Ch. 151..155: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 151-155
Chapter 151
I laugh harder at Daniel's suggestion, playfully shoving his shoulder. "No, he's not! Ridiculous," I sigh, turning towards my vanity.
"I'm serious, Fay," Daniel continues, still grinning wickedly at me. "I mean, I guess you don't see it the way I do because you've only experienced obsessed Kent. But do you seriously think he's ever, ever apologized to anyone like he did to you last night? Climbed through a secret passage to go see them just because he couldn't stand the thought of them being mad at him anymore?" "Ohhh," I say, tsking and dismissing the idea with a wave. "Don't be ridiculous, Daniel, it's not that big of a deal. It happened once! We were in a fight, he wanted it settled!"
"Fine," Daniel says, giving a little one-shouldered shrug. "But what about you sleeping in his room every night?"
"What?" I ask, turning to him now, confused. "Fiona would -“
"No," he says, raising his eyebrows. "Fiona was by far dad's favorite girlfriend, and certainly his longest lasting. And she was the only one who got a room - the one that's two down from mine - where Natalia is sleeping now." "Well," I say, still frowning, "I have my own room too -"
"Yeah," he says, nodding slowly. "A room with a direct passage to his."
"But Fiona," my frown deepens now as I start to realize...
"Fiona slept in her room every night. If she stayed over in dad's room it was always a special occasion - twice, maybe three times a year," Daniel says softly, smirking at me. "Even nights when she had clearly...spent time with him. He always slept alone." I blink at Daniel, shocked. What did that...
"But you, Baby Fay," he says, smirking and using Fiona's pet name for me. "You sleep over every night. And he can't stand to let you go to sleep angry after your big fight. He's obsessed with you."
My mouth falls open a bit as I struggle to come up with a reply, which just makes Daniel laugh harder at me as he stands up. His laughter just makes me narrow my eyes at him.
"Enough of you, and your theories," I say dismissively, though I'm still a little shocked at what I've heard. Kent, obsessed with me? More than Fiona? "Give me my breakfast sandwich," I demand, extending one hand while I use the other to rustle through my makeup drawer, searching for my mascara.
"That's another thing," Daniel says, moving to the breakfast tray and then reaching out to hand me the little breakfast sandwich. "Before you came to live here? Dad never brought me breakfast. He only started bringing me breakfast because he couldn't just bring you a plate, like he probably wanted."
"What?" I ask, turning to Daniel with shock and confusion on my face as I take my breakfast from him. "So....what did you eat?"
"Whatever I got out of the fridge," he laughs, taking a bite out of his own sandwich. "Not that I'm complaining, though. I eat better with dad's obsession by my side."
"Oh, stop," I say, glaring at him again with a sigh and shaking my head at my sandwich.
"What!" he says, coming to stand next to me at my vanity. "Why are you so glum about it? I thought you'd be glad to hear you've got dad wrapped all around your finger."
"Because," I say, looking up at him, suddenly struck by the sadness that has been haunting me a bit since I went through Lenai's photo album downstairs. "Daniel," I bite my lip, hesitating, wondering if Daniel is the right person to say this to. But he nudges me with his elbow, inviting me to speak.
"Daniel," I repeat, looking up at him, "even if he likes me a lot, he'll never... he'll never love me. Not the way...he loved your mom." I finish my sentence in a rush, looking down in shame. But when Daniel doesn't speak after a long moment, I look back up at him, a little disturbed to see Daniel looking down at me in confusion.
"Fay," he says quietly. "What do you think you know about how my dad loved my mom?"
"I think she was his first and only love," I say promptly, straightening my shoulders and staring at his face, wanting to see his reaction.
But Daniel just glances back down at his sandwich and takes another bite, as cryptic as his dad.
"What?" I ask, suddenly desperate to know. "Is that is that not true?"
Daniel just shrugs, looking at me evenly. "I think...you should ask Kent," he says. "I don't think it's my story to tell."
And as I sit in silence, working through my feelings at this weird non-news, Daniel nods towards the clothes bag. "Should we put those on?" he asks, easily changing the subject as he so frequently does. "Or should we hang out in our pajamas, since we're not allowed to go down until noon?"
"Well," I say, stretching my arms languidly above my head. "considering that my pajamas are on the floor, and that I'm naked under this robe," I say, nodding to where my warm flannel PJ's are laying in a heap where Kent tossed them, "I think I'm going to get changed..."
"Oh, gross, Fay!" Daniel groans, spinning away from the sight of the pajamas and striding towards the bathroom. "I'm going in here for five minutes! And when I come out, I want all evidence of your evening cleaned up, and I never want to speak of it again!" And then he slams the bathroom door shut and I laugh, standing up and working to straighten up the room to better protect Daniel's delicate sensibilities.
Kent hears Fay and Daniel come down the stairs just after noon and smiles a little, moving to the door, wanting to intercept them before they can go into the kitchen.
He leans against the doorframe and watches the two of them as they come down the stairs, lightly holding hands. Kent smirks at this, thinking that he's happy as hell that his son is gay, because if anyone else held her hand like that...
Well. Thoughts for another day. Today is a celebration.
"Hey, dad," Daniel says with a smile, seeing Kent first. Fay looks up in surprise and then beams too when she sees him standing there, sending a little thrill through Kent's stomach that he doesn't let show on his face.
"Hello," Kent replies, standing up and nodding towards his office. "Would you two come in here?"
"Why?" Daniel asks, frowning as he stops at the bottom of the stairs.
"Do you need an explanation?" Kent asks, raising an eyebrow at his son that makes Fay laugh a little. "Or can a father not request that his son join him in his study?"
Daniel holds a hand up in a semi-sarcastic apology and the two of them follow Kent into the room. Kent leads them over to his desk, where a little tray is waiting with three chilled glasses of champagne. "What's this?" Fay asks, looking at him curiously.
"A celebration," Kent answers, handing each of them a flute and picking the last one up himself. Then, he raises his glass and holds it out so that Fay and Daniel can clink theirs against it. They oblige him, but still look curiously at him, which Kent enjoys a little too much.
"And," Daniel says, after taking a sip. "What are we celebrating?"
"The fact," Kent replies, looking between them, "that we're alone."
"What?" Fay asks, tilting her head to the side like a little bird, listening to the sounds of the house, which still hums with people.
"What are you talking about, Dad?" Daniel asks, looking around. "Everyone's...here."
"No," Kent says, giving a little sigh of relief before taking another sip of his champagne. "Not everyone, because the Biancis are gone."
Chapter 152
Fay gives a gasp and then a loud whoop of joy that makes Kent laugh, pleased to see her reaction. Daniel gasps "no!" and then drains his glass of champagne, likewise laughing before wrapping his dad in a hug that makes Kent stumble back a step. And then Daniel lets Kent free and Fay takes his place, wrapping her arms around Kent's waist and giving him a squeeze before dancing away from him, laughing and spinning as she holds her glass of champagne above her head, threatening to spill it everywhere. But for once, Kent doesn't care.
It's enough to see her happy.
"What happened, dad?!" Daniel asks, beaming at Kent excitedly.
Kent just shrugs. "They had business in Italy," he says. "I convinced them that they were needed there immediately and got them a flight." Fay catches his eye then, laughing a little, because she knows what that business is, but Kent only lets a little smile come to his lips.
Daniel looks between them, rolling his eyes when he realizes that Fay knows something he doesn't. But he lets it pass. "Business in Italy? And they're...not coming back?"
"Well," Kent says with a little sigh, running a hand through his hair. "They probably will come back. But for a few weeks, at least," he says, smiling at the two of them, "we've got the house back to ourselves."
"We have to celebrate!" Fay declares, holding her glass up and spinning again with joy. "We need to have a party! And get sloppy, delicious take out for dinner! Nothing Italian - Chinese! We need to get lots of Chinese food!"
"If that's what you want," Kent says as he leans back against his desk, "you order it. As much as you want." And then he smiles as he watches her dance around the room, singing a little victory song about Italians going back to Europe, or hell, whichever they can get to faster.
Daniel moves to Kent's side as Fay continues to sing and dance, crossing his arms over his chest and watching Kent as Kent watches Fay.
"She loves you too, you know," Daniel says quietly to his father, who turns to him in surprise.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about, dad," Daniel says with a smirk, nodding towards Fay.
"No, I don't," Kent murmurs, though he smiles a little.
"You forget that we have the same face," Daniel continues, gesturing towards his own features which Kent knows are very nearly an exact replica of his own. "I know its expressions. I know what you feel when you look at her. I can read you, even if no one else can." Kent looks thoughtfully at his son for a moment. "You know," he says, "you suggesting that you can see love on my face means that you've seen it on your own."
Daniel blushes at this, looking down at his empty champagne glass and saying nothing as Fay, across the room, pulls the curtains open and takes a long swig of her champagne. "Let's get some sun in here!" she shouts. "Get all the bad Natalia energy out!" Daniel, grateful for the interruption, looks back at Kent curiously. "So?" he asks, and Kent turns his face back to his son. "Do you love her?"
And Kent's lips curl into a wry little half-smile as he turns to look at Fay. "Do you even need to ask?" he answers.
Before Daniel can reply Fay crosses the room back to them, wrapping her arms around Kent's waist again. "Do we get Chinese now?" she asks, smiling up at him as Kent runs his palm down the length of her hair, unable to tear his eyes away from her beautiful, perfect face. "Or do we wait till tonight?"
"Tonight," Kent murmurs, dipping his head to place a simple kiss on Fay's lips. Neither he nor Fay notice, but Daniel blinks in shock at the sight of it. It's the first time he's seen them do it. Well, he's known for a long time that they are...together. But this? Daniel's almost bowled over by it, the simplicity of them - by how much it very suddenly makes sense.
"Why?" Fay asks, pouting.
"Because," Kent says, standing straight with a sigh and unwrapping her arms from around him. "I've got some things to finish up today. But tonight I'll clear my books. We'll celebrate then," he says, smiling between them. "Just the three of us." "Or...four?" Fay says excitedly, smiling at Daniel with an eager expression.
Daniel gapes at Fay, his eyes darting between her and his father.
"Oh, he knows you have a boyfriend," Fay says, rolling her eyes. "You should bring him!"
Daniel goes a little pale then, realizing that this post-Natalia era was one in which all of their secrets were apparently going to be laid bare.
"You should," Kent says evenly, looking seriously at his son. "If there's someone who is...important to you, who you'd like to introduce to me...you should bring them."
Wary, Daniel takes a deep breath, not sure how he feels about this. "All right," he says slowly. "I'll...think about it."
"And I'll go to the barn!" Fay declares, grinning and standing on her tiptoes to give Kent another kiss before heading for the door. "Jerome will take me. See you tonight!"
Daniel makes some excuse, heading out on Fay's heels, but Kent barely hears his son as he watches Fay go. Because he is very, very excited for this new era.
Good things, he knows, are just around the corner for all of them.
I chatter almost unceasingly to Jerome in the car, telling him all about the absence of the Italians and begging him to consider coming to the little family party tonight. He refuses immediately, letting me know that Kent is going to cut his head off when he finds out that its him a low-level Mafia lackey - dating Daniel, and not some Ivy-league rich boy like Daniel should be dating.
As we move into the stable and the riding ring I protest, arguing that it's not going to be like that - that Kent was, after all, very accepting of Daniel being gay despite all of the ideas everyone has long had about what happens to gay men in Mafia families. So why would he care at all who Daniel is dating?
The debate continues in snatched conversation as I put Heathcliff through his paces and Jerome rides behind me on his own borrowed steed, a pretty white mare named Butterfly. But after about an hour of it, when the horses are happily exercised and Jerome and I still haven't come to an agreement, we both laugh and decide to move on from it all.
"I hope you'll come," I murmur to Jerome, knocking my shoulder playfully against his arm as we lead the horses back into the stables. "I like you. I like you and Daniel. Kent will like you too."
"Kent does like me," he sighs, "as the guy who reliably chases down the people who owe him money and as his girlfriend's chauffer. As the guy sneaking into his son's bedroom?" Jerome just shakes his head at me, still not convinced.
I laugh again, opening my mouth to object, but I turn away when I hear a banging from a stall at the other side of the stable. Butterfly lifts her head then and nickers loudly towards it. "What's that?" I ask as I turn Heathcliff into his stall.
"No big deal," Jerome replies as he starts to move away. "Our sweet Butterfly is in heat," he tells me over his shoulder as he leads her to her own stall across the aisle. "The stallion at the end of the row is...unsettled by it."
"Oh," I say curiously as I tie Heathcliff's lead rope to the little ring on the wall and start to unhook his saddle. Then, as I put the saddle on the door and start to brush my horse, I let my mind start to wander. How often do mares even go into heat? And I didn't notice any physical sign of it from Butterfly - do horses just...not get their periods?
And quite suddenly, as I think it, I realize something.
And I go absolutely perfectly still as my mind races.
Quickly, desperately, I flick through my mental calendar, trying to remember when the last time I...
And then my hands begin to shake, just a little bit, as I look down at my stomach in horror.
Because as far as I can remember?
It's been about...six weeks since I last had my own period.
Chapter 153
I stand very still for a very long time, my breath getting increasingly faster as I stare into space, trying to figure this out. What was what's wrong with me?
How the hell did I miss this?!
My period has, since I first got it when I was thirteen, been very regular. And unlike Janeen, who sometimes needs to take the day off and lay in bed for the whole day when her period starts, I have never really had too much trouble with it. So, generally, it's not something I think or worry about too much -
But this?! To go six weeks without noticing that it just never showed up?!
Have I - have I seriously been stuck in such a sex haze that I just didn't notice?
But wait - how did I not notice this!?
But beyond that - how did Kent, who is so precise with literally every other aspect of my life, just not notice that I've been sleeping with him every night for six weeks without interruption? How did neither of us -
I groan a little, tilting my head back, my brain quickly running through the possibilities.
Because - what does this mean?
My mind obviously turns to the clearest possibility: that I'm pregnant.
But how!? Because Kent had a vasectomy -
But...did it not work? Or is it something worse -
Am I am I sick? I press my hands low on my stomach and look down at myself, trying to feel if...I mean, did something in me...break?
But I feel totally normal - no pain.
But not all illnesses present as pain at the start...
I'm almost panting with anxiety now, because I know that either way - either way, this cannot be good. Either I'm sick...or I'm...I'm somehow, impossibly, fucking pregnant...
Or is it something else? What am I not thinking of -
"Fay?"
I spin, almost jumping out of my boots in shocked surprise as I look up at Jerome.
"Are you okay?" he asks, looking at me warily. "I've been...talking to you for like two minutes. You haven't responded."
"We need to go," I snap, my hands starting to shake a little. I step away from Healthcliff, heading towards the stall door -
"What? Why -" I push past Jerome and he glances back into the stall towards my horse. "Fay, you haven't even stored his tack or cleaned his feet -"
"Let's go, Jerome!" I shout over my shoulder, storming towards the front of the stables. Because I need answers - now. And the easiest option thing to rule out as a possibility is pregnancy.
So, I need to get to a pharmacy. Now. Right f*****g now.
Jerome, intuiting that something is seriously wrong, curses behind me and closes Heathcliff's stall door. I'm practically out of the stable and heading for the car when I hear him calling some instructions to the stable workers and then running after me. "Fay!" he gasps, grabbing my arm before we can get to the car. "What the hell is going on? What happened?"
"We just need to go, Jerome," I snap, looking towards the car and not up into his face as I usually would. "What changed?"
I work to pull my arm out of his hand but he holds tight, refusing to let me go. "Fay!" he shouts. "Tell me! Now!"
"No!" I yell, spinning my head to look viciously up at him. "This is my business, Jerome! So, get in the car and drive, all right!?"
Shocked, clearly worried by my sudden change in mood - change in entire personality, really - Jerome drops my arm and takes a step back, looking me over from head to toe. But I just shake my head once and stalk towards the passenger side of the car. I hear Jerome sigh behind me as he moves to the driver's side, apparently deciding to play along.
We drive in silence. My anxiety takes full control of me and I sit with my arms wrapped around my legs, my chin on my knees, my dirty boots flat against the leather of the seat as I stare blankly out the windshield.
From the corner of my eye I can see Jerome glancing at me anxiously every few minutes, but I don't look at him. I don't do anything on the surface, but inside my mind is screaming.
What the what the fuck am I going to do?
If I'm...
"There," I say, my voice monotone as I fling a finger out to point at the chain pharmacy I've been waiting for, the one we pass every day on the way home. "Stop here, Jerome," I order. "What?" He asks, glancing at me again. "Fay, why? What do you need? Are you - are you sick?"
I don't answer but he slows the car, pulling into the parking lot anyway. When the car rolls to a stop I unbuckle my belt, but before I can step out of the car Jerome grabs my wrist. I pull hard, trying to tug away, but again he won't let me.
"Stop," he commands, and I look angrily up into his face. "Tell me what's going on," he insists, his hand tightening around my wrist. "You were happy all day, and then I find you in the stall basically catatonic, staring at the wall, panting like you've run a marathon? And then you tell me to stop at a pharmacy? What's going on, Fay?"
"Back off, Jerome," I snap, glaring at him. "This is my business. Not yours."
And then I push the car door open and climb out. Jerome groans and lets me go, but when I glance over my shoulder as I slam the Lexus door shut behind me, I just see him staring at me out the windshield, totally baffled.
Good, I think. Because it's going to be really complicated to keep this quiet if he's watching me pick out a pregnancy test.
I stalk into the pharmacy, following the signs and quickly finding the family planning aisle. There, I crouch down and stare at my options, looking through the neatly packaged pregnancy tests with their pink and purple labels, trying to find...
I don't know...the right one?
And as I start to panic again, wondering...shit, do I just buy one? Or some kind of...multipack? And which one... Do I need the early result one? Fat chance on that, considering my period has been gone for six weeks -
So...the one that tells you in words? Or one with a blue stripe? Or...this one is...pocket sized...
But who the hell would need a pocket sized pregnancy test?
And as I crouch there, staring frantically at all the options, the words on the packages start to blur as my eyes fill with tears. And then my lip starts to shake, and I hang my head, and fall back on my ass and begin to sob in the middle of the pharmacy, tucking my face against my hands.
Fuck. Fuck. What the hell is going on with me?
"Fuck," I hear someone whisper, echoing the words in my mind.
I flinch as I look up to see Jerome standing over me, his eyes wide, looking slowly between me and the products neatly arranged before me. Then he crouches down next to me, staring at me unblinking as I sniff and try to pull myself together. "Are you...are you serious, Fay? Are you..."
I shake my head vehemently. "I don't know," I murmur, looking back towards the pregnancy tests.
"Fay," he snaps, suddenly grabbing my arm and yanking me towards him, making me gasp as I look at him. "Who the f**k is the father?!"
Chapter 154
"What!" I gasp, shocked, but then I get very angry very fast, ripping my arm out of Jerome's hand for the third time in about an hour. "I don't even know if there is a father, Jerome!" "Of course there's a father -" he shouts, his voice cracking because apparently he's as freaked out as I am.
"I don't even know if there's a baby!" I yell in response, gesturing fervently at the pregnancy tests.
"Ohhh my god," he groans, sinking back on his own a*s and putting his head in his hands. I glance around briefly at the other customers who studiously avoid our aisle but don't hesitate to glance down it, their eyes wide and curious. I bury my instinct to snarl at them all to go f**k themselves and turn my attention back to Jerome.
"Seriously, Fay," he says, raising his eyes to look at me with sorrow and worry all over his face. "Who is the father? Is it Ivan? Because -"
"Oh my god, Jerome," I snap, leaning forward to smack him hard on the arm. "Of course it's not Ivan - you know that I've only been sleeping with Kent!"
"I don't know that, Fay," Jerome growls between his teeth, saying my name like it's a curse. "You've had plenty of time alone with Ivan to get knocked up! It's the only thing that makes sense, considering Kent's vasectomy!"
I stare at him, my mouth dropping open a little. "How do you know about that?"
"Everyone knows about that!" Jerome shouts, throwing his hands wide. "Do you seriously think Kent has kept it a secret? All the women he's brought around - you think he hasn't made it clear to all of them, to everyone, that trying to trap him into childcare payments for the next eighteen years isn't going to work?"
"Well, I don't know then!" I cry, throwing my hands in the air, starting to freak out more that Jerome is starting to freak out. "It's a miracle then! Or maybe it's the second coming of Jesus! Or maybe I'm sick! All I know is that I have only ever slept with Kent, and now I haven't gotten my period in six weeks - and that's literally all I -"
"Are you SERIOUS Fay!?" Jerome shouts. "Six WEEKS!? What the hell have you been doing!?"
My temper breaks and I snap my mouth shut, leaning forward fast to shove him, hard, knocking him back flat on the ground.
"Fuck off, Jerome," I growl. "You don't get to say a god damn thing to me about this."
And then I push myself to the feet, grabbing the keys from the ground where they've spilled out of his hand and grabbing a pregnancy test - any pregnancy test - off the shelf and storming towards the front of the store as Jerome just lays there, staring at the ceiling, apparently having his own stress-induced mental breakdown.
But I come up short a few seconds later and have to slowly turn and wait as the tears again start to roll down my face. It takes three whole minutes for Jerome to walk out of the aisle, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging. He stops in surprise when he sees
me.
"What?" he asks, glaring at me a little. "Why are you still here? I thought you'd take the car and be gone."
I heave a heavy sigh and shrug, my mouth starting to tremble again as I look helplessly at him, the keys in one hand, the pregnancy test in the other.
"I don't have any money," I admit, my words squeaky and trembling as they fall from my lips.
Jerome tilts his head back and stares at the ceiling for a second, taking a deep breath. "Rich girls," I hear him murmur. "Why do rich girls...never have any money."
But then he brings his head back down and looks at me, and I start to cry harder when I see the sympathy in his eyes. And my friend walks forward and wraps an arm around my shoulders as he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. "Come on, Fay," he sighs, leading me forward to the scandalized teller. "I've never bought you a drink, so I guess a pregnancy test will have to do instead."
A little laugh sputters from me as I place the test on the counter and Jerome gives me a little squeeze.
"It'll be all right, kid," he whispers to me. "We'll get it all worked out."
Jerome wanted me to take the pregnancy test there in the pharmacy bathroom, but my shocked "ew" had him rolling his eyes and escorting me to the car. He tried to talk me into probably a hundred other places to take it, but I shook my head to each one. I understand his point - that we need to figure this out privately before we decide what to do - but quite frankly I'm shaking so hard right now that I can't imagine being anywhere but home. I want the calm privacy of my own little white bathroom. I don't think... well, I don't think I'll be able to go anywhere else.
Jerome is obviously tense as we pull through the gate and into the garage. He turns to me as he shuts the car's engine off. "We need to get upstairs fast but inconspicuously," he says, thinking aloud as I clutch the little paper bag that holds my fate. "Don't act like anything's wrong," he advises, "but we're going to move fast and talk to as few people as possible. Okay?"
"Okay," I say, nodding fast, my breath shaking a little.
Then he nods to me and we both get out of the car, heading swiftly for the door to the house.
Luck is on our side - at least in this, if nothing else. We see a few of the usual people as we pass through the hallway, past the closed door to Kent's office. But as we hurry up the stairs, no one takes any particular notice of us.
Jerome strides into my room first and I scurry after him, breathing out a big breath of relief as I press the door shut and quickly flick the lock. I turn and head towards the bedroom but stop when I hear a buzzing noise.
"What?" I ask, going still and staring at Jerome as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at it.
"Nothing," he murmurs, starting to type something and then briefly flicking his chin towards my bathroom door. "Go," he says before looking back down at his phone. "It's just Daniel - it's seriously nothing."
Hesitating, because everything in my life right now feels like a bomb about to go off, I hurry into the bathroom and close the door behind me. Then, my hands shaking like they've never done before, I quickly pull the pregnancy test out, rip open the box, and start to read through the instructions. Because obviously I've never done this before, and I want to get it right.
Once I think I understand how to do this, I quickly move to the toilet, holding the little test shakily in my hand as I work at the button at the top of my tight riding pants.
What happens if I like...drop the stick in the toilet?
Or if I...don't aim right? And miss the stick entirely? How will we get another one before -
But I groan at myself, sick of my stupid brain and all of my anxieties. Frustrated, I yank my pants down before sitting down on the toilet. Because honestly, it can't be that hard, and if I can't do this...
But I almost do drop the test in the water after I've finished, because a sudden knock comes at the outer door of my room. I go still with sudden fear.
Because whoever is at my door now - they're going to know something's wrong. My door is never locked in the middle of the day, especially not with Jerome trapped in here with me.
Desperate to know, I anxiously place the pregnancy test on the counter by the sink, refasten my pants and pull open the door to my bathroom.
To my shock, I see Jerome already at the crack to my bedroom door, arguing vehemently with someone in hushed tones.
Chapter 155
"Go away," Jerome hisses. "You can see her later!"
"What the f**k, Jerome!" I hear Daniel snap and I gasp, going very still. Because Daniel - Daniel can't know. "She needs a minute -" Jerome protests as Daniel - taller and broader than him - starts to push at the door. "What's wrong with her?" Daniel asks, suddenly frantic. "Is she all right?"
"She's fine!"
"Then why won't you let me in!?" The final word a shout, Daniel gives a hard shove at the door and Jerome stumbles back. Jerome spins towards me, shaking his head as I stare at Daniel, who almost falls into the room.
Daniel takes a moment to stare at me, to look between Jerome and I, taking in our ashen faces and shocked expressions.
"What the hell is going on, Fay?" he asks, angry now.
"Nothing," I gulp, taking a step back towards the bathroom and cursing myself - absolutely cursing myself for not tucking the pregnancy test and its box away somewhere safe -
Daniel notices my step back and his eyes flash to the bathroom.
"What's in there?" he asks, pressing the bedroom door shut behind him.
"Shit," Jerome breathes, hanging his head in his hands again.
"Nothing!" I insist, taking another step backwards. But Daniel's already on to me, and as he starts to take long strides to the bathroom - desperate to know what we're hiding - I spin and dash in, reaching for the test still sitting peacefully at its spot by the sink. My fingers almost touch it, but Daniel is too fast. His hand suddenly comes into my sight, reaching out for it - snatching it up off the sink before I can grab it.
"Daniel!" I protest, whirling on him, grabbing for the test, trying to get it back. "It's mine!"
"Well f*****g obviously, Fay!" he shouts, his voice somewhere between rage and horror and worry all at once. "What the - what the fuck is this!?"
But I fold my arms, glaring at him as he holds it high up above my head.
"I peed on that, you know," I snap, hoping it will make him drop it.
But it doesn't work, he just glares at me and then looks up at it before snapping his face back to me.
"Are you...are you pregnant?" he asks, breathless.
"Well, I don't know, Daniel," I snarl. "That's what we were trying to figure out!" And I gesture vehemently towards the test, still held out of my reach.
And slowly, clearly trying to piece the world back together as Jerome comes to the bathroom door and stares between us, Daniel brings the test back down and stares at the result.
As Daniel stares at the stick I find that I can't breathe and my hand goes to my throat as I stare at him, waiting for him to tell me if...
...if my life is completely over.
Slowly, too slowly, he looks up at me. "It doesn't say anything," he says, his face twisting in confusion. "What's it supposed to - did you do it right?"
"Oh my god," I snap, taking a stumbling step forward and grabbing the test out of his hand. "Daniel! It's probably not done yet! And you're supposed to let it lay flat!"
Daniel puts his hands up innocently as I place the test back on the counter.
"How long are you supposed to wait?" he asks, a little breathless, staring at it.
"Three minutes," I say, crossing my arms and staring at the little stick as Jerome comes to stand between us. We're all silent for a long second, together staring at the little piece of plastic, before I groan and flip it over so that we can't see the result. Then I turn away, burying my face in my hands and beginning to pace anxiously. "We'll flip it over when three minutes are done," I say, decided. "I can't...stare at it and just guess."
"Fay," Daniel says, and I hear him take a step closer to me, touching my shoulder. "Who - who is the dad?"
And I spin, yanking my hands away from my face and glaring up at him. "Seriously?" I cry. "You too!?" "Well -"
"I am not sleeping with anyone except your dad, Daniel!" I shout, exasperated. Seriously, I lose my virginity two months ago and everyone already thinks I've got multiple partners? I mean, I guess Janeen would be proud, but - "He can't have any more kids, Fay," Daniel explains, looking at me like I'm stupid.
"Do you two," I say, looking wide-eyed between them and folding my arms angrily over my chest, "do you seriously keep saying that to me because you think I'm an idiot? That I don't obviously know this?" "Well then how -"
"I don't know, Daniel!" I shout, throwing my hands up, at the end of my rope. "I have no explanations! I am not keeping any secrets! I know what you know! And by the way, we don't even know if I'm..."
But my words cut off as I realize that I can't say the word. And my vision flicks back to the little plastic stick, sitting so innocently on the counter. Holding my entire fate.
"How much longer?" Daniel asks after a moment, and I glance up at him to see him clenching his jaw the same way his dad does when he's stressed.
"About thirty seconds," Jerome replies, staring hard at the sink like he can see to the other side of the test through sheer will alone.
"Swear it," Daniel snaps suddenly, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me a step closer to him so that I'm staring up into his too-serious face. He shakes me a little before saying it again. "Swear it, Fay. That you've only slept with him." "I swear, Daniel," I whisper, looking honestly up into his face, hoping he can see it there. "No one else. If this...if there's a baby...it's his."
Daniel looks at me for a long moment before wrapping his other arm around me and hugging me close. "All right," he says, and I can feel his head nod above me.
"What are we going to do," I whisper, pressing my face against Daniel's chest and letting myself shake a little against him.
"We'll...talk to him," Daniel says, chagrined. "He'll want a paternity test - or, I don't know, something. But he's going to be pissed," he sighs. "It's - it won't be easy. But we'll...we'll figure it out, okay? We'll take care of you." And I press my eyes shut and will myself to believe him, even though I know...
That this is not okay. Nothing about it is okay. My entire world just completely exploded in front of me, and even if I'm not pregnant - then what is happening with my body?
My stomach twists then and I go rigid in Daniel's arms, trying to figure out what's happening - is this like morning sickness? Or just anxiety? Or did Natalia seriously poison me last night -
Before I can let my mind race in the thousand new directions it wants to go, though, I feel Daniel turn slightly towards Jerome. "How much time is left?"
"Time's up," Jerome replies and I pull away from Daniel a little, my breath catching in my throat.
"Seriously?" I ask. How did three minutes go so fast?
Jerome confirms with a terse nod, still staring at the stick.
And then Daniel reaches for it, but I move fast and swat his hand away.
"No," I say, stepping forward. "This is...this is mine."
And my best friend hesitates, but he lets me walk to the sink alone, where I pick the little test up. And flip it over in my hands.