Chapter 6

OLYMPIA’S POV

“Come live with me,” she said.

“Why would you do that? You don’t even know me,” I said, confused.

Lola chuckled before replying,

“I don’t need to know who you are before I help out. You need help and I have the resources to help. That’s why I’m offering you a place to stay. Also, I think we’d be very good friends.”

I looked at her face and she had a smile etched on it. She looked like a really nice person and a harmless one at that. It would be rude of me to reject her offer.

“But I really don’t want to impose on you,” I said.

“And who said anything about you imposing? You’re not imposing at all. I really want to do this. Well, I’m not trying to force you to accept my offer but I really would be happy if you accepted it,” Lola said.

I looked up at her with a smile. I guess it’s not a bad idea. After all, I’ve not gotten a place for the night yet, I thought.

“Fine, I’ll take you up on your offer,” I said and a bright smile exploded on her face.

She hugged me in excitement and rumbled all about how excited she was that I took her offer. She went to see the doctor who confirmed that I was free to go. After the bills were paid, Lola took me out of the hospital to her house.

Her place looked modest, pointing out at the fact that she wasn’t so rich and neither was she poor. She took me to the room and said,

“You’re welcome to my home. This is where you’re going to be staying while you’re here. I hope you love it here.”

I smile that her and replied,

“This is better than sleeping on the streets. Thank you so much for welcoming me to your home.”

With that said and done, she helped me settle in and offered me food. Days passed and living with Lola was amazing. She was a good cook, a great companion and everything I could want in a friend. Soon, we became the best of friends and did everything together. She showed me around the new town and I grew to love the place.

One day, Lola and I sat together watching the moon while chatting and laughing. Suddenly, she changed the topic.

“Olympia, can I ask you something?” She asked with a serious look on her face.

“Sure, go ahead,” I looked at her a bit confused, wondering why her expression suddenly shifted.

“What happened between you and the father of your baby? You haven’t spoken about him since you got here,” she asked.

I paused for a while, not knowing if I should tell her what the deal was. Taking a deep sigh, I said,

“Well, Xavier and I had a one night stand situation after my mate, Silas rejected me. Although, Xavier accepted me after revealing that he was my second chance mate but one night, I got a message that he was my parents’ killer and was out to kill me too so I had to flee to save myself and my baby.”

“Whoa, that’s horrible. I’m sorry you have to go through that but don’t worry, I’m here for you and I’ll help you take care of the child when it’s born,” Lola said and I smiled at her, feeling grateful.

Weeks turned into months and my stomach continued to grow. As my delivery date drew closer, I became more and more anxious, hoping everything would go well. Finally the day arrived and Lola took me to the hospital herself. When we arrived, the doctor asked us to wait for a while until the contractions began.

When the contractions intensified, I held Lola’s hand tightly. When the doctor returned, he announced it was time for my baby to be born. I was taken into the delivery room where my body battled to bring a new life into the world. Pushing through excruciating contractions which was so exhausting felt like I was battling for my life.

“You’ve got this, Olympia. You’re a strong woman. Just push with all your strength,” Lola encouraged.

With one last push, my baby was born. Tears streamed down my face as I realized the battle was over.

“Congratulations, it’s a boy,” the doctor said.

That was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

SIX YEARS LATER

I woke up to the sound of giggles and tiny footsteps running around the house.

“Get back here, you little rascal,” I heard Lola say before laughing.

I sat up laughing, knowing what was going on. Morning mayhem has become the routine since my baby, Zayn, started school. Lola, who’s now like a sister to me, has been really helpful since Zayn was born. Life has been good.

Over the years as I watched Zayn grow, I couldn’t help but think about Xavier and how much I missed him and wanted to return to him but what I read in that anonymous years back letter still haunted my mind.

As I was about to get up, Zayn ran into the room giggling with Lola behind him. He jumped onto my bed and into my arms.

“Momma!” He said excitedly.

“Yes baby, why are you running away from your aunt Lola? Don’t you want to go to school?” I asked him.

He shook his small head sideways.

“C’mon buddy, you have to go to school so that you can learn new things, make new friends and when you grow up, get a good job and take care of momma, okay,” I said.

“Okay momma,” my sweet baby boy said.

“Good boy, now go to Aunt Lola and let her prepare you for school,” I said.

Zayn scampered off to Lola, who scooped him in her arms and walked away. I smiled, watching them go. I felt a surge of gratitude for this family we’d built.