Aurora Gayle - The Pregnancy

She scribbles something in her notebook and then instructs me to close my eyes.

“Breathe in slowly” she whispers. “And very slowly breathe out.”

I do this repeatedly for about five minutes and I begin to feel calm and relaxed. Then Dr. Mc Daniel asks me several questions until I fall into a trance like state. She calls out a few dates very slowly, February 24 th, March 3 rd, February 28 th, March 1 st, February 25 th. At the mention of February 25 thI get goose bumps and a sudden feeling of fear. She asks me to recall the day. What time did I wake up? What I had for breakfast? What I did for the day? And I answer with stunning precision. She continues to ask me more questions about that day, how did I feel? Was it a good day at work? Why was it a good day at work? How did I feel after work? Did I go straight home? Was I tired? My answers to each question are as mundane as one can imagine until she asks what happens at home.

I recall the evening of February 25th with such detail that even in a trance I am amazed. I park my car where I always park next to a pine tree in the parking lot. I take the groceries that I stopped to buy at Whole Foods and I exit the car making sure to click lock as I walk away. I take the elevator up to the third floor where my apartment is situated. As I exit the elevator a slim white guy wearing a West Virginia Mountaineers cap approaches. I shiver and I can feel goose bumps yet again. The guy smiles at me and I ignore him and walk off to my apartment. I enter the apartment putting the groceries on the kitchen countertop. I run to the washroom I have to pee because I drank a large bottle of water. I wash my hands and go into the bedroom to change my clothes. I notice that my underwear drawer is open. I think to myself, “why would I leave that open? I’m sure I closed it.” I shrug it off and close it. I change my clothes and go into the kitchen to make some tea. I put away the groceries while I wait for the tea to cool down. I take my tea onto the couch with a snack and scroll through my phone. I am thirsty so I fetch a small bottle of water from the fridge. I drink it down quickly and continue scrolling my phone. I am yawning frequently and feel tired all of a sudden. I switch off the lights and head straight to bed. I remember thinking that I should brush my teeth but I am too tired to even move off the bed. I see a dark figure enter the room but everything is so blurry and dark. Then everything goes black. I don’t remember anything else except waking up late and being naked. Why am I naked? Am I wet down there? I feel sore down there too, why? Dr. Mc Daniel is telling me that everything is okay as I wake up suddenly aware, conscious and scared. My mother was right, I’ve been raped.

Tears are streaming down my face and my body is trembling with fear when I wake up from hypnosis. What did I just see? Did that really happen? Who was that in my room? Dr. Mc Daniel is telling me to close my eyes and take slow, deep breaths. I do as she says and miraculously it calms me down.

“Can I leave?” I ask.

“How are you feeling now Aria?”

“I dunno, frightened I guess. Confused maybe.”

Dr. Mc Daniel gets up and waves me over to the couch where we first spoke. “Now you have a date to work with. It seems like something really bad happened to you on February 25 th. While you were hypnotized I could see the terror on your face.”

“Why is it that I did’nt remember any of this before?” I ask. My voice sounded hoarse so I cleared my throat a little.

“Hypnosis can help you to remember the things that are in your subconscious mind. I didn’t plant those memories in your mind. You remembered it because it happened. Today’s session has been better than I expected. We can meet again next Wednesday if you like.”

I hesitate a bit, “I don’t know. Can I get back to you?”

“Sure, you have my card right?”

“Yes, I’ll call and schedule an appointment when I’m ready.”

“Are you going to be okay?” She asks with a look of concern on her face.

“Yeah I’m fine.” I lie.

We say our goodbyes and I run to the safety of my car to cry. As much as I wanted to know more about what happened to me on the night of February 25 th, I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. A part of me wanted to know every terrible detail and the other part of me didn’t.

Somehow I make it back to the hospital in one piece. My eyes were still red and a bit swollen from crying. When I get to my mother’s room I run to her and hug her. “Mom I’m so sorry for yelling at you.”

“Child I wasn’t even bothered about you. I know you’re going through a lot. I’ve got good news!”

I try to cheer up, “what happened?”

“They’re releasing me today!” She says with as much excitement as a child on Christmas morning about to open presents.

I smile, “That’s wonderful mom!”

She looks up at me for the first time since I arrive. The excitement on her face disappears. “Aria baby what’s wrong?”

I can’t control my emotions so I start crying again.

“Did you go see that shrink? Tell me what happened” she said. Her voice is soft with love and concern.

“I’ve been raped” I cry.

Mom gathers all her strength and holds me tight. In my ear she whispers, “Whoever did that to you will pay! I promise you!”

She holds me for a long time, gently rocking my body back and forth. “I need to go get my test results. They tested me for GHB too”.

Reluctantly she lets go and I think about how much of a blessing my mother is to me. “Would you like to come see the doctor with me? If they would let you.”

“Yes of course. Let me change my clothes. Gimme two minutes. I already packed up most of my stuff. I can’t wait to be out of here.”

Five minutes later mother and I hold hands and walk towards the doctor’s office for my results. “Everything will be okay”, she reassures me.

I nod and we make our way into the doctor’s office. The doctor is already waiting for me with a green file on his desk. My name is neatly typed on a label stuck to the file. The doctor confirms what I already know, there are traces of GHB in my system. Everything that he says after this is all a blur. Mother and I return to her room to get ready for her discharge. We pack up her few belongings in silence. My mother was always good at reading me. She knew when I didn’t want to talk and when I needed a pick me up. This was a moment for silence and I was happy that she could tell that I needed it.

“Whew this is a nice hotel” Mom said as we entered the room. She put her bag on the chair and began to unpack a few things.

“I need to have a proper shower, do you mind if I go in now?” she asks.

“No of course not mom. Go ahead.”

While she showered a million things ran through my mind. Who put GHB in my food? Sadie? She was the only person with a key to my place, but why would she do that? If it wasn’t Sadie then who and what was their motive? Remembering that I had to check the footage, I whipped out my phone and did a rewind of everything captured on camera. Everything seems quite normal until I spot a dark figure wearing a hoodie in my bedroom. I think my heart stopped for a minute as I watch him moving through my bedroom. He goes through my underwear drawer, sniffing at my panties and putting one in his pocket. I continue to watch in horror as he moves around my bedroom as if in search of something. He moves to my bed and carefully runs his hand over my Egyptian cotton sheets. He stands still as if he knows he’s being watched then he sits on the bed for a minute before laying down in it. I don’t even realize that my hands are shaking until my mother comes out from the bathroom and points it out.