Claire felt the extremes of hot and cold flash through her body as the full realization of how badly Derek used her set in. A tight feeling rose in her chest, and it became hard to breathe. She felt lightheaded as her hands trembled in front of the computer screen and hot tears poured down her face.
Knock. Knock.
Suddenly, there was a quiet knock at the door.
"Hey Claire, can I come in?" Emma asked softly. She heard muffled bits of Claire's scream moments ago and was concerned.
Hurriedly wiping away her tears, Claire put aside her laptop and called out "Yeah, you can come in" not noticing the shakiness in her voice. She felt flustered and embarrassed that Emma had arrived at that moment, but also didn't want to make it seem too obvious that she was upset.
Sensing Claire's distress, Emma quickly entered the room. She saw Claire shifting uncomfortably on the bed. Her eyes were still wet and swollen, and a pink hue was rapidly spreading across her face.
Frowning, Emma pulled Claire into a hug. "You don't have to hide your tears, Claire. You're literally going through an unimaginable experience. Cry it out if you need to, I'm here for you." Emma continued, rubbing Claire's back gently.
Emma's words broke the dam holding back the rest of Claire's tears. She began to sob profusely into Emma's shoulder, squeezing tightly onto her clothes. Emma gently rubbed Claire's back as she cried, occasionally giving her words of affirmation as she needed them.
After some time, Claire was able to calm down enough to stop crying. Though she was still upset, she could talk about it now.
"I just feel so lost, Em. I don't know what to do." Claire croaked. Her throat still tight from crying.
"It's normal to feel lost when something like this occurs, Claire. Luckily you don't have to come up with the answers on your own. Selena should be off work now, let's call her and she what she says. She'll have some good ideas on what to do next."
"Yeah, let's call Selena." Claire nodded in agreement. "But when we call her, we can't only talk about me. We have to tell her your good news too!" Claire said with a tiny smirk.
Emma chuckled "Alright, I'll tell her about the pregnancy as well."
They both smiled at each other and called Selena, putting her on speaker.
"Hello, Selena?" Claire said quietly into the phone.
"Hey girlypop, how you holding up?" Selena responded.
"I'm not. At all." Claire responded with a pained laugh. "I'm with Emma right now-"
"Hey Selena!" Emma chimed in.
"-and I need your guidance." Claire continued. Claire and Emma then caught Selena up to speed about the events of that morning as well as the discoveries Claire made that afternoon.
"Wow. What a piece of shit. Like an actual wad of shit." Selena responded after hearing everything. "Well, the first thing I would say is, definitely, get a lawyer. Him using your money without your permission is fraud."
"But I don't have money for a lawyer." Claire said sadly.
"Hm well for now, collect and save evidence of him misusing and stealing your money. That way, when you do have money for a lawyer, you can still proceed." Selena stated in a straightforward manner. "Next, we need to find you a job, or get you back to school. In a way, being separated from Derek is a blessing, because now you can actually do what you want to do without any resistance."
"Well, I guess? But I don't really know what I want to do anymore." Claire responded.
"Didn't you want to be an artist? You were studying the arts before you left school. Maybe you could start back up again from there?" Emma added while grasping Claire's hands.
"Yeah! You could get back into the arts! Also, don't you have that little blog that you post all your recipes on? You have a decent following. You could start to monetize that." Selena continued.
"What?" Claire sputtered. "I don't know. I have done anything art related in years. What if I don't even have the skills anymore? Also, monetize my blog? What do you mean? I just post on there for fun."
"Sure, you post there for fun, but now you can post for fun and get paid! It can actually be quite lucrative. I'll send you some more information on it tomorrow. You should seriously consider it as an option. You really have the potential to do well." Selena affirmed. "For the arts, I know feel a little insecure about that. Do you still have your old portfolio?"
"Yes. I do. Why?"
"Great. I have to look into it more, but I think a colleague of mine mentioned some creative residency program hosted by an Arts agency here in N city. The program sounded amazing. I think they pay you to create art and give you mentorship opportunities for an entire year. You should look into it; the applications should still be open."
"Ooh that sounds like the perfect opportunity for you, Claire. Go for it!" Emma cheered excitedly.
"I'll look into it, but do you really think I'd qualify for something like that?" Claire asked shyly.
"Yes of course I think you're qualified! You're the most talented artist I know! You've created so many beautiful things, and I think you will continue to create even more beautiful things!" Selena yelled to Claire, causing the sound to distort out of the speaker.
"Ok. Ok. You believe in me." Claire chuckled. Emma also giggled in response. Looking at Emma and giving her hands a squeeze, Claire continued" Well, I think that's enough about me for now. Right, Emma?"
Facing Claire's hot gaze Emma blushed a little and stuttered as she responded "Um-Uh…Well…you see…"
"What's going on with, Em?" Selena inquired.
Taking a deep breath, "I'm pregnant." Emma said quietly.
"What? Come again. I didn't hear you. You're what?" Selena asked again.
"Pregnant." Emma responded louder.
"OH. MY. GOD. CONGRATULATIONS!" screeches and screams rang out through the receiver. Emma and Clair both laughed at Selena's reaction.
"How far along are you? When do I get to meet my niece or nephew? I'm surprised John had it in him." Selena prattled.
"I'll be 8 weeks tomorrow." Emma said with a smile. "I wanted to wait until 12 weeks until I told you guys, but I couldn't really hide it today."
"How exciting!" Selena said happily.
"Isn't it?" Claire added with a cheesy grin.
"Well, I'm definitely going to have to make my way over there for a visit. Not only to see you and this new baby, but also to scoop up Claire."
"Me?" Claire asked in shock.
"How do you think you're going to grow and move on from Derek in that tiny run-down city. Sorry, Em." Selena stated.
"No worries, I'm not offended. This is a small city with limited opportunities." Emma said in agreement.
"But where will I stay in N city? I hardly have anything to my name anymore." Claire asked in confusion.
"Obviously, with me, duh." Selena responded. "I wouldn't bring you here to stay alone. I have an extra bedroom in my apartment. You can stay with me while we figure out your next steps. It should be a good change of pace."
"Ok. That doesn't sound bad. I still need to figure out what is going on with all of my things in storage, but I think this might be a good idea."
"Of course, it is. I won't be able to take time of for the next couple weeks, so take that time to figure everything out and then we can live our best lives in the city!" Selena cheered.
"That sounds like a good plan, Selena. John and I will take care of Claire until you get here." Emma confirmed.
"Awesome. I have to go because I have plans later, but I'll check back in with you both again tomorrow. See you soon!" Selena said.
"See you!" both Claire and Emma said in unison. Then the call disconnected.