Free River of Lies by Sammy King Page A

ringing loudly and my head spun.  I felt my dad come in periodically checking me with a touch to my face.  Occasionally I opened my eyes, to see him looking down at me with a smile.
    The next morning the fever had finally broken, I sat up in bed, my head still spun with dizziness, and I saw Dylan sitting in the chair next to my bed. He woke as my bed creaked under my movement.
    “Well hi there, are you ok?” he asked and reached out for my hand.
    I smiled at him, and squeezed his hand lightly; he clasped both his hands around mine.  He opened the drawer next to my head and pointed to the paper bag.
    “I bought a pregnancy test, don’t do it now, later when you’re feeling better”
    I tried to give him a smile, but it hurt me too much. I closed my eyes, and drifted back into sleep. When I finally woke again my room was dark, Dylan had been replaced by my dad, who snored lightly in the chair.  I still was light headed and my stomach churned, but my bladder spoke the loudest.  I quietly pushed the blankets off my legs, and sat up slowly on the edge of the bed.  Dad stirred slightly, and I paused so as not to wake him.  As I was about to stand I remembered the pregnancy test.  I quietly slipped the drawer open, pausing as it stuck, and creaked. I watched my dad to see if he would wake, when he didn’t stir, I slowly took the bag out of the draw, and went to the toilet.  As I sat on the toilet, I held my bladder and took the pregnancy test out of its wrapper and read the instructions.
    As I heard the first trickles of urine hit the water below me, I put the small white stick between my legs and let the rest flow over. When I finished, I pulled the stick out and sat on the toilet while I watched as the urine moved along the test, and across the little screen that would tell me whether I was pregnant.  The first blue line appeared clearly, I picked up the instructions and read, that I needed two lines if I was pregnant.  I stared at the window intently, for what seemed like forever. Ever so faintly the second blue line started to form, within seconds it became a dark blue line.
    I realised that I had been holding my breath, as I let out a loud groan. Tears flowed down my cheeks, and hit my bare knees. I didn’t trust myself to be able to stand as my hands started to shake and my head began to spin.  As the tears dried, I was able to build up the strength, to gather everything. I put the test inside the box, and put it all in the paper bag it had come in.  I sneaked quietly through the house and went outside and stuffed the package down deep into the bin. As I turned to go back inside, I saw my dad coming out into the hallway. He looked up and squinted through the back door.
    “What are you doing out here?” he asked.
    “I just needed some fresh air” I said, as I opened the back door.
    He nodded and took my arm; I had started to shake again. He eyed me suspiciously. He led me back to my bed, and tucked the blankets over me again. He touched my hair before he left and let his fingers linger on my head, while he stared down at me. He quietly left the room and I could hear him talking to Dylan just outside my door, but my ears had started ringing again and I couldn’t understand what they were saying.
    The next few days went by in a blur, between sleep and fits of wakefulness. Every time I woke up, there was someone different sitting by my bed, at one point even Shelly and Michael were there, but never Tilly, I never saw her once. When I finally woke up properly, I had no idea what day it was, what time it was or even what month it was.  I touched my stomach, as I remembered the pregnancy test. I sat up in bed, the dizziness had gone, and the nausea had left.
    I tossed off my blanket and swung my legs out of bed, and felt the blood rush to my feet as they hit the warm carpet.  I stretched my back and heard it clunk as it got used to sitting again. I shuffled my way to the door, my knees and ankles clicked and