Chapter 44: Go.

Chapter 44: Go.

"What do you mean by it's not his?" Adam asks her.

"Look, I went to this party and I was drunk and it happened so fast and I-" She says, but I cut her off.

"Got pregnant. For God's sake, Hannah. We leave for college in two weeks. You can't go there pregnant." I tell her.

"Quit yelling. She's in enough trauma already." Adam tells me.

"Look, I'll handle it." She tells me.

"How?" I ask her.

"It's none of your business anymore, it's my cross to bear. I'll see you, Adam." She says before she leaves the house.

"Well, that was a total shit show." Adam says, folding his arms.

"I'm just shocked to the core." I tell him.

"I got some pop tarts in the fridge, how about we pop those bad guys in the microwave and have ourselves a party?" He suggests.

"Sure." I reply, weakly.

He heads into the kitchen and I plop my body on the sofa, laying on my back.

It's been a long day.

***

"You can't be serious right now." I tell Hannah as she drives towards a clinic downtown.

"Yes, I am." She tells me with an emotionless look on her face.

"You can't just kill the baby." I say trying to reason with her.

"Yes, I can. And the father is cool with it." She tells me.

"He is no father if he can't even own up to his responsibility." I say, folding my arms in my seat.

"Well, that's what I get for screwing a freaking drug dealer." She says as she makes a right turn.

"How would you have known besides he looked hot from the pictures you showed me." I tell her as she puts the car in park.

I stare out the window and I see a tall building with the words "Fleming Health Institute." written on the top.

"You sure about this?" I ask her.

"Obviously. And it's not like I have a choice." She says as she gets out of the car. I do the same and trail behind her as she walks inside the building.

She starts talking to the receptionist and she leads us into another waiting room. Hannah and I take a seat and we wait.

"You can still change your mind, you know. It's not too late." I say, trying to talk her out of it.

"My mind is made, okay. I'm doing this." She says with a firm tone.

"I'm just saying, what if this kid finds the cure for Cancer or even better he ends world poverty? Wouldn't you want to have the perk of being their parent?" I ask her.

"Nope." She replies, popping the P.

"Fair enough." I nod, leaning into the chair.

"Miss Granite, the doctor will see you now." A nurse tells Hannah and she stands up and follows her.

"Wish me luck." She mouths to me but I give her a thumbs down.

I am awoken by someone shaking me vigorously.

"Huh?"

"Wake up, sleepy head." Hannah says, pulling me off the chair.

"Was I asleep?" I ask her.

"Obvi. Now, come on let's go." She tells me as she starts walking in front of me.

"Oh my god, did you do it already?" I ask her.

"No." She tells me and I smile.

"I knew my voice would ring in your head." I say, giving her a side hug.

"It was a false alarm." She tells me.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask her.

"I'm not pregnant. The test must have been wrong." She says pouting.

"Well, that's great." I tell her.

"I guess." She says, shrugging.

"Wanna grab some food?" She asks me as we reach her car.

"Yeah." I reply as I get in.

"Let's go to House of Cubes, I'll text Adam." She tells me as she straps herself in.

"Where else would we even go?" I say with a small laugh.

***

"Do they have to be here every time we come here?" Adam says with a disgusted tone.

"I guess so." I say, shrugging.

"Someone's staring at you." Hannah comments as she takes a bite out of her burger.

"3 o'clock." Adam adds.

I look to my right and I see Zachary staring straight at me.

I gulp.

"What do you want?" I mouth to him.

"You." He says back.

"No." I say, waving him off.

"Damn, you guys have insane chemistry." Adam says, folding his arm as he leans in the comfortable booth.

"Who cares." I say, staring down at my food.

"So, what's the update on the baby in the oven situation?" Adam asks us.

"False alarm." I tell him.

"Thank God." He says, taking a long drag from his milkshake.

"I think this is going to be our last meeting before we head off to college. Because next week I'm going to be super busy with packing and stuff." Hannah tells us.

"Same. I have a whole lot of shit to pack." I say, taking a sip of my diet coke.

"It's really the end guys." Adam says, pouting like a little kid.

"No, it's not." I tell him.

"We may never see each other again. Soon, you'll be somebody that I used to know." He maintained.

"No way. I'll never forget you guys." I reassure him.

"Well, I gotta go. It's been real, but my mother's literally blowing up my phone." Hannah says, sliding out of the booth.

"See you, H." Adam says.

"Bye, Hannah." I say, waving at her.

"I'm gonna head out too." Adam tells me, yawning.

"You're really gonna do me like that." I say, staring at him.

"Sorry, Vee. I gotta play Xbox." He tells me and I glare at him.

"Is Xbox code word for a booty call?" I ask, frowning at him.

"You know it." He says, clicking his tongue.

"Get out of here, Hendrix." I tell him, smacking his bum as he leaves the booth.

"I see your little minions have finally let you breathe." Zachary says, sitting opposite me.

"Don't talk about my friends like that." I tell him, folding my arms as I frown.

"You look good when you frown." He says, reaching over to my side of the table. He takes my Diet Coke, and drinks it.

"Hey!" I yell at him.

"Mmm." He hums as he wipes his mouth, cleaning the residue of soda on his lips.

"You owe me a soda." I tell him.

"I just took a sip." He defends.

"You owe me a soda." I repeat.

"Fine." He says, giving in.

"Where's your girlfriend?" I ask him.

"Sierra's not my girlfriend, Vee." He says, obviously lying.

"So, you're gonna deny her too. Poor girl doesn't know she's dating a deadbeat." I say, rolling my eyes at him.

"Ouch." He says, pretending to be hurt by my words.

"I miss you, Vee." He says, staring at me.

"As you should." I tell him, my face devoid of any emotion.

"You should go. Before Sierra misses you too much." I say, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I'll text you." He tells me as he slides out of the booth.

"Don't." I tell him.

He kisses my forehead before he returns to his table. I watch as he strolls casually and sits down still staring at me. Sierra comes out of the restroom and I turn my eyes back to my table. I grab my phone and head for the door.

I'm outta here.

***

"Mum, what are you doing?" I ask her as I walk into the living room.

She has a team of decorators hanging up balloons and banners.

"I'm throwing you a going away party. Surprise!!!" She cheers.

Oh God.

"Who said I wanted that?" I ask her as I stare at the champagne bottle-shaped balloons.

"Well, your Dad and I figured that you would want this" She tells me.

"No mum, you figured that I would want this. You need to check with me first." I tell her.

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise. You act like you don't like nice things."

"Because nice things come with a price. You of all people would know that." I tell her before I rush up the stairs. I enter my room, slamming the door behind me.

I hate my life.

A few minutes later, my mother is knocking on my door.

"Come in." I say, letting out a tired sigh.

"Thought I'd let you cool down first." She says as she sits beside me on the bed.

"I'm sorry I exploded on you like that. I'm just not in the mood." I tell her, leaning on her shoulder.

"It's fine. I just wanted to do something before you left me for good." She says, staring at her fingernails.

"For good?" I ask her, chuckling. "Mum, it's just college and besides I'll come visit." I tell her, leaning into her.

"Then do this one thing for me. I already invited all your friends. It's just one party, Valarie." She tells me.

"Fine." I give in.

"Excellent. Get dressed and meet me downstairs in an hour." She tells me before she leaves my room.

Oh, brother.