NovelEnglish
Chapter 37 – Leave of Absence (Anj‘s POV)
Dylan pushed the door of the convenience store to treat Anya and me, and as he promised me last night,
he would buy me ice cream after his crazy joke of marrying him.
“I want a chocolate ice cream,” I demanded him as we crowded around the refrigerator. “You can‘t have
chocolate,” Anya said. “You don‘t want your baby to look like a cacao,” she chuckled at her joke, but
Dylan ignored her and opened the refrigerator, getting expensive ice cream.
“Hey,” I protested, taking the ice cream pint from him and returning it inside. Instead, I chose the less
expensive brand and gave it to him. “You have to save money,” I said, making him raise his eyebrows. “I
might need to borrow money from you for baby stuff.” His lips twitched as he shook his head and turned
to Anya, waiting for what she liked.
“I had ice cream yesterday already, and with those calories, nuh–uh!” She took a yogurt instead and
gave it to Dylan. “Make it two,” he said and waited for Anya to give him another yogurt before heading
to the counter, but he stopped when my foot braked in one aisle, eyeing the sour candies. “You like
it?”
I nodded sheepishly but immediately pulled the mini candy bag before he could get one. “I‘m paying for
this, Dylan.” “It’s okay. Let me pay for this one, too,” he said, holding the edge of the candy bag.
“No. It will take time. I have to smell each, making sure I‘m not puking them after,” I lied as I moved my
head toward him. “Go. My ice cream is melting because my cousin is on fire,” I joked as I puckered my
lips, pointing at Anya, raising her eyebrows, and sneering her lips at us. “Let her melt the ice cream. I‘ll
get you more,” He waggled his eyebrows, smiling at me, but when I raised my eyebrows at him, he chuckled and walked toward the counter.
I sighed as I compared the money I had in my pocket, so instead of choosing from the colorful and
mouthwatering sour candies from the candy dispenser, I settled on taking a small pack of skittles sour
candy and followed Dylan. “What happened to the candy mix?” He asked as we walked toward the table
outside. “The baby changed his mind,” I grinned as I put the candies in my ice cream, making them look
like colorful toppings. “Ewww!” Anya twitched her lips as she watched me. She shivered and looked at
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtme with disgust as I enjoyed my ice cream. “Geez! What does it taste like? No wonder Mrs. Antonetta
could guess about your condition.” “His mind,” He whispered.
“Huh?” Anya and I uttered at the same time and glanced at him as we sat on the chairs. He smiled at
me. “You said his mind, so it means you‘re hoping it‘s a boy,” he explained while opening his yogurt.
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“Ah! I‘m not really thinking of the sex of my baby right now. He could be a boy, and if she‘s a girl, that‘s
also fine with me,” I scoop another spoonful of ice cream as I imagine little Sky if my baby is a boy or the
adorable Olivia if she is a girl. “I should have used them, right?” I turned to Anya to ask. She giggled.
“Gosh! I don‘t care about taking care of half a dozen little Angelas as long as their brains are as big as
yours.” Dylan hissed. “Half a dozen? What do you think of Angela? A dog?”
Anya looked at him. “I have a dog, and Maki only gave birth to two puppies. Angela is different because
she‘s an alien, and aliens can produce more babies.”
He rolled his eyes at her. “I can‘t believe you‘re talking to Angela that way,” he shook his head, looking
disappointed when Anya and I burst out laughing. “Do you think the babies will come out of my mouth?” I
joked, making Dylan more pissed at
1. us.
Anya laughed at me. “Probably. We’d better stop, Anj. I don‘t want to pay for this yogurt later if this man
here gets mad at us.” I nodded in agreement, focusing on my ice cream and candies. “Are you not really
going to tell us who the father is?” Anya asked again. I swallowed the food in my mouth first before
turning to her. “I told you I don‘t know.”
Dylan sighed. “That‘s impossible, Anj. You must have at least remembered a little about him.”
I squinted, showing them I was thinking really hard. “He has eyes, nose, and mouth, and his head is as
big as that balloon,” I pointed at the white balloon the little girl was holding as she walked toward the
convenience store.
“She must have been drugged that night,” Anya shook her head, but when Dylan glared at her, she
continued, “Or her alien family came, and they got her married to a royal family.”
The word married choked me, causing me to cough, and they panicked when I was not stopping. Dylan
had to rush back inside the store to get me water, and when he returned, he found Anya tapping my back
lightly while I coughed and laughed. “Are you okay?” He asked worriedly, opening the bottled water
before giving it to me.
I wiped the tears which rolled down my cheeks and took the bottled water from him.” Thanks,” I said in a
raspy voice while I massaged my throat. “I guess the candy went into the wrong pipe and head straight
to my lungs.” He sighed, sitting beside me. “Only you, Angela, can find humor in your situation.” I smiled
at him, embarrassed at the thought that he had to take care of me instead of Sky, but the moment I left
their home, I had to forget him and believed that he didn‘t exist, and now that I have a baby to remind of
him, no one has to know who the father is. Only Father Jesse and Sister Grace knew the truth, and I was
hundred and one percent sure that they would not tell anyone about it.
“I bet Uncle Jesse knew the truth. I saw you in the confession room yesterday,” Anya said, waiting for my
reaction.
I kissed her cheek. “Why don‘t you ask Uncle Jesse? Let’s see if he will tell you.” “Ha! Ha! Don‘t be
funny,” she smirked at me. “We both know he will never divulge anything to us.”
“I love his job,” I sighed, finishing my ice cream and ignoring Dylan staring at me intently.“ But I can‘t do
it. I want to tell you anything, everything!”
“Except telling us who got you pregnant,” Dylan cut in.
I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at him, realizing he won‘t let this go. “I told you, Dylan, I don‘t
know who he was, and I have no intention of knowing and finding him.” I snarled at him, standing up to
put the empty cup into the trashcan and walk away from them.
“I‘m sorry, okay?” Dylan rushed to my side and held my forearm to stop me.
“Why is it so important for you to know him, Dylan?” I asked angrily, surprised that Anya stayed on the
table and just watched the two of us fight.
“Because I want to make sure he will not come back, Angela,” He retorted.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmstop cryin
I pressed my lips to ston
because I was hurt by what he said. I hate to admit that my heart was hoping he would find me, that our
path would cross, and that he would stop me again from leaving
I shook my head. “I told you I don‘t know him,” I whispered before brushing his hand off my arm and
walking past him.
Anya stopped Dylan from following me. “Don’t push her hard, Dylan.” I hailed a taxi, but instead of asking
the driver to bring me to the nursing home, I asked him to drive me to the university. I spent time in the
library, writing one thing I didn‘t know I would do during my last semester in college.
As I wrote my Leave of Absence application, tears were rolling down my cheeks. I made a wrong turn
in my life, but despite that, I still hope to finish my business degree. With Anya always asking who the father of my baby is and Dylan always wanting to save me and desiring to like him to be part of my life
and heart is too much.
I wish to breathe...
After writing the letter, I went to Dean Jones‘s office, and luckily despite the time, she accommodated
me, wondering why the genius in her department was seeing her. My heart was hammering in my chest
as I handed her my letter, and as she read it, I was sure I saw the surprise on her face
“Are you really sure of your decision, Angela?” she asked worriedly. “Your graduation is in four months
and...”
I nodded.
“This is the first time things got out of my hand, and I wanted plenty of time to think about how to steer my life,” I explained to her, hoping she would approve my leave. “I‘m sorry, Angela, but I can‘t approve
your application,” she said, handing the letter back to me.
My mouth half–opened, surprised by her decision.
“But let me help you by talking with your professors and see what we can do for you. For now, I
understand you wanted to leave, and if you thought that would help, then do it, but make sure to come
back.” She rose to her feet and walked in my direction, giving me her card. “Call me at this number if you
need my help.” I smiled and thanked her for her time before leaving her office. Sighing, I walked toward
Heaven Avenue, not to the nursing home but to the church, to talk to Father Jesse about wanting to
leave soon.
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