to keep this baby, I had to take care of myself to do so.
