Forget Me Not 1: DECEIVED Read Online Free PDF Page A

antibiotics.”
     

CH 4
    ~
    “Did Azzam force himself on you?” I slam the front door shut and drop my backpack to the floor beside my bed.
    Monika’s body shifts slowly under the covers as she opens her eyes and looks up at me.
    “Answer me?” I hover above her, feeling angry at her for not sharing the traumatic experience with me. We’re closer than best friends. I consider her my sister…my family. It hurts me to think she tried to hide an important fact from me, no matter what her reason was. “Did he try to rape you?”
    She sits up slowly. It’s evident how much effort it’s taking her to move. “Lisa.” I hear the hurt and embarrassment in her voice, when Azzam is the only one who should be embarrassed because of his violence. “I was going to tell you, but…” A tear rolls down her cheek and her gaze moves to her hands fidgeting over the covers.
    I sit at the corner of the bed and wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her head down to my chest. “When did that happen?”
    “The first time was three months ago.”
    Jesus, he raped her more than once? Although my hands tighten as I imagine myself slashing his throat with the kitchen knife, I work hard not to show my anger and listen to her when she says, “The second time at the beginning of last month. The last one, two weeks ago.”
    I let out a long sigh, barely containing my anger. “Did he…come inside you?”
    She doesn’t answer and only nods her head, then whispers, “I know what you’re thinking, but they did a urine test in the clinic. If I was pregnant, the doctor would have told me.”
    “Yeah, only if the test results show it. Perhaps it’s too early for the test to detect anything.”
    She straightens up and looks at my face, her expression turning from sad to horrified as the realization hits. “I can’t be pregnant! I can’t have a child. I can barely take care of myself. How will I look after someone else? I’m ruined.” She bursts into tears and covers her face with both hands.
    “Let’s not panic yet.” I rub her back in gentle strokes to calm her. “When was the last time you had your period?”
    “I don’t remember. You know how irregular my periods are. Maybe three months ago?”
    We should have her hormones checked. We should have enough food on the table to keep our bodies healthy. We should have enough courage to go to the police and stand up for our basic human rights. “Don’t cry. You have me. I’ll take care of you no matter what.”
    My mind instantly goes to Loraine Carter’s offer of $200,000. Jesus, just counting the digits in my mind makes me feel dizzy. How much better I’d feel if I actually had the money!
    We can get Monika on Medi-Cal for free health care coverage during her pregnancy, but she’ll need money for everything else. We’ll have to figure something out about the baby before the birth. With that much money, there would be enough money left for both Monika and I to study. We could have a chance at a decent life without riding busses or doing without proper medical care. Sucking off one man’s dick for that amount of money is better than $20 blow jobs off the street, which we’re heading for if we lose our current jobs.
    I can’t let my friend suffer more than she already has. I can’t allow us to lose the little we have. We deserve better and now that I’ve been given a chance to make money, I can’t afford to turn it down.
    My stomach growls in hunger, making me wonder about the last time Monika ate something. She’ll need to eat healthy food rather than ramen noodles and peanut butter sandwiches, which are the only food we can afford right now. If I accept Loraine’s offer, we can eat whatever we want for the first time in our lives.
    We won’t have to count pennies to be able to come up with the rent. Even if I don’t manage to get down and dirty with Loraine’s husband—which is highly likely from whatever way I look at it—Monika and I can still take