Chapter 11 BAD NEWS

FELICIA's P O V

Marcus drove me back to the hospital, and as he pulled up in the parking area, I remained seated in the vehicle with my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes fixed on the blank space in front of me while contemplating the result that Dr. Joe had sent.

What could possibly be wrong with me? Why can't I remember anything if everything in me was normal?

‘‘Felicia…’’ I heard Marcus's deep voice calling my name, and I was startled out of my thoughts and brought back to the present moment. ‘‘Are you interested in going through with the psychiatric treatment?’’

And I was taken aback by his inquiry.

If a neurologist can't seem to find anything wrong with my brain. Is it possible that I was going crazy?

I guess… I have no choice but to take what Marcus has to offer me right now.

If there was no other way for me to retain my memory, then I believe that...

‘‘Felicia…’’ Marcus called out in a gentle voice once more and I slowly snapped my head towards him, nodding. ‘‘What is that mean?’’

I heaved a sigh as I nodded again and made the decision to come to terms with the reality that I needed to carry out these steps in order for me to recover from whatever ailment I was dealing with. ‘‘I agree…’’

And I witnessed how Marcus' lips turn into a smile with excitement. ‘‘Good! Then, let's get going...’’

And before he helped me get out of the car, I gave him permission to unbuckle my seatbelt, which was something I had been growing used to him doing already.

We entered the hospital with Marcus' hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. Even after all this time, I still don't feel comfortable when he holds me, especially in front of many people.

As we continued to make our way down the hallway, we were passed by a pregnant woman who appeared to be between five and six months along in her pregnancy based on the size of her stomach. I heard Marcus clear his throat before he made a halt, and I stared at him in confusion.

‘‘Felicia... about last night, I—-‘’

‘‘Don’t!’’ I stopped him from continuing by raising my palm and preventing him from speaking anymore. When I thought about what had happened to us the night before, I couldn’t help but feel the heat crawl up throughout my entire body.

Why did he feel the need to bring it up again? Why did he have to point out to me how foolish I had been to give in to him last night? Damn!

‘‘Stop mentioning about what happened last night, will you?!’’ I sputtered in anger, clenching my teeth together in a fit of rage. ‘‘You had sexual relations with a woman named Felicia who was twenty-six years old, not with me!’’

‘‘What?’’ His eyes blinked in disbelief.

‘‘Can't you see…?’’ I asked, sarcastically. ‘‘This is me…’’ I said, pointing to my chest with my index finger. ‘‘The Felicia who is sixteen years old, alright?!’’

And I rolled my eyes as I continued to walk, leaving him dumbfounded.

‘‘Wait!’’

‘‘What?!’’ I snapped as I whirled around to face him. ‘‘So, what is it again? I already told you---’’

‘‘I have some bad news to tell you, and I hope you’re not going to get mad at me…’’ he declared, his eyes still fixed on me, studying my face. ‘‘There’s two bad news actually…’’

‘‘What bad news are you talking about again?’’ I exasperatedly waved my hand. ‘‘Marcus... I haven't been able to move on from this thing that’s happening to me, and here you are again telling me another piece of terrible news?’’

He let out a sigh and moved his hand to run it through his already messy hair. ‘‘But it's imperative that you have to know about this…’’

‘‘About what?’’

‘‘Did you notice the pregnant woman earlier?’’ his question left me bewildered, and I grimaced in response.

‘‘What about her?’’

‘‘I... Well, I just want you to know that we had already slept together when we were both attending the same university…’’ he announced, and my jaw dropped as I stared at him in shock.

‘‘What?!’’ Am I understanding that correctly? I let the man who had previously bullied me kiss me. And to top it all off, we had sex?

No, no, no… This didn’t happen in any way!

‘‘You’re lying!’’ I shouted, oblivious to the individuals who were walking by us while gazing at us with an expression of interest on their faces. ‘‘Why are you telling me this information, Marcus? Are you trying to make me look foolish in this situation?’’

I was already embarrassed of myself, and now he was adding even another burden to my life.

‘‘No, I’m not lying…’’ he said in a low voice. ‘‘Actually, I…’’

‘‘Would you please just stop already?!’’ I exploded in a fit of rage. I could already feel my nose flaring in anger as I glared at him.

‘‘I have another bad news…’’

‘‘I know…’’ I let out a grunt. ‘‘Spill it now…’’

He nodded.

‘‘Last night…’’

‘‘Holy crap, Marcus!’’ I stomped my feet in annoyance, and all I wanted to do right now was to burst out crying, but when I saw how serious he was, and there was no clue that he was teasing me, I calmed myself down. ‘‘What’ about last night again?’’

‘‘I… forgot to wear condom…’’ he said, scratching the back of his head.

‘‘Oh… what the hell?!’’ I was so horrified that my eyes widened and I felt my hands shaking as I prepared to strangle him to death. ‘‘Why did you to forget about that? Do you want me to get pregnant again, huh?!’’

He shook his head. He tried to calm me down by saying, ‘‘I didn't mean it... I mean, I was drunk last night and I was upset because you asked for a divorce...’’ but it didn't help me feel any better at all. ‘‘And also, I had run out of condoms, and I simply couldn't stop last night... you're so beautiful, Felicia... I…’’

I was so embarrassed that it caused me to flush deeply and cover my mouth with my hand.

I couldn't help but think about how many times Marcus and I had a sexual encounter in my twenty-six years old self that we eventually ran out of condoms.

Damn, Felicia! What exactly took place with you? Why did you let this jerkface to control the direction of your life?

I turned on my heel and started walking back towards the entrance of the building, where I saw a pharmacy in the far left corner of the building.

‘‘Where do you intend to go?’’ Marcus inquired as he trailed closely behind.

‘‘It has nothing to do with you!’’ I yelled as I began to back away from him and get further away from the situation.

‘‘Hey! Wait!’’ he shouted but I ignored him as I squeezed myself up against the group of medical professionals who were walking down the corridor.

And as soon as I was aware that Marcus was no longer able to follow me, I went straight to the pharmacy. However, I came to an abrupt halt when I realized that I had no idea what brand to buy, and what if they wouldn't let me buy because I'm still a teenager—-

Oh... I totally forgot... I was already twenty-six.

I mustered up all of my might to purchase morning-after pills, so as I made my way towards the counter, I took a few slow, deliberate steps while waiting for the sales clerk to approach me because someone else was still purchasing some medication.

She finally got closer to me and asked me once she was finished assisting the other customer. Her face was plastered in a pleasant smile the entire time.

‘‘I... would like to buy a morning-after pill...’’ I said, whispering the last words, and she stared at me. The smile she was wearing immediately disappeared, and I don't even know the reason why.

After she handed the box of pills to me, I rummaged through my pockets in an attempt to find some money but was unsuccessful.

Shit! I completely forgot that I don't have any money on my own!

The saleslady was giving me the appearance as if she wanted to take the pill away from me, and at that moment, my hand felt something hard inside the pocket of my skirt. I immediately pulled it out, and my eyes lit up when I saw a black card.

A black credit card…

Does it belong to me? This ought to be in my possession. If this wasn't my property, why was it in the pocket of the clothes that I was wearing?

I handed it to the saleslady and sighed in relief when it worked.

When I turned around to head back to the corridor where I had left Marcus, I heard someone call my name.

‘‘Felicia!’’

My brows furrowed as I turned to look at the strikingly good-looking man who stood over six feet tall and had broad shoulders and arms that strained against the sleeves of his scrubs---indicating that he was a medical professional working in this hospital.

As he was approaching, I got a glimpse of his boyish face, which was accented by two deep dimples on either side of his persistent smile.

The fact that he was smiling at me led me to believe that we were familiar with one another, but, I couldn’t recognize him…