It is Saturday today. If it was any other Saturday, I would have been on a plane to California, but not today. Today I am at a bookstore trying to find a new book to read to get inspiration for my book. I started spending a lot of my free time writing and reading again. Most of my free time was spent with Stefano. I really miss him. While I am looking through the shelves, I feel my phone vibrating. I check the caller ID, and it s Aurora.
"Hello, Aurora," I say once I answer the phone.
"How are you doing, Andrea," She asks, with a hint of worry in her voice.
Aurora has been a fantastic friend throughout my breakup. The week I moved back to Miami, she spent two weeks with me before going back to Italy. I asked her if she knew why her brother suddenly stopped having feelings for me, but she said she does not know.
"I am doing great, and how are you?"
"I am also doing great. How is work?"
"It s good, and how is yours?" I know she is calling to see if I am still doing fine after the breakup.
"It s good, and I am happy you are doing well. If you ever need someone to talk to, don t hesitate to call me. If you even need me to fly to the US, I would"
"I know, Aurora, don t worry, I am not crying any more" I am getting a little tired with everyone worrying about me. I know my breakup with Stefano was terrible, but everyone should take a chill pill. I am even surprised that no one is angry at him for breaking up with me. It s like they all know something I don t.
"That s wonderful to hear. I will leave you for now. Bye,"
"Bye, Aurora," I say and hang up.
Stefano watched as she put her beautiful brown hair behind her ears so that she could read what was written in the book in front of her. He missed her madly, and he would do anything to hold her right now, but he knew he couldn t. He was not supposed to be in the US right now, but he had to see her after a month apart. He thought he would get over her with time, but he only fell in love with her more every day that she was not with him. He missed having her in his arms every night when they went to sleep. He missed waking up to her delicious breakfast that she always sneaked out of bed in the morning to make. He missed her scent in his bed, and he wanted her more than anything in the world right now.
He planned to watch her from the car, but he couldn t resist the urge to see her face more clearly and walked into the bookstore. He watched as she picked up a book and muttered to herself. He wishes to wrap his arms around her waist and bury his nose in the nape of her neck. He wishes to kiss all her sorrows away and tell her he loved her, and he only broke up with her to keep her safe. He wished because he knew he couldn t. He loved her too much to be with her and put her life in danger.
Andrea
I feel someone s eyes on me while I roam the bookstore to find books to buy. I turn a few times to check, but every time I look, no one is there. I believe my mind is just being paranoid, so I continue to walk around. While walking out of the bookstore, I see someone I never thought I would ever see again since he has no business here anymore. I walk closer to make sure my eyes are not playing a trick on me, and they are not. I watch as the love of my life steps into his car and drives away. I cannot believe I saw him. I am confused and wondering what he is doing here. Did he come to see me? If he did, why didn t he come up to me? Maybe he was the pair of eyes I felt following me around the bookstore. Does he miss me? I keep asking myself these questions that I don t have a single answer to. I take a deep breath and dial his number. I want answers, and since he is here, he is going to give them to me. I don t believe that he broke up with me because he does not have feelings for me anymore. I know deep down there is another reason, and since he is here, I will find out.
I wait for him to answer the phone, but he does not. I redial his number and the same thing. I dial for the third time, and it says switched off. I can t believe he switched off his phone. He must have realized I saw him, and now he is ignoring me. Does that mean he did not come here to see me? I can t believe I gave myself hope that he came to see me and wanted to be with me but was worried I wouldn t take him back. Someone who wants to be with you won t switch off their phone.
I feel tears streaming down my face as I realize that Stefano and I will never be together anymore. I quickly walk to my car and cry there because I don t want to go home and cry. I don t want mom to see me crying. I promised myself I wouldn t cry because of him anymore, but it s hard. How won t I when I love him more than anything in the world, and he wants nothing to do with me. It breaks my heart every time I realize that, and it makes me cry.
I am so happy today is Monday because I get to drown myself in paperwork and think about Stefano less. While walking to my office, Emily speaks.
"Good morning, boss," She says, smiling, but once she takes in my appearance properly, her smile turns into a frown. "Boss is something wrong you don t look so good," Emily says, worried.
"I am fine. Why do you ask?" I ask and take my phone out to check my appearance. I look a little pale, but I don t think I look bad. I am sure I am just tired from everything that is going on in my life.
"You look pale and exhausted. Did you get enough sleep last night?"
"Yes, I did."
"I think you should take the day off."
"That won t be necessary, I know I look pale and exhausted, but I am fine."
"Really, are you sure?" She asks, concerned.
"Yes, I am, so stop worrying about me," I say with an assuring smile
"Alright if you say so, but if you need anything, let me know."
"I will," I say and walk into my office.
Later in the day, while working, I feel the urge to throw up, but it goes away until after lunch. I stand in the restroom today for the second time after emptying my stomach. This is the second time today, and I don t know why. I must have eaten something terrible during lunch. I rinse my mouth with water and sprinkle some on my face before walking out of the toilet. I don t feel so good, but I am sure it s nothing serious. I will stop by a pharmacy on my way home and get something if it continues.
While walking to my desk, I feel my head getting heavy. The objects in front of me start to blur, and I feel my legs about to give out. What is happening to me? Why do I feel like I am about to faint? I try to blink my eyes to clear my vision, but it feels so hard to do so. I use all the strength in me to dial Emily s number on my phone. Good thing I always carry my phone with me to the restroom. Emily answers immediately, and before I can mutter words to her, my vision disappears, and my world is filled with darkness.
I open my eyes, and the first thing I see are white ceilings above me. I must be in the hospital. Thank God I was able to call Emily before I blacked out. I turn around to press the button to let someone know I am awake but stop once I see Santiago.
"Andrea, you are finally awake," Santiago says, sounding concerned. He and Emily walk closer to me and stand beside the bed.
"Yes, I am, and what did the doctor say? Why did I faint from food poisoning?" I ask as I get comfortable on the bed
"There is something in your stomach, but it was definitely not caused by food poisoning," A doctor says behind the curtains.
"By what then," I ask, eager to find out.
He speaks after he moves the curtain to reveal himself. "Hello, I am Doctor James, I ran some test on you, and you did not faint because of food poisoning."
"Really, I thought I fainted because I vomited too much."
"No, you didn t. You vomited because you are pregnant," The doctor says.
"What!!" All three of us say
"You are six weeks pregnant, Miss Lopez. Congratulations, you are going to be a mother." Doctor James says with a smile on his face while all that is written on mine is worry. I can t believe I am pregnant with Stefano s child.