Before the part where the camera man died, but after the part the girl's stomach exploded (my favorite part) I ended up falling asleep in my egg shaped chair with my arms wrapped protectively around my stomach. I didn't wake up until around seven am, in which I heard Cally vomiting into a nearby trash can. The noise didn't seem to wake Keon or Josh, so I simply tip-toed over to Cally while blinking away the bright sunlight streaming in through the cracks in the curtains.
"Are you alright?" I asked, patting Cally's back lightly. Unable to speak, Cally nodded right before retching again into the trash bin. Wrinkling my nose, I turned my face away, trying not to breathe in. At this point, I was already nauseous, and Cally's vomiting wasn't making it any easier. Still, I wanted to help my friend.
"I'm.... okay now. I think. Can I brush my teeth?" said Cally, straightening up and away from the trash can. She wiped her mouth and put a hand on her swollen belly. I nodded, my heart going out to her. As I led her back into the mansion, a tiny part of me wondered how much worse things were going to get for me, as Cally was ahead of me in the pregnancy timeline.
"I have a few spare toothbrushes. I'm also ravenously hungry, so I'll be in the kitchen. I'm assuming you don't want anything right now?" I said, sliding open the back porch door. Cally shook her head, looking positively green, and I led her to the bathroom with the spare toothbrushes. After finding and handing Cally a toothbrush, she stopped my departure from the room by grabbing my wrist.
"Wait, I gotta talk to you," she said. I blinked, feeling instantly nervous by the tone in her voice. It was the all- too familiar Cally Gossip Voice, the kind she would use to interrogate me about the gossip I didn't want to tell or spread, since I just wasn't that kind of person. It was a pushy voice, one that was hard to ignore.
"What?" I said, giving her a tired look, trying to indicate that I really didn't want to gossip. She smiled overly-sweetly, making me want to roll my eyes, and took my hand gently.
"Well I just wanted to know.... do you like Keon? Because there were some major vibes going on between you two last night and I think he's pretty cute," said Cally. After this, she flashed me a pearly-white smile, but I simply gawked at her.
"Look, Cally," I said, as gently as a could muster "I told you, romance is not my concern right now." At this, Cally's beautiful features dropped and she let go of my hand. Pouting like a small child, she crossed her arms. Just the change in posture alone made me prickle like an animal on the defense, and I felt a migraine coming on quick.
"Come on, Adira! You know you like him," she said, with mocking in her voice. Just then, my head throbbed. I sighed deeply, wanting to talk about anything other than this. Sadly, I realized that Cally and I hadn't really had a good, sit down conversation in months, and it annoyed me that this was what she wanted to talk about after all that had happened.
"It's not important right now. Can we please talk about something else?" I begged, looking down at the floor. At this point, Cally gave a snotty little "hmph" noise and started tapping her foot like a princess waiting for her servants to give her what she wanted.
"No! Sweetie, stop avoiding the subject. Did you do anything with him that night you were together?" she asked. Suddenly, I just couldn't take it anymore. Maybe it was just the pregnancy hormones, or the fact that this gossipy-popular girl side of Cally drove me nuts, but I was just done with the whole conversation.
"You know what Cally? Stop talking. I don't want to talk about boys right now. If you haven't noticed, outside the walls of your bedroom and in a world away from your perfect boyfriend, a plague has been destroying the world and it killed my mom. I think we, and the world, have bigger freaking problems right now than who we are going to take to non-exsistent prom!" I screamed. At this, Cally's eyes got wide and her mouth dropped open, like I she'd just watch me kill Bambi in front of her. Enraged, I didn't wait to hear her response and stomped away to the bathroom in Josh's room. Once inside, I started hyperventilating and I sat on the cool floor to calm down. I had never lost my cool like this before, and while it partially felt invigorating, it also felt horrible. I had just yelled at my best friend in the whole world, one of the only people I had left. Sighing, I drew myself a hot bath, feeling the guilt trinkle in by the minute.
After my bath, I found Josh sitting at the kitchen table eating a plate of eggs. Nearby, I saw an array of different foods set out on plates, including veggie bacon and some toast for me. Without saying a word, I grabbed a plate and sat down next to Josh. Josh had changed into a fresh shirt and some pajama pants, but his face was rugged and handsome as usual with a little stubble growing in. He smiled at me as I sat down. Nearby, I heard the sound of the shower still going as Cally had always taken extremely long showers, especially when upset.
"Where's Keon?" I asked, sipping on some almond milk. Josh took another bite of eggs, stuffing his mouth in that unflattering way only men do, as if this was the only food left on the world. He chewed silently for a moment and swallowed, seeming tired but relaxed.
"He had to go run some errands, check up on his house. I invited him over to hang out after school tomorrow, if you don't mind. He wants to play video games and stuff," said Josh, looking up from his food to meet my eyes. I shrugged, looking back down at my food, as I didn't feel super hungry all of a sudden.
"Yeah, well I do have a doctor's appointment around eight. If you wanna come, I'm getting my first ultrasound," I said. Subconsciously, my hand wandered my stomach, and I gently chided myself for being so worried about my belly growing so fast.
"I would love to come," said Josh earnestly. When I looked up, his smile made my knees shake, and I was hit with a wave of emotion. It took everything in me not to reach over the table and grab his face, kissing him passionately. He must have noticed the look on my face, as he looked away in a way that could only be described as respectful, such as when a solider looks away from a captain when ordered.
We ate in silence for a few more minutes, during which I let my mind wander. I thought of my mom for a moment, wondering what the food was like up in Heaven, and I surprised myself with a little smile because I knew my mother would laugh at me for thinking such a ridiculous thing.
"Hey, so last night, Keon told me something... well, weird," said Josh. Immediately, my stomach bubbled like a pot of boiling water, and my mind moved at a million miles per hour. What had Keon told him? About our sleeping in the same bed? Was Josh mad? Did it matter? My hand gripped the side of the table and my eyes snapped up to Josh's, which looked surprisingly calm.
"W-What?" I asked shakily. Josh smiled gently, as if I was a child he felt bad for. Oh no, that couldn't be good I thought.
"He told me you guys shared a bed," Josh said calmly, but I felt myself break into a cold sweat. "But it's okay, I understand." At this, I let go of my grip of the table, and my heartbeat began to slow. I took a deep breath, telling myself all this anxiety couldn't be good for the baby. At the same time, I began to worry, not only about Josh and Keon, but myself. I felt horribly guilty about that especially since Josh and I were married, but now Josh was taking it so well, I felt worse. The guilt sat on my shoulder, whispering to me about how horrible I was. Nevertheless, the shock on my face must have registered to Josh, as he gave a light chuckle.
"Look, Adira, Keon seems to be a really nice guy. I was a jerk that night, I know that, so I really can't hold it against you that you found yourself in someone else's arms too, even if it wasn't..... And look, I think I really, really agree with you," at this, Josh sighed, looking tired "I think that we rushed into this whole romance too fast. I'm just as confused as you are, Adira....About the Keon thing, I just wanted to say something so you didn't feel bad. At the end of the day, you are still the mother of my child, and that counts for something." After this Josh looked up at me, looking tired but contented. Likewise, I was a whole mess of emotions, adding disappointment to the pile as well. While it was wonderful that Josh was taking this all so lightly, it also hurt because part of me was hoping that the feeling wasn't mutual and that Josh secretly harbored a love for me this whole time. Still, I knew that wasn't realistic, so I took a deep breath, trying to face the facts gracefully.
Right at that moment, Cally emerged from the bathroom with wet hair and a tear-stained face. Guilt once again jumped up and down on my shoulder, now furiously tugging my ear. Before I opened my mouth to speak, Cally held up a hand and closed her eyes in frustration.
"It's fine, hun. I was stupid and you were right. Plus, there's food now, so all shall be right in the universe," she said. I couldn't help but a little smile slip onto my face as the guilt loosened up and Cally smiled earnestly back. I shook my head in disbelief as she made her way to the food, laughing lightly.
"You're so pregnant," I murmured, causing her to slap me lightly with a wonderful girly giggle.
A/N-- Hey everyone, sorry I'm posting this literally 5 minutes before midnight. I know I promised an update on Monday, but to be honest, a tornado literally hit my area tonight. Twas scary. But I'm safe and so are all my friends and family, so everything is alright. The next update on my schedule is tomorrow and then Wednesday, as I have set myself a writing schedule now. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as where I am taking this story. Thanks for the support, and may God bless you!