Cyrosphere 8: Lives Uneasily Affected Read online

  Cyrosphere 8: Lives Uneasily Affected

  Disclaimer:

  Any similarities in places, characters or stories are strictly coincidently. All works in this book are fiction and the workings of creator Deandre Dean and Calvin King Rivers; please follow on Facebook or Twitter. We value all comments, and thank Amazon for publishing our book. Thank you for purchasing this book, and please tell your friends about it because everyone has a different viewpoint and make take something valuable from these pages.

  Acknowledgment/ Dedication:

  First I must thank my fans who continue to support me. I’d also like to thank the people in my life who help inspire me daily to write these incredible stories. And lastly, I can’t forget the people that believe in my voice as I strive to become better at my craft.

  - Deandre

  Cyrosphere: Lives Uneasily Affected

  Chapter 1:

  Every thought kept circling around the idea that this had to be some sort of mistake. Ginger had only had unprotected sex and that spur of the moment of lust which was later filled with dread and anxiety. She swore to herself that she would never have unprotected sex again.

  Almost three years later and she always made sure Lucas wore a condom. The next day, they had a very serious conversation about safety compared to lust and consequences in the moment. Things were tense for a little while, but over time he saw reason behind her statements.

  They had a small rift in which they didn’t connect sexually for two weeks. It was normal and talking to Jurnee helped her put things in perspective. The strain had been difficult but somehow time seemed to heal all their problems.

  Now here she was alone panicking in the bathroom with the worry that she somehow shaped up. Could this be so bad? Nope, take a step back and try and stay calm.

  The minute of her phone was taking way to long so to past the time. She decided to take the other two pregnancy testes. On, my God! She wondered did having to pee a lot way a sign she indeed was with child. Stop it! She had to tell herself to calm down before she could back down from her decision.

  She quickly peed on the two sticks simultaneously. Give the girl a prize, she mastered a new talent in three minutes from worrying she was indeed conceived a child. At least she had her humor still. Or else, she would break down in tears.

  Ding- ding her phone went off. She ignored the blinking light alerting her time was up. If Ginger wanted she could reset time, manipulate it or simply accerlated to a later moment if chose. Looking at the four pregnancy testes on the sink counter, she let out a sigh.

  Closing her eyes, head feeling faint and her sense of smell felt like the aroma of bleach would make her hurl at any second. Fine, just look. Ginger picked up the first test and it said she was with child. That initial shock didn’t set in right away.

  It must be denial. The second said it was all a lie. Oh, that is some fucked up shit. A fifty- fifty chance which made her glad she took two more testes. Looking at her options, Ginger didn’t know if thrilled or totally unable to accept the situation.

  Okay, moment of truth. The third test said she was indeed pregnant. That didn’t help matters. It felt like another mistake. The last test confirmed she was with child. She sat all four test down and looked in the mirror. The look of shock was now replaced with fear.

  Not that Ginger couldn’t handle being a mom, however what would Lucas think? He got a nice pay raise and had a secure job. Ginger was no longer in school with five best selling novels on shelves. They were far from broke, but that had no importance to how prepared she was to raise a child. Shaking her head and wondering, what she was going to do?

  Chapter 2:

  First she needed to tell Yvette and Stacey before they tried breaking in. Opening the door to show her family the news. Ginger still didn’t know if it was good or bad. Was she ready for motherhood?

  Regardless, once she told them it all felt too real. She was pregnant and no amount of negotiating would change that fact. Yvette was cautious so not too excited, but still giving her moral support no matter what Ginger decided. Stacey was listing the benefits; all of the twin’s old stuff could save her money.

  She didn’t have to go into this blind. Shalice, Penny and Stacey all had children. So they would be happy to share all the secrets they learned from child rearing. Tat was a huge relief and somehow all this positive encouragement helped her calm down before she had an anxiety attack.

  Maybe telling Lucas would make Ginger excited and thrilled to share this moment with him. Tonight she’d make him steak Fajitas. It was one of his favorites.

  The rich smell of food would make breaking the news a lot easier. Ginger thanked them and hugged them goodbye. Stacey swore and said, “You’ll miss drinking wine with your dinner.”

  Damn, Ginger hadn’t even given that a thought as she left the house.

  Once at the grocery store Ginger picked up the ingredients she needed before going into the check-out. Seeing a baby book, Ginger quickly grabbed it. Research she could do, so after paying she ran down the street to the local bookstore.

  She grabbed every book with a baby on the cover with not so much as a look inside. If she stopped to look, she’d want to read every last word. She texted Lucas to let him know change of plans and was on her way home to their apartment.

  He didn’t seem too concerned when he texted back, as she got to work chopping onions and peppers to toss into the skillet. The smell of food didn’t seem to make her stomach upset any longer. It was as if once she knew she was pregnant, all her senses were back on track.

  Once dinner was simmering on the stove, she set her phone on timer to remind her to click off the meat. She graded up the cheese, made some rice and grabbed a book. It wasn’t even about childbirth but genetic markers. That would just make her anxious, so she sat that aside for now.

  Next she cut on the beans as she picked up a new book. This one was on dangers of drinking during child-birth. Thank God Yvette already warned her. She put in her new pile, useless and no need to read. The timer ticked as she cut off the meat. Beans were ready next as she rinsed off starch on the rice. Just in time, Lucas should be home any minute.

  Chapter 3:

  Waiting for Lucas to get home was like staring at water and expecting it to boil. No luck and lots of frustration on her part. Ginger waited for time to dwindle by as she sighed, paced the room and finally settle down enough to sit down.

  Sitting seemed to work all of four minutes before she realized she kept tugging her left earlobe. What was the matter with you, she thought to herself. Ginger wished for the hundredth time, Sonia still was alive. Only a mom would be able to sooth her, know what to do and make everything better.

  Before she could dwell on missing her deceased mom, the keys opened the front door. It was Lucas, home and it was time to deliver the news. For better or worst, she could do this! As she stood to greet him, her stomach began to turn and room started to spin a little.

  Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, I just need some water and a ton of courage. He was by her side, pulling her in for a hug. His cologne and all her hormones collide. Gosh, all she wanted to do was ripe his clothes off and have sex on the couch.

  Not having roommates any longer had its benefits, while she tried to contain her desires. Ginger pulled back from the hug to give Lucas a Lustfilled kiss. Nothing in the world felt better then being loved and cherished.

  Ginger breaks the kiss to look into his eyes. She stated, “I have something I need to tell you.”

  Lucas took one look at her, nodded and dragged her toward the kitchen. A bottle of water was thrusted into her hands immediately and that first cool gulp of water helped calm her jit
ter nerves.

  “Thanks, I needed that” she said between gulps. Ginger stopped long enough to get the courage to deliver the news.

  Lucas asked, “You sure you okay? Do you need me to get you anything?”

  “That’s sweet but no. I have some unexpected news to tell you and it is difficult to say, but” Ginger was interrupted.

  “Wait. I think I know what this is about” Lucas declared.

  Ginger looked puzzled and asked, “You do?”

  “You are leaving me to run off and star in the circus, right? Come on honey, you know you can tell me anything,” Lucas stated as he gazed into her eyes.

  Slowly he reached for her hand and squeezed. In that moment, Ginger knew she could handle anything. She nodded, squeezed his hand and announces, “We’re having a baby.”

  That must have been the last thing Lucas expected. He was in total shock as his hand slipped out of hers’. He zoned out before walking out the comma area. Luke collapsed on the couch and stared at the TV as if it held all the answers. Ginger waited ten minutes before sitting across from him on the sofa.

  It almost took an hour for him to snap out of his daze. She waited into finally he went into the kitchen and ate a cold dinner. He didn’t utter a single word. Ginger was too distracted to eat as he went to bed without a sound.

  Great, I hoped tomorrow brings a different outcome she thought as she went to bed.

  Chapter 4:

  Going to bed without talking over things, Ginger didn’t know where she stood with Lucas on the baby talk. Was he still processing? Was Lucas in shock or denial? All these thoughts and a ton more went through her head when she went to bed.

  Waking up to the unknown was even worse. While Lucas went through her normal routine, she made oatmeal and tossed in fresh blueberries and bananas.

  Today at least Lucas was chatty while he discussed his day about meetings and development on a new book he was promoting. Next he blabbered on about the Men’s health magazine he publishes. About time he finished, Lucas went right into domestic mode and cleaned the entire kitchen. He kissed her goodbye, told her to text or call if she needed anything. He was off.

  Ginger wondered did he even process what she told him, or was he a total nut case. Since she took off teaching last night, she went to her office to finish grading the pile of papers in her desk. That took all of an hour before she was finished, calling up Jurnee to see if she could talk.

  Sadly Jurnee left Adorsa with the twins at the library so she could help Penny on a art exhibit that was opening in two days. It totally slipped Ginger’s mind that the exhibit was this week, as she hung up and tried a different approach.

  The last person she’d call for help might be the one person who’d understand what she was going through. The last fifteen months has been amazing becoming friends with MaryAnne Kris. Since she was in Jensen’s life that required her to be in Ginger’s life too. They slowly bonded with lunch and that escalated to movies, book reviews on double dates before finally shopping trips.

  They weren’t bestfriends or anything but they did get along. Her relationship with MaryAnne was closer then the bond she shared with Adorsa. Every since Ginger moved out, Adorsa felt like it as a personal attack or something.

  Gretchen supported her and even helped finance Dino’s auto-body shop. The man was pure mortal but a God when it came to mechanics.

  She pulled out her phone and dialed MaryAnne, who answered on the second ring. They planned to meet for lunch at the South Bay Galleria.

  Chapter 5:

  At ten-forty, she sat in the food court. Ten minutes too early but Ginger was still too anxious to sit at home and wait. Ginger pulled out her tablet and sent a few emails concerning the hotel work. That didn’t take long, so she started replying to her students and their questions about her class, or the mid term coming up in a few days.

  Being a professor of English Rhetoric and Composition was the most rewarding thing Ginger has ever done. It made life worth living knowing she was inspiring others and teaching, which made waking up pretty damn amazing. The creative writing class she also was teaching tonight would make her problems float away.

  Teaching was her relaxation from the world and all its complications. Clear her mind, focus on the craft of creativity and just go all out. A cough disrupted her thoughts; Ginger looked up to see MaryAnne. She was in a red blouse, white shirk and a black blazer.

  The woman could dress, always elegant and only from a few simple pieces. It was like she was made to be in the fashion world. Japanese food sounded really good, so they went and ordered. Ginger sits down in the food court, waiting for the uneasiness to clear as they ate in silence.

  “So I guess I’ll start. How are things?” MaryAnne asked.

  That seemed like such a simple question but Ginger wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. One she was definitely freaking out and that was clear. The next was, in a few months and she’d be responsible for raising a child. Some part deep, very deep inside was excited.

  Right now thought, that wasn’t what was on Ginger’s mind. She wanted to be excited but had to worry that Lucas was in denial or simple blanked out on her delivering the news. That fact was on repeat and made everything else feel that much harder.

  No part of her thought he would abandon her, it was just hard to be excited when your partner wasn’t. Ginger decided to bite the bullet and told MaryAnne everything. It was good to finally get everything out in the open. All her anxiety and neurosis were immediately replaced with problem solving mode.

  With someone to listen to all her worries, now they didn’t seem so huge. “Thank you for listening to me. Go on and on about all my crap,” Ginger gushes and smiles.

  MaryAnne grins and responds, “No worries. I didn’t get a chance to be a decent mom to Feltus and since I’ll never have any more children. It felt good to be needed, just for a few minutes and offer a supporting shoulder to relay on.”

  Once again, Ginger didn’t really image how MaryAnne must feel. To be without her child, and to witness him die twice. In that moment, Ginger felt like she had a real understanding friend in MaryAnne.

  Life sure can be funny and here she was going over all her worries with MaryAnne. Why? That was one question on repeat playing inside her head. Maybe it was because Stacey, Yvette and Penny would just offer support. She didn’t need that right now and that was the real reason she called Jurnee. MaryAnne was a better substitute then she ever could have guessed.

  Chapter 6:

  After lunch MaryAnne, Ginger needed to stay busy. She went home to grab her stuff for the night classes and her laptop to do some writing if inspiration hit. Once in the downtown office, she called to tell Stacey that she would be able to go to the exhibit with her.

  Next she did a five hour shift at the hotel. Ginger mostly paper-work and other management work that consisted of checking figures and budget reports. After she took a bust to USC so she could teach her two classes. She sends a quick text to Lucas that she’ll be late and loved him.

  Ginger put her phone in airplane mode, if he wasn’t ready to deal- fine. She’d do what she did best, get caught up in work and excel. First she returned the graded papers, taught a quick lesson on free flow and allowed the students to work in small groups.

  While they worked in pairs, Ginger imputed the grades electronically. She tore up the slip of paper she kept and left her grade book at home. After twenty minutes, she made the students work on improvising for scenes from Shakespeare.

  Next for the last twenty minutes, Ginger asked the students to write a mini weboside on any of their favorite books. Class ended and they all ran out the room. The next class was more anxious to leave, since it was eight thirty. They all seemed to be burning on Redbull and caffeine. This class was a whole lot more vocal and creative, so they turned in their project of creating a small short independent video blog.

  They acted out a few scenes from the Odyssey. Ginger loved the classics like Homer. Once that was done, they st
ill had 16 minutes left so she let them go early. One student, Vincent Drayden stayed behind to talk to her. He was a bright twenty year old demon that also went to Dark Force University a few spells inside the school.

  It seemed that not only was Ginger’s plate filled, but the school wanted her to give a lecture on psychic connections. Damn, someone must have told them about the unique bond she temporarily shared with Stacey. Once Hannah died, it split and she was allowed privacy.

  A part of her knew it was to keep others safe. Ginger was a Rosetta stone, able to decipher hidden things that no one else saw. Her time power already made her priceless but combined with the angel blond – she as a true rarity.

  She thanked Vincent for delivering the news, went upstairs to her office to start reading the papers. First she’d read them all together to get a sense of writing styles and overall class flow .Next she’d grade individually. It was hard to be objective when each student had his or her own individual voice and writing style.