Ch. 34: Expect the Unexpected

A Chapter by Tina Bee

With little to no warning Myra's life is turned upside down.

I sobbed all the way down the stairs and then I cried into Mike's lap curled up like a baby. I don't know how long I was there, but he gently massaged my hair and sang a Samoan lullaby to me softly as I went in and out of consciousness. The television was on Vh1, but turned very low. LaTanya sat next to Mike with her head leaning on him. In the back of my mind I wished they were my parents.

Mom arrived home as the sun was going down. She had groceries in hand, but she didn't see me holding onto Mike until she passed to go to her bedroom.

"What's going on?" Mom asked suddenly alarmed.

Mike explained the passed events and my behavior mom looked like she was going to faint. I could tell she wanted to cry, but didn't.

"I want to go to the swings," I looked up and told mom.

"No, you need to come with me to bed," Mom said and climbed out of Mike's lap and went with mom into her bedroom.

Mom laid me down in her bed and then she went into her bathroom and started running the sink. When she came out she had a wet towel in hand. She climbed in with me and began rubbing my forehead with it. Mom spoke softly to me. She told me everything would be ok because God was watching over us and he'd never given anyone more than they could handle. As she spoke I felt calm wash over me and then I was asleep.

I stayed in mom's bedroom for the next three days. I used her shower to clean up and I slept soundly next to her.

By the third day I had regained enough strength to walk from mom's room to the kitchen. While I was in there the doorbell rang. Sonny happened to answer it and from his reaction I could tell it was no one to talk to.

"Myra," Sonny called out to me and I dropped the bread I was buttering and went to the door.

"What?" I asked him sounding a little ticked off because of the hunger pains I was suffering from.

"There's a couple of cops wanting to talk to you," Sonny said and when I got to the door it was Scully and Mulder.

I felt my stomach jump up into my throat.

"Hello, again," the short detective who I now knew was Scully.

"Hi," I said as I held onto the door frame.

"Do you mind if we come in?" Scully asked me and I looked at Sonny.

"My mom isn't home right now," I told him and the lean detective, Mulder, grunted.

"We have some quick questions for you regarding the Clovers case," detective Mulder said and now Sonny spoke up.

"Is that body her or what?" Sonny asked them and detective Scully grimaced.

"We're not exactly sure yet, but preliminary test results say yes," Mulder answered and I felt like I was going to collapse.

"Please, we have some questions to ask and then we'll be on our way," Scully told me and I let them in.

"If you need me," Sonny said, "I'll be right there watching TV."

I led both detectives to the kitchen and we sat down again.

"As you know now," detective Scully began, "the remains are believed to be Eliza's. What we're looking for now is any additional information you might have Eliza's final hours with you and your friends."

I thought back and it felt like the trip I'd taken with The Crew had happened one hundred years ago, but I knew I had to tell them about Eliza's strange behavior the morning right before the concert so I did. They both listened as I explained how her voice changed and the uncharacteristic curse words and then her flight from the room into the open field. I ended it with Jimmy and I pulling her back from a certain death.

"You should've informed us of this information from the beginning," was all detective Mulder could say.

"I didn't see how it was relevant. I was still under the impression Eliza was safe especially since she, or at least someone, answered her phone the day you two came over for the initial questioning," I said to them and they stood there stone faced.

"Thank you for giving us that piece of information. You and your friends have been quite helpful. We understand losing a friend in this manner must be extremely difficult. As soon as we have a confirmed identification of her I'll personally call your cell phone," Detective Scully said to me and I was surprised.

"You don't have my number," I said to him and he smiled.

"We pulled it off of Eliza's phone records," he said to me and then he read the number back.

"Yes, that's my number," I replied and they stood up.

"Just wait for the call, Myra and try to relax as best as you can. There's still hope that it's not her, but with the circumstances surrounding all of this it's pretty much going in that direction," Detective Scully told me and I stood there at the door looking out.

I watched them get into their car and leave. I stood there so long Sonny had to come to the door and take me up to my room. The hunger I had been feeling passed and now all I wanted to do was sleep.

Sonny left me as I climbed into bed. I didn't mind being alone and my mind floated away into the night where this all had begun.

Mom came to my room when the sun was completely gone and even though she didn't wake me she spoke softly to me.

"I just came from Whitney Clovers' place. They're all torn up over this entire thing. I don't know what I'd do if you were gone from me forever, Myra. I just don't know. Diana and I were over there with care baskets and Whitney sat us down and poured out Eliza's story to us. What an awful, awful life she had to live and I don't want that to be you, Myra. I don't want you to go through those things ever. I want nothing, but happiness for you," Mom said and I could hear her tears through her words, but it wasn't enough for me to open my eyes.

Mom slipped out of the room as quickly as she came and I rolled over and fished my cell phone out of my pocket. I dialed Jimmy's phone number.

"Hello?" Jimmy answered and I sat up.

"Hey," I said and sniffled.

"How are you doing?" Jimmy asked me and I was relieved that I heard nothing in the background.

"Not too good. Some detectives came by and I told them about you and I saving Eliza that day," I told him and he was silent for just a second and then he spoke.

"It's probably best they know," Jimmy said to me and we sat on the phone not speaking for at least two minutes.

"They said the body is most likely Eliza's," I told Jimmy and he muttered a prayer under his voice.

"I never got to tell you how much I loved spending the night with you," Jimmy told me.

"Thanks," I told him as I laid back down and closed my eyes.

"You're really good at it, you know?" Jimmy said and I was suddenly feeling ill.

"I bet, look I'll text you tomorrow. I was just calling to tell you the bad news," I said and hung up.

I barely made it to the bathroom. I didn't understand why I was throwing up now when I hadn't even eaten anything today.

I started thinking back the past few months and all the things I'd been doing. Yes, I was having unprotected sex and yes there was a chance I could be pregnant. I could hear Greg's voice in the back of my head and now I was petrified. I couldn't move as I sat at the edge of my tub and remembered the events which had occurred here the first night of my summer break. It had happened a little over two months ago and my last period was at the end of May.

I knew nothing of conception and how it worked so I got up and went to my bedroom. Once again I pulled the laptop out and started searching for information on pregnancy. My symptoms matched up with where I'd be if I were pregnant. Most sites I went to advised me to take a pregnancy test, but I didn't have one. Then a thought came to mind. Mom kept pregnancy tests under her sink in her bathroom. I knew this because I'd been in there yesterday searching for toothpaste.

It was only a little after ten PM right now. I went to my window and saw mom's car was gone so I crept down the stairs and made my way into her bedroom. Buster jumped up and scared me, but I patted him on the head as he licked my leg. I went into the bathroom and got the box out. It felt empty, but I opened it and saw one test inside. I grabbed it and the pamphlet inside and exited the room.

I would not risk mom walking in while I was testing in her bathroom. I doubted I was pregnant anyways and this would cause undo stress and uncomfortable discussions. Inside my bathroom I pulled out one of the disposable cups I stored next to my sink. Sometimes I would put hair gel inside of them so I wouldn't have to keep the big tub next where people could see it.

I sat on the toilet and peed in the cup. That was the simple part. I read the instructions and it said to dip the test for ten seconds. I put the cap on the end of the test and then set it on the tub's edge. I thought that would be symbolic for some odd reason. I was supposed to give the test five minutes for the results to pop up, but the result came up right away. I knew it before I even read the results section of the instruction manual.

'Holy f*****g s**t!' I thought in my head.

It was a bright red plus sign. I lost my breath. This wasn't happening, but I couldn't quit staring at it. Everything suddenly made sense. I was eating, drinking, and sleeping for two now. I wasn't getting fat I was growing a person inside of me. A huge wave of nausea hit me and lunged for the toilet.

When I got back up I went to where the test sat.

"Definitely a positive test result," I said to myself and then I went to the mirror.

I looked no different than before. My eyes were a bit puffy from crying. Something clicked in my head. I read that another early pregnancy symptom was being overly emotional however with the recent events I knew I would've been crying like this even if I wasn't pregnant.

I left the bathroom and went back into my room. My head was spinning now and I knew I needed sleep which was another early pregnancy symptom. When I got into my bed I thought there was no way I could sleep, but I did. I should've known the next day would bring more news and not the kind I liked.

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