Beautiful Mistake (Mistake #1)

by Laiza Millan

  Chapter 2

  .

  "Emma, please tell me what's wrong," Jenna sighed, handing her friend a chocolate bar. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."

  Emma shook her head. She wasn't ready to tell Jenna what had made her upset. It would devastate her even more to see Jenna's reaction if she told her the truth.

  "I'm just not feeling well, that's all," Emma half-lied, cradling the warm blanket Jenna conjured up for her.

  Jenna raised an eyebrow. "You burst inside our flat bawling your eyes out, and now you tell me that you are just not feeling well? Do you find me that incompetent?"

  Emma closed her eyes, the pounding inside her head growing more painful than before. "Jenna, please. Not now."

  The redhead continued to stare at her with calculating eyes, debating whether she should just drop it for now or keep pushing her to talk.

  "Fine," Jenna decided. "I'll let you rest for now and then-"

  "No, it's fine," Emma assured her, unwrapping herself from the blanket and trying to hand it back to Jenna. "I have to go to work anyways"

  "Don't be stupid," Jenna snapped, grabbing her hand and leading her upstairs to the guest bedroom. "You are in no good condition to be driving by yourself."

  She pushed the door open and led Emma towards the bed before closing the windows, changing the temperature to make the room feel warm.

  "But I'm fine!" Emma moaned. But she was already climbing on top of the soft, comfortable bed.

  Mmm, so warm, too.

  She immediately wrapped herself in the thick blanket and curled her body into a more comfortable position.

  Jenna smiled at her friend's behavior and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, I can clearly see how fine you are," she said sarcastically. "Just relax and sleep, yeah? I'll call your work for you."

  Emma nodded and laid her head down on the pillow as Jenna left her alone. While her body was relaxing, her brain was racing with thoughts, not giving her the chance for her mind to relax, as well.

  How could Drake Rogers do this to her? Didn't he say he wanted to be nicer to her because she helped him out? He was such a bastard...

  Emma turned to her side and curled up, her eyes beginning to moisten with anger towards herself.

  She shouldn't have trusted him easily. Guys like Drake Rogers never change and are never thankful. Emma blinked back tears as she suddenly realized something she couldn't believe she'd nearly forgotten.

  Drake had coldly taken away her virginity while she was drunk and shit minded, and he didn't even care.

  The thought made her stomach drop and the anger in her increases, making her feel even more dirty. Oh, how she absolutely hated Drake Rogers. Never before had she thought she could ever hate a person.

  Drake was her first.

  .

  .

  "Drake, what do you think of this design?" Alona asked her fiancé, holding up a magazine. "Do you like it, love?"

  Drake merely glanced at the page and nodded, "Sure, Alona. Whatever you want."

  Alona sighed, disappointed that her husband-to-be couldn't at least pretend that he was excited about their wedding, which was coming in a few months. She placed her magazine down on the table and tried a different tactic to get his attention.

  "Drake," Alona smiled, gently taking his hand with hers. "Do you want to visit some friends tonight? Maybe ask your mother for some advice?"

  Drake rolled his eyes and sighed, "No, Alona. Mother is busy at the moment and I'm sure my friends are, as well."

  Alona frowned. ''But you barely talk to them and-"

  "Look," Drake said impatiently, "Just pick whatever design you want for the wedding, whatever dress you want, and you'll have it, alright?"

  She continued to stare at him for a few seconds before giving up with a nod. She should have known that Drake wasn't into these things.

  "Alright, love," Alona whispered. She leaned in to give him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Don't be up too late, okay?"

  Drake didn't answer, as he appeared to be too busy reading the newspaper about some football team who had won a game.

  Alona sighed again and got up to leave him in peace. She should have known this whole arranged marriage was going to be boring for her. Though she could admit, when she heard about the arrangement, she was ecstatic.

  She would be the future Mrs. Rogers. She always did have a little crush on him when they were just young kids in high school, and he was this charming foreign exchange student... But now that she was getting to know the real Drake Rogers, she couldn't help but feel regretful and stupid for turning down another man who had actually loved her.

  Maybe Drake could learn to love her, too. All she needed to do was to give him some time.

  .

  .

  "Hey Emma!" Jason and Tom greeted her as she and Jenna entered the restaurant.

  "What, no enthusiastic hello for me?" Jenna pretended to look hurt.

  "We're cousins, we're related," Tom scoffed at Jenna, pulling Emma into a tight hug.

  "And you and I are married," Jason reminded Jenna, hugging Emma after Tom released her. "Literally, I see you every other day."

  Jenna scoffed, "That is no excuse."

  "Anyway, where have you been, Emma?" Tom asked, flipping through his menu. "We haven't heard from you in a while?"

  "Oh, you know me," Emma smiled, trying to push down her guilt, "been working and all."

  "You work too much," Jason frowned.

  He leaned to his side to kiss his wife on the cheek, making Jenna's cheek redden with either embarrassment or glee.

  Emma smiled at the gesture, feeling happy that she was with her friends. It had been weeks since her mistake with Drake and she hadn't had any time for herself. She had been diving into her workload just to get the prick out of her mind.

  She was having such a great time teasing Tom about how his eating habits never changed, that she didn't notice the way he had looked behind her, scowling.

  "You've have got to be kidding me," Tom growled, glaring at something behind Emma.

  Jason, Jenna, and Emma turned to look where he was nodding.

  To Emma's horror, Drake Rogers strolled inside the restaurant with his arms wrapped around a beautiful girl's waist.

  "She looks familiar," Jason frowned, looking at the way the girl seemed attached to Drake.

  "Her name is Alona Gordon," Jenna informed them. "Ugh, just look at the way she is hanging off of him. It's disturbing."

  Emma kept her eyes on her food, playing with the peas with her fork.

  "Oh yeah, she went to school with us a few years after we started, right?" Tom asked. "She's... pretty. What is she doing with that prick?"

  Jenna lightly smacked him on the arm. "Honestly, don't you ever read a newspaper for anything other than sports?"

  Tom rolled his eyes. "I really don't give a rat's ass about Rogers being on the front page, so no."

  Jenna glared at her cousin in annoyance. "If you even bothered to read the headline of those entertainment magazines’ front covers, you would have seen that he's engaged to her."

  She didn't realize Emma had stiffened beside her.

  "They've got engaged a few years after graduating," Jenna informed them. "I never pegged Rogers as the marriage type."

  "So he was engaged even during his imprisonment?" Tom asked, looking like he didn't believe it.

  "Yup," Jenna nodded, biting into her chicken.

  "How the hell did that even happen? And how do you know all of this, anyway?" Jason asked, frowning at his wife suspiciously.

  Jenna shrugged. "When you have coworkers like Diane Ward, who only care about the city's richest bachelors, springing up gossip everywhere she goes, and shoving the latest magazine or newspaper on your faces, it's kind of hard not to know."

  Engaged.

  The fucking bastard was engaged this whole time?

  Emma felt like her insides were burning with fire. How could he do this to her? Wait no, that was s
uch a typical Drake Rogers thing to do. Lie to people to get what he wanted.

  All he had to do was bloody sweet-talk her, take her out to eat, and buy her a book. That was all it took to get inside her pants. She couldn't help but feel ashamed and dirty.

  Emma swallowed hard, her hands feeling sweaty and hot. She didn't realize she was breathing very hard until Tom had leaned towards her to ask, "Emma? You alright?"

  She snapped up in surprise and forced a smile, "Yeah! Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

  "You're quiet all of a sudden," Jason said, looking at her with concern.

  "I'm fine," Emma smiled, shaking her head.

  But it felt as if the food she was eating was rotting inside her stomach, making her feel sick.

  Jenna placed a hand on her forehead, "Seriously, Emma, you're all sweaty and warm..."

  Before Emma could assure them that she was fine, she felt the food inside her traveling towards her chest. Immediately, she clamped her mouth shut with her hands and shot up.

  Ignoring everyone's surprise, she ran towards the restroom and heaved her sickness down the nearest toilet.

  .

  .

  "That was weird," Alona said softly, looking curiously at the table where the girl with the bushy hair had been sitting.

  "What?" Drake asked, looking at the place she was staring.

  "Wasn't that Emma Collins?" Alona asked.

  Drake scoffed. "Who cares?"

  Since when does she care about some random woman other than herself?

  She glared at him and said, "Wasn't she the one who helped you with your case?"

  "Yes," Drake sighed. "She was."

  "Then the least you can do is being nice to her, you know." Alona tutted at him, looking down at her menu that was presented to her.

  "I was," Drake informed her. "I ran into her and got her this book she wanted. Really nerdy if you ask me."

  Alona looked up in surprise. She felt her face stretching into a smile.

  At least Drake was becoming a better person now, she thought, as she brushed away the silky hairs that were covering his eyes. Maybe she should invite Emma to their wedding.

  Drake glanced up in time to see Jenna talking animatedly with Jason and Tom in a frantic matter. Tom shot up from his seat and was in the middle of striding towards the restroom when Jenna grabbed his arm. Drake wished he could hear what she was whispering furiously at her cousin.

  Not that he cared. Please, he was just...nosy.

  "What are you getting, love?" Alona asked, breaking his thoughts.

  Drake looked down at the menu and picked out a random meal. "Salmon."

  MEANWHILE...

  "Are you insane?" Jenna furiously whispered at her cousin, her hands tightening on his wrist. "You can't just barge into the ladies room!"

  Tom glared down at his cousin. "What's wrong with her? I've noticed her acting strange lately!"

  Jenna knew what he meant, but Emma still hadn't told her anything. "I know, Tom. Just-"

  "Look you two, stop arguing," Jason sighed impatiently. "Jenna, go check to see if she's alright. Tom, stay here."

  Jenna didn't need to be told twice, as she raced towards the restroom. When she entered, she looked for a closed door that would indicate Emma was inside.

  "Emma?" Jenna asked, knocking on a closed stall. "You in there?"

  She heard a cough, a sound like a throat being cleared, and the toilet flushing, before a raspy voice replied back to her, "I'm here."

  "You okay?" Jenna asked, biting her bottom lip.

  After a few seconds of delay, the stall door opened to reveal a red-eyed Emma. Jenna gasped as Emma walked over to the sink.

  What the hell just happened to her?

  She watched with concern as Emma began to rinse her mouth with water. "Emma..."

  Emma ignored her as she pulled out some tissue papers to clean the smeared mess of her makeup on her face. After trying her best to appear at least decent, she let out a deep sigh before turning to Jenna.

  "I'm fine," Emma said in a rough voice before clearing her throat.

  Jenna gaped at her and felt a sudden rush of anger. "Don't you dare lie to me, Emma Kaileen Collins! Don't you dare! I'm one of your best friends and you can't even tell me what's going on with you?"

  Emma looked away in guilt from the redhead's furious gaze and sighed, "I'm sorry, Jenna."

  "You keep telling me that!" Jenna said in an exasperated tone. "Please, Emma. This isn't like you at all, tell me what's wrong! Even Tom can tell something's up and that's saying something."

  Emma gave her a little smile before nodding in defeat. "Alright...but, if I tell you, please pause the lecture and all that...I really don't need it."

  Jenna nodded enthusiastically. "I'm all ears."

  Emma hesitated before sighing to herself.

  Here goes nothing.

  And so, Emma told her best friend everything that happened between her and Drake.

  .

  .

  Drake sighed as he felt Alona's arm wrap around his waist. Once he heard that her breathing had become slow and even from sleep, he gently untangled himself from her reach.

  He wasn't much of a cuddling person. Who the hell does that anyway?

  He turned to his side with his back facing Alona. He continued to stare at the dark sky outside his window as his mind began to wander on random things.

  It had been weeks since he'd had a good shag. It wasn't that Alona was horrible in bed; she was just, well, boring... He needed someone with fire. For some reason, his mind sought out the face of Emma.

  Drake's lip curled into a satisfied smirk.

  Ah, he still couldn't believe he had taken that prude's virginity. Not just any prude though. It was Emma bloody Collins, everyone's lovable lawyer, and friend.

  Please.

  He had a great time bragging about that to his friends.

  Turning to lay on his back, Drake stared at the ceiling. He wondered when the next time he would bump into Emma would be. Maybe he could bed her a second time. Who knew?

  Finally about to sleep, Drake closed his eyes.

  He listened to the faint ticking of his clock, as his last thought lingering on what happened with Emma and her friends in the restaurant earlier that day.

  Not that he cared. Much…

  .

  .

  Jenna watched Emma heave into the toilet as she helped, lifting up her hair. Jenna crinkled her nose in distaste when the bitter smell hit her nostrils.

  Disgusting.

  After Emma flushed the toilet, she shakily got up to wash her mouth in the sink.

  It had been weeks since Emma had told Jenna the truth about everything. To say that Jenna was horrified, disgusted, and angry, was just an understatement. Emma didn't want to hear anything Jenna had to say, so she'd left her gaping like a fish.

  It was only a couple hours later, when Emma was in the guest room crying over how stupid she was, that she felt warm arms wrapping around her in a tight embrace, letting her know that she wasn't alone. Since then, Jenna had been helping Emma feel better.

  But it looked like something was wrong.

  "Emma," Jenna asked, in the middle of making hard boiled eggs for breakfast. "When was the last time you had your period?'

  Emma looked up from her book in confusion. "What?"

  "Your period. When was the last time?"

  Emma blushed, talking about personal things like menstruation made her feel a bit like some innocent little girl. "Err-not sure, why?"

  Jenna dropped her cooking and gaped at Emma. "You're not sure? Give me a rough estimate."

  Emma bit her lip, racking her mind. "I think it's been nearly three weeks since I-"

  Oh no.

  Emma gasped, her mouth forming a small O as her mind finally dawned on the realization. "Jenna..."

  Jenna, not caring about her boiling eggs anymore, grabbed Emma's wrist and drove them to the closest hospital.

  .

  .
<
br />   "Hello!" The door opened to reveal a young looking doctor with a cheesy wide smile, "My name is Doctor Melissa Huck," She looked up from her clipboard and did a double take, her smile widening even further. "Why, I recognize you! You're the Great lawyer Emma Collins!"

  Emma gave the doctor an uncomfortable smile. Why does everyone keep assuming she's a lawyer, when she's not? "I'm not a lawyer yet. Almost! I'm just your average assistant to a lawyer who files paperwork. But thank you!"

  The doctor scoffed, "Nonsense! You probably don't remember but you worked on my brother-in-law's case last year, I believe. That was great to me." She grabbed a rolling stool and sat on it, facing her with a warm smile as she neared her, all business. "Now, what can I do for you today, Miss Collins?"

  Emma could feel the awkwardness consuming her and wished Jenna didn't have to stay in the waiting room. This sort of thing wasn't her area of expertise. It wasn't like she read loads of books that delved into sex.

  "Um...well, I wanted to know if I was uh... well, I haven't had my um...my period in a while and-"

  Doctor Melissa gasped, interrupting her. "You want to know if you're pregnant! Oh, of course! Have you taken any pregnancy tests yet?"

  Emma nodded. "I have. But, I want to make sure it's one hundred percent true. I understand these over-the-counter tests aren't always reliable."

  Doctor Melissa nodded. "Very well Miss Collins. In order for me to do that, I just need you to fill these paper for me real quick, and once you're done, go to the lab and give them this paper." She handed her a signed paper with a smile.

  "Why the lab?" Emma looked at it with a frown, "I thought I have to pee in a cup?"

  "Blood test is much more accurate than urine testing." The doctor said with that stupid cheesy smile of hers again. "Once you're done, you're free to go! Someone from the lab will be able to examine the specimen."

  "When will I hear from you?" Emma asked anxiously.

  "You'll hear from us within a week, Miss Collins." Doctor Melissa informed her, "I will give you a call if sooner."

  Emma wasn't as excited as her own doctor appeared to be. Once she filled out the frustrating papers, she went straight to the lab. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would jump out of her chest. Ugh, her hands were getting sweaty again, too.

  .

  .

  FEW DAYS LATER