Women Blossoming

  Women Blossoming

  By: Maria Cooper

  Copyright 2017 Maria Cooper

  Smashwords Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter 1: Me and Mom

  Chapter 2: Claire

  Chapter 3: The Real Story of Rachel & Alex

  Chapter 4: The Past

  Chapter 5: Claire & Adam

  Chapter 6: The Visit

  Chapter 7: Claire Running

  Chapter 8: The Talk

  Chapter 9: Meanwhile in Texas

  Chapter 10: Claire's New Life

  Chapter 11: DNA

  Chapter 12: The Meeting

  Chapter 1- Me and Mom

  “Wake up, time for school,” Mom called from the door! "Ugh, not again!" she thought, I just want a normal life its senior skip day and I still have to go to school!

  Rebekah opened her eyes and saw the sun peering into her pink colored room leaving a yellow hue. Rebekah always loved the mornings because she felt every day was new. She reached under her bed to check her iPhone and see the news feed on Facebook and twitter since last night. All her classmates made posts about what they were going to do for the day. Her friends, Claire and Adam were going out together which meant she could not hang out with them. They were glued to each other every moment and it seemed like they were getting pretty serious, after a year of dating. “What should I wear today?” she thought, looking into her full length closet and picked out skinny jeans and a black top. While looking in her bathroom mirror she wondered about her other half, her brown hair, hazel eyes, was a different characteristic than her mother’s features. “Did you hear me?” She knocked again to make sure she was awake. She wished she didn't let twenty minutes go by on Facebook and would have gotten dressed instead. “We’re leaving in ten minutes, come get some breakfast.” She said. Rebekah hurried to brushed her teeth and washed her face.

  The ice crushed beneath her feet as they walked to the black jeep and got in. “I am so proud of you!" said Rachel. "Graduating this year and going to college. I'm not sure why you guys' skip day is in the beginning of the year, but I suppose it’s cool too."

  “Thanks,” she replied. Rachel was not very expressive; in fact, she was usually quiet, not letting her thoughts out. The closest family member to her mother was grandma Mabel. Rebekah had found much comfort in her grandmother because she was so open and talked a great deal more than her mother. In fact, Mabel answered any and all questions and talked about her entire life. Today it was peculiar her mom was at least talking to her, rather than the normal boring and dry conversation to school.

  “Bye, see you at 3:30pm", kissing her mother on the cheek and stepping outside the jeep. “Hey” Claire and Brittany said as they walked over. She was surprised to see Brittany and Claire had not bailed on her. “You want to leave at 12 to go to lunch with us... Adams driving?” Claire asked. “Yea sounds good.” she replied. The students all stood outside in various circles talking before the first class started. Everyone was happy to be seniors and reunite from the day before. The school bell rang loudly and every one scrambled for the door. For Rebekah it was biology, math, english and art. Rebekah was a B+ sort of student and had to keep up her grades to be on the varsity cheerleading team. She enjoyed cheerleading because it was a time to be with her two best friends. Since she was an only child it was very important to have friends to relate to her. Her teachers, Mrs. Akin and Mrs. Davi really believed and mentored her by encouraging her to take honors biology and english. “How was the homework?” Mrs. Akins said. “Actually quite good, not so hard anymore.” She smiled. The new biology class was difficult because of her first couple of failing test grades. She tried to bail the course by talking to a counselor. She rushed to his office during lunch time to explain her demise, but instead he told her she needed the class to graduate. At first she was disheartened by the new information, but since she was forced to stay she chose to succeed getting A’s and B’s on her lab reports!

  After math class the girls went to taco bell. They left the school in a small group, the sun finally out, and it warmed up. They all squished into Adams' back seat. He had an old red car; it took about ten minutes for the heat to finally be full blast. Rebekah sat next to Brittany laughing because of the excitement she felt. She was finally able to be rebellious for once, and it tickled her inside. She was beside herself and felt at peace and at home. They exchanged the latest gossip about the basketball team and shared posts on instagram and facebook. When they arrived at taco bell a couple blocks over, they ate and talked about their plans of the future. Rebekah wanted to go to Eastern State for the biology program to apply for medical school. Claire and Adam were going to go to a community college near home and Brittany was going to go to her parent’s school that they graduated from… Michigan State.

  Chapter 2 - Claire

  Claire always seemed to be an interesting friend to Rebekah. Her life seemed completely different. Claire had two half siblings and her mother always had different boyfriends coming and going. It seemed like things were getting serious with her and Adam especially since they were dated for a year and she wanted to go to the nearby community college with him. Rebekah hoped Claire was making the right decision, even though in comparison Claire’s grades were not as good because she also worked part time to help provide for herself. She sometimes came to school unhappy from arguing with her mother and Rebekah saw this only made Claire and Adams' bond stronger.

  Brittany was Rebekah’s cheerleading partner for all of the cheer stunts since they were of the same build and height. Brittany was sure of herself, smart and attentive. Not too talkative but not too quiet as she was always observing and being a perfectionist. "Is everyone ready," Brittany said in a matter of fact tone, looking down at her Dior watch, "it’s already 1:10pm, we’re late."

  Rebekah was happy to have some fun with her school friends but she felt a slight conviction that she snuck off school campus to do so. Rachel always held her to such a high standard. Rachel never said she regretted having her but she wanted her to have an easier life. “One thing is for sure”, Rachel said when Rebekah asked about her father "the best thing that came out of my relationship with your father was you.” This was about all her mother said of the relationship as if she did not want to relive it. Rebekah did not question further since she did not feel it was the right time.

  Chapter 3-The Real Story of Rachel and Alex

  When Rachel thought of Rebekah's questions, her mind always wondered back to almost 18 years ago. She and Alex had met in college when he saw her studying in the library. He was immediately enthralled because she looked so serious and beautiful at the same time. The diagrams she stared at also intrigued him because he studied an entirely different subject. They were opposites. He was tall dark and handsome with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and a perfect smile, while Rachel was short, and petite, with shoulder length jet black hair and brown eyes.

  After he said his first words to her something like "can you teach me?" they instantly clicked. He was the perfect distraction from school and s
uch a serious life. They eventually started sharing every waking moment together. The more they spent time together the more they fell in love and planned on being together forever. They even took the same classes though they were in different programs. However, the relationship took a turn when Rachel found out she was pregnant. After she told Alex their relationship dwindled drastically, he could not provide for her neither did he want this responsibility since he knew his parents would not approve. Alex was graduating college while she was just beginning so he insisted on an abortion and gave her the money to do so. He left, insisting that was the best option for the both of them. Rachel had never experienced such pain in her life. The first and only person she loved no longer loved her back nor wanted a relationship with her. What about all the promises they had made... were all lies?

  She remembered the phone call to her mother and how she a girl of 22 still needed her. Rachel did not have any one to turn to, and did not want to tell her mother anything but as the semester ended she started to show. There was no way she could stay on a college campus. She called her mother to hear her voice but really to ask to come home. She was afraid of being let down again and that her mothers’ ways had not changed.

  Ring, Ring.

  “Mom” her heart pounded, she gripped the phone tight to her face.

  “Rachel…. is it you, ” Mabel said

  “Mom can you come get me” she said between cries?

  Mabel heard the urgency in Rachel’s voice and a sound of pain she had never heard. Alarmed, Mabel left the church service and drove three hours away to the University. Her mind raced as she passed from city to city wondering what it could be. There was so much fear in her heart and she hoped she could stomach whatever it was. When Mabel arrived, Rachel had her belongings with her and got into the car. They immediately left the area and spent hours talking, Rachel told her she was pregnant and she had to move out because of it. Mabel could not explain how disappointed she was in her daughter. She was also angry that he had no knowledge of her daughters' life. Mabel asked about the boy that had done this, but she would not speak of it. Though Mabel wanted to contact the boys’ parents for now she decided to just take her daughter home.

  There was a lot of unspoken animosity between the Rachel and Mabel. It seemed the healing process began when Mabel took her in and stopped drinking. They both knew they made mistakes in their relationship and moved forward in spite of the five-year silence. Rachel forgave Mabel for her mistakes, and started fresh when she moved back in. She resented her mother for not being there and thought if her mother was around she would have been more prepared when she met a boy. Rachel knew that her father died when he was relatively young but that did not give Mabel permission to stop being a mother. She was still needed, but instead she turned to alcohol for several years, leaving her to fend for herself. Somehow she managed to stay away from boys in high school but college was different, she fell deep in love.

  As the months went by Rachel’s stomach expanded little by little. She felt out of control in her eating, her life, and she had no idea of what the future would hold. Her clothes did not fit, and her breasts and feet were swollen with pain. The worst thing of all was that she had to take a break from nursing school which was supposed to be a full time program. Now she would have to reapply in a couple of years. She felt awkward being away from college and the friends she had made. Oh, how life had changed from her independent college days, instead her days were spent tending to her beloved daughter. Since grandma Mabel was retired she was able to help much more when Rachel went back to school. Rachel delighted in her daughter, her chubby small figure, curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She saw so much of Alex in her face and personality. It had been a crazy ride with the dirty dishes, cleaning up messes, and teaching her daughter nearly everything but through their relationship she learned the true meaning of loving and being loved.

  Back in School

  "Ms. Johnson! Your late!" said Ms. Akin. Ugh, I can't believe this, she thought frustrated at herself and her life, as she sat down at her desk. She hated being the center of attention and in confrontations with people. The rest of the day was lecture after lecture so she completed some of her homework in class so she could be free the rest of the day to scroll through her phone.

  Home

  "How was your day?" Rachel said as she got into the black jeep while trying not to slip from the fresh snow.

  "Good." she answered sheepishly not making eye contact.

  "Well my day was stressful. Two call offs and many patients were admitted overnight."

  "Wow!" she said sarcastically.

  Sometimes Rachel literally did not know how to deal with this teenage attitude. Most of the time she ignored it thinking it was to get under her skin anyway. They rode in silence on the way home. Rebekah went into her room as soon as she they got into the house and immediately pulled out her phone. She saw what all the other more popular students did for the day. Many went to the movies and out to fancy restaurants and all she did was go to Taco Bell with a couple of friends. She decided to work on her final senior project that she could work on all year long. It made her review her plans of her future such as career choice, education, and the reality of what it could provide her in life.

  Chapter 4-The Past

  Rebekah had no knowledge of her mother’s previous life. Rachel was like a safe that had yet to be unlocked. When you found one key there were still many other doors and compartments. This is how Rachel kept herself safe now. The problem was that in any relationship you may experience hurt so Rachel inevitably kept herself from love. Rachel wanted to protect her daughter from feeling unloved and unwanted as well. She hoped to provide her with a staple home filled with love and she never wanted her to doubt that. Instead it had the opposite effect. The secrecy was one big reason for the negative relationship they had, Rebekah didn’t understand why as old as she was, her mother wanted to remain in hiding. It was frustrating, dealing with her teenage feelings and not knowing things about herself. Who was she, what was her father’s name and what did he look like she asked herself curiously looking in her bedroom mirror pushing back her large voluminous brown curls?

  This was also the reason for the growth in her and her grandmothers' relationship. She texted her grandmother to pick her up for church that night and she picked her up a couple hours later.

  "Thanks for picking me up Gram.” she said, slamming the van door with a bright smile on her face.

  “No problem sweetie, how’s your mom doing” Mabel said.

  “Same as always."

  They rode twenty minutes out to church and Rebekah turned into a different person, talking about her dreams and aspirations. She had so much hope for the future and what she could become. She exclaimed about being a doctor or a nurse and going to the best college in the country.

  Chapter 5-Claire & Adam

  After school, Claire and Adam came to into the gymnasium as the cheerleaders were warming up. Claire had missed nearly two weeks of practice and was avoiding her and Brittany. Rebekah noticed they took the coach aside and how serious the coach looked after the talk.

  "What's going on?" Brittany asked. The team grew quiet while they were finishing up their stretch routine.

  "I don't know." she replied looking confused.

  "I wonder did something happen with her and her mother again?"

  Rebekah noticed Claire had been wearing loose fitting clothing but did not mention it to Brittany since she didn't want to start a rumor. She told herself she would talk to her tomorrow at her locker before Biology started.

  Next Day

  Rebekah arrived to school ten minutes early by lying to her mother that she had a pop quiz and needed to get there earlier than usual to study. Walking to Claire's locker was dreadful, Claire had not responded to any texts. Her heart beat faster with every step. She saw Claire getting books out of her locker and she stood behind her. Claire's eyes bulged with fear when she closed the locker and saw Rebekah standin
g there.

  "Claire are you okay?" she asked.

  Claire tensed "Yes, I'm fine. Why are you sneaking up on me?"

  "Then why haven't you been coming to practice or answering my texts."

  "Leave me alone, you wouldn't understand."

  "Try me."

  "You have the perfect life, and I don't want to talk about it."

  "I have perfect life, I don't know who my father is and my mother barely speaks. "Please just talk to me." The bell rang.

  "It's time for class," Claire felt happy she had avoided this talk.

  Rebekah felt like she had failed.

  While in the third class Rebekah got a text from Claire saying they could talk at lunch. Claire did not know how to tell her friend and she felt like her life was over. At times she like thes she wished she was an adult and had her own stuff. She knew she couldn't tell her mother and she didn't know what to do or what was the right choice. The lunch room was bustling with students talking and laughing. Claire motioned to Rebekah from the back table. She sat down nervously not knowing what Claire would say.

  "So the reason I have missed practice lately" Claire said" is because I found something out."

  "What?"

  "I'm pregnant."

  "Have you told anyone else, what about your mom? When did you find out?"