Chapter 7 Hiding In The Present

• DAPHNE
• A full week had gone by since I returned home and I was learning a lot of things. It was to be expected that a lot of things would have changed, but I didn’t expect just how much. Like how Pops had a stroke and had stepped down from his post as President of Marpha, a pharmaceutical company that he formed decades ago.
• That was the weirdest part for me. When I left home, although my grandfather had been in his late sixties, he was the most active person I knew. So, seeing him unable to move around without the help of a cane was an eye-opener as to just how much things weren’t the same.
• Another thing was that Ash no longer lived at home. Pops had told me the day I came home that Asher had started a business and was now a CEO. My reaction had been to burst out laughing, that was until I saw on his face that he was being serious.
• “Ash is a CEO? Dorky Ash is a CEO?” I had asked in surprise. Well, to be fair, he wasn’t dorky Ash anymore. Actually, he’d stopped being dorky Ash the year after we met. I was 16 and Ash 17 when puberty seemed to hit Asher hard. His voice got deeper and I began to notice him a lot more in ways I shouldn’t have for someone who was my grandfather’s adopted son.
• And now, there was no part of Ash that reminded me of the boy I used to know. He was all man now. It hadn’t skipped my attention the way the shirt he had on when he picked me up clung to his body in all the right parts. Something I definitely shouldn’t have been thinking about.
• Back to the changes. Pops was older. Ash had moved out and was now a CEO. And me…Well, I was pregnant. Every passing day made me even more aware of the changes that were happening to my body. First, there was the eye twitching that would carry on for minutes until I was ready to scream. Also, my bras didn’t fit anymore. And don’t get me started on the nausea.
• I didn’t know how long I was going to be able to hide my pregnancy from the rest of them. I read online that some women had invisible pregnancies, meaning their baby bumps don’t show at all, and I wished…No, prayed that was my case.
• For the nth time that week, my mind went back to Micah and Lori. Lucky her. She had someone by her side.
• Was I ever going to tell Micah about the baby? No. Never. He made his choice when he chose to cheat and impregnate another woman. I would take the secret to the grave with me.
• Grandfather was yet to ask me questions like why I was back or why I left, and had forbidden anyone else from asking.
• “Daph, are you okay?”
• At the sound of my aunt’s voice, my eyes drew back their focus from staring at a portrait of Pops to the woman who was standing by the entrance. I was resting in the main living room after finishing dinner. Pops had retired to his room a long time ago, but I remained there.
• Remembering Aunt Quinn’s question, I said, “I’m fine. Why?”
• “I’ve been standing there for two minutes trying to get your attention. Where did your mind go?” My aunt moved away from the doorway, drawing closer to me. She stopped when she was standing behind the chair facing me. “Have you called your parents to tell them you’re home?”
• My parents. I’d missed Pops and Asher the most while I was away from home, but my parents didn’t really cross my mind that much. Mainly because they were constantly in the trending news for one thing or the other. It was a surprise to even learn that they knew I’d left home.
• “They’re on tour again, aren’t they? They’ll find out when they get home.”
• I expected that to be the end of the discussion between Aunt Quinn and I, but instead of leaving, she rounded the chair and sat down. Then she looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze so strong that I couldn’t hold her gaze anymore.
• Did she know something? Could she tell that I was pregnant? No way, right? I’d changed so much over the years; she wouldn’t be able to actually tell. Still, I felt uncomfortable about the way she seemed to be looking right through me.
• “I know Dad said not to ask you any questions of why you left home and why you’re back,” she began with a loaded, unwavering stare , “but he never mentioned anything about not asking what you did while you were away. Did you finish school?”
• “Yes. I have a Business degree.” It was during my final year of college that I met Micah.
• My aunt nodded approvingly with a amile. “Good. Any relationships?”
• “No.” The lie slipped out of my mouth before I realized what I was doing. With the way Aunt Quinn was going, I didn’t want to risk her asking a question I wouldn’t be able to answer. If anyone knew about having a child out of wedlock, it was my Aunt Quinn.
• Although I was young then, I could still remember my grandfather’s disappointed face when Aunt Quinn came back home one day and announced that she was pregnant, and that she was no longer going to college abroad like she originally wanted to.
• That’s why I made the choice to cut the rope before she could proceed. Aunt Quinn narrowed her eyes at me, but I continued. “No relationships, no flings. I’ve lived alone for the past seven years. After college, I started working at a marketing firm. And now, I’m back.” Even before I finished speaking, I stood up. “It’s late and I’m tired. I’m going to bed now.”
• I was out of the living room before Aunt Quinn could even utter a reply. Rounding the hallway, I climbed the stairs to where the rooms were. But instead of turning right, which was where the actual location of my room was, I turned left and slipped into an empty room.
• Asher’s room. Well, if we were being real, it was no longer his room since he moved out. Anyway, I’d been sleeping in that room ever since I came back for the following reasons. One: Ash’s old room was more breezy than mine, and two, simply because I could.
• Not to sound like a pervert, but the room still smelled like him, and it was nice to fall asleep to that. Sliding my slippers off my feet, I climbed into bed and slipped under the covers. Falling asleep never came easier.
• Raindrops. The sound of raindrops filled my dreams, but it was weird how it kept starting and stopping. After a while of that happening, my eyes shot up with the realization that the sound wasn’t coming from my dream. Although my vision was still blurry, I could see the light coming out from under the bathroom door.
• Who was using Asher’s bathroom at this time of the night? At that moment, the shower sound stopped. Before I realized what was happening, the door opened. Wide eyes could only stare as Asher came out. He was walking towards the walk-in closet when he gave a start and stopped. My eyes grew even wider when I realized that Asher was completely naked.