The next morning, David woke up, looked by his side, and for the first time he realized he'd spent the night with a girl and he panicked. It was one of his rules, do everything but never sleep with a girl till the next morning.
When he saw her face, everything from the previous night started rushing in. It was an interesting experience to have something different from the normal rough sex he was used to where the person involved would allow him do whatever he wanted with her body.
But with this one, he had to be patient and take everything as slow as he could else he scare her away or injure her badly. Painfully patient but interesting. As he knew she was a novice that knew absolutely nothing.
It was the first time in his years of having sex that he'd tried something soft and slow-paced. But looking at her right now and knowing why he had to do it in the first place, he became ashamed.
He quietly slid out of bed so he doesn't wake her up. That was when he noticed the blood on his perfect white sheets, confirming that she was really still pure. He put on his trousers, picked his other clothes and ran out of the room all the way downstairs. Where he met Cheryl who seemed to be waiting for him.
"Hey winner, had quite the fun?" she asked and he didn't even grace her with a response before dashing out and moving towards the garden.
Close to the garden he met Molly, who looked at him quizzically, "Go to my room and help miss Madison kit up and leave" he ordered before running into the garden.
Molly nodded and knew exactly what she was expected to do.
Cheryl didn't go after him. Instead she mounted the stairs and went into the room to meet Rose who just woke up.
"Hi," Rose greeted on seeing her. She tried to cover the blood stain on the bed with parts of the bedsheets that was not affected. "Do you know where David went? I can't find him." she asked, by now she had put on one of David's big shirts and his short she found on a chair beside the bed.
"Oh, hi Rose," Cheryl replied in an almost excited tone. "Yeah. I saw him dashing out of the house like he's being chased."
"Oh. Did something happen?"
"Not that I know of. But you know men." Cheryl said with a wicked smile.
"What do you mean, I know men?" Rose asked with a shaky voice fearing the direction her thoughts were going towards.
"Come on," Cheryl said with a lower voice only Rose could hear. "Not saying David is like that though, but some men, once they eat 'the hidden fruit' they've been keeping themselves at hold for, they would find a way to leave. I just hope that's not your case with him though."
"What are you saying Cheryl, David loves me." Rose told her almost in tears.
"Oh really, that's good. Cos I was afraid if this was only for him to claim that bet we had on you." she said and flashed Rose a corny look.
"What bet are you talking about?" Rose asked flushed all over.
"I don't know, maybe the one where he was dared to sleep with you before you graduate?" Cheryl replied with another wicked smile. "Oh come on, why do you think he's been postponing his journey?"
"Cheryl, what are you doing?" they both turned and saw Esther standing by the door watching them both.
"Oh, hi Essy, was just trying to clear things up with Rose." Cheryl simply said before trying to scurry out of the room.
"Why would you tell her something like that?" Esther asked but just got a shrug from Cheryl as she left.
"So, you knew?" Rose asked, feeling her heart break into tiny little pieces. "I mean, I thought it was Cheryl just showing me how jealous she was, but you knowing what she was talking about sounds too painful to hear."
"Rose, it's not what you think..."
"No, it's not. Obviously. You knew I was being played and you said nothing?" Rose said trying to keep her voice from breaking even though tears were streaming down her eyes.
"Now it all makes sense," she continued, "the whole talk about being careful of your brother..."
"At least I tried to warn you..." Esther defended.
"Really, that's your defence? You know how much I love your brother, you couldn't be clearer? Like saying, 'he's using you to win a bet'?"
"Rose, I tried. He's my brother, I didn't know how to..." she stopped as Rose put up her hand in a stop sign at her.
"Thank you Esther, for showing me the hard part of friendship. And I never want to see you anywhere close to me ever again."
Rose picked up her bag, and without remembering she was putting on David's clothes, she ran out of the compound all the way to Ava's house.
There she told Ava everything that happened and Ava helped her call her family to tell them she was with her. She stayed with Ava till evening and went back to her house as broken as she was.
But no one noticed what she was passing through until three months later, after her graduation. She'd found out after a month that she was pregnant.
That was when she remembered that due to the heartache she was passing through, she'd completely forgotten about the broken condom.
She was scared at first and didn't know what to do. But because she was close to graduating, she did everything possible both tying her stomach with belly trainer to make sure her bump doesn't show at least till she graduates.
After three months, her stepmother found out and made sure to cuss her out as wayward. They tried hiding her from the world.
To safeguard his family's image, her father sent her to stay with an aunt in a town where no one knew her. She stayed there till she gave birth.
After giving birth, her father tried for them to sell her daughter, which she refused to do and ran away from her aunt's house.
Earlier on, she had won a scholarship from her school which she defied for one year on grounds of ill health. So she had to find an orphanage where she begged to work for them in order to get a place to stay and keep her baby while she went to school.
And that was how she started all over, Changed her name to Laurel Madison, her baby, Nicole Madison and went through school working nightshift at the orphanage home where she also lived.
When her father found out about her taking the scholarship, he was okay, because she wasn't asking him for anything. He only helped when he wanted to and kept everything about her away from his wife according to Laurel's requests.
The only persons that really knew about she and her child were Tim (her stepbrother) and Ava her childhood friend and the safeguarded her secret like it was theirs.
They both never missed any of Nicole's birthday and always gave her gifts. Ava also helped Rose as much as she could until she was able to land her first well paid job.