I’m Not Finished Loving You

Chapter 1 Desiree and James were having a quiet evening at her apartment, but Desiree had been feeling sick for over a month and after she remembered she had missed taking her birth-control pills, she took a pregnancy test and showed James the results. “What the hell is this?” James yelled angrily. “Why are you yelling? I didn’t do this by myself,” Desiree said defensively. “I can’t believe it! How did this happen?” “I may have forgotten to take my pills after my graduation last month. I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?” “I want you to get rid of it. What do you mean what do I want you to do? I told you I wasn’t ready for kids,” James said angrily. “You want me to abort the baby?” Desiree said hurt. “If you won’t terminate it, I’ll do it for you, and I will hurt you in the process if I have to, so don’t push me,” James said threateningly. “Don’t be stupid, James. I’m carrying your child. It’s not very smart to threaten a pregnant woman,” Desiree said sarcastically. “Yeah. And do you know what else is smart?” “What?” “You.” He got off the couch and punched her so hard in the face that she fell to the floor and blood spilled onto the carpet. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Desiree cried out in agony. “Don’t play stupid with me, Desiree! Now, if you don’t get rid of this baby, then I’m gonna get rid of you! Do I make myself clear?” James demanded. “Oh my god! Just get the fuck out of my apartment! Now!” she yelled back, tears in her eyes. James walked out of her apartment, and Desiree locked the door behind him. She rushed to the bathroom to try and clean up her face with no success. She went to the hospital, and they tell Desiree her nose is broken. A nurse suspects it could be domestic violence and called the police. Desiree assured the police this was an accident and she just wanted to go home. The doctor gave her Percocet for the pain and sent her home. Desiree spent the next few weeks debating what she should do about the baby. She had never considered abortion as an option even if it was a mistake. She called her parents, Jamika, and Ronald who flew out immediately to visit her. She told them she had an accident and found out she was pregnant, but she didn’t tell them that James was the cause of her “accident.” “Desiree, I think you should come home where you’ll be safe,” her mother pleaded. “But I just got accepted into Stanford’s grad program! I couldn’t possibly leave now!” Desiree cried out. “But, De, you are pregnant, sweetie. Do you think you’ll be able to take care of yourself and go to school while you’re pregnant?” Jamika asked. “Where is James anyway?” her father demanded. “We’re not together anymore. We decided it was best to go our separate ways,” Desiree cried. “So he gets you pregnant and then runs off like a bitch?!” Caleb fumed. “Daddy! Please don’t do this! He doesn’t know that I’m pregnant. He broke up with me before I could even tell him,” Desiree lied, trying to protect James. Her father was a retired special ops marine who had done things he could never tell his wife and daughter about. They could tell they were things he didn’t want them to ever find out. “I’m going to keep the baby, and I’ll let James know.” “Well, I don’t think you should be down here alone with you having ‘accidents’ that require hospital visits especially now that you are pregnant. One of you should stay here with her,” her father demanded, pointing at Jamika and Ronald. They looked at each other and agreed they could visit her whenever she needed, but Desiree argued that she didn’t need a babysitter. Her father disagreed and stated Marie would keep her company the first month and that Jamika and Ronald had to come every other week to make sure she didn’t have any more “accidents.” Her father found a nice three-bedroom, two-bath home in the safest part of Stanford, California, he could find. He agreed to give her the chance to prove that she would be able to manage being pregnant and going to med school. None of them could argue with Desiree’s father when he made demands. She enjoyed the company and was never alone when she went out to the store or to her doctor’s appointments. Jamika was visiting when she found out she was having a boy. As long as someone was around, James never showed up. But he was watching her. One day, after returning from the grocery store, she heard a knock on the door. She was expecting Ronald because a few hours earlier, he told her he was on his way. She asked who it was but didn’t get a response. She opened the door, but no one was there. She thought nothing of it and went into the kitchen to finish putting away her groceries and made a snack. She couldn’t believe how big her stomach had gotten and how her eating habits had changed since she hit her six-month mark. After her snack, she decided to take a nap while waiting for Ronald. She woke up an hour later to see a man in a black ski mask standing over her. Before she could scream for help, he put a washcloth over her face and she passed out. Once the intruder was sure Desiree is unconscious, he dragged her out of bed onto the floor and began to violently beat her. She regained consciousness when he started kicking her abdomen, but because of the bruising on her face and throat, she couldn’t cry out. The beating continued on for what seemed like hours and Desiree was sure it would end in her death. The beating finally stopped when her attacker saw how much blood had spilled onto the floor. Pleased with himself, her attacker turned her over onto her back, bent over, took off his mask and whispered, “I told you I would get rid of you if you didn’t terminate that thing.” The man left the house and locked the door, assuming she was dead, not knowing she could see him through swollen eyes. She tried her best to find her cell phone or the house phone but couldn’t move. She passed out two minutes later from all the pain. Two days later, she awakened on a hospital bed in terrible pain, Ronald and Jamika sitting next to her. The doctor walked in and was happy to see that she had finally regained consciousness.