Chapter Eight: SupriseA Chapter by Nikki After discovering why Briar was so upset, and what's been the cause of her unease, Cole's left feeling angry and confused. And even more problems arise when they fail to be on the same page. And what about their parents? What's Cole going to say? Or do?
Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I whispered, turning to face her. My tone was monotonous.
She sat with her head hung, chipping polish off her nails. “I just found out this morning.”
“But… you must have been suspicious! You must have been… you know, late! It should have been obvious.!” I threw myself against the bed. I grabbed my hair. “Damnnit!” I squeezed my eyes shut.
Briar stayed silent. “Cole… I’m so sorry… I guess… I kinda figured… I was scared”
I tried my hardest to take deep, even breaths, to calm myself. But how was that possible? How could I possibly stay calm? I opened my eyes, looking to Briar. I laid there for several more seconds before I sat back up. “It was my fault.”
Briar shook her head slowly. “No… I guess… I wasn’t thinking…”
What would I tell my parents? What would she tell her parents? “Please tell me this isn’t happening,” I grumbled, burying my face in my hands.
“Believe me, Cole; I want nothing more than to tell you this is all a lie.” She looked to me, her lip quivering, and we fell against each other. I felt the tears start to run down my cheeks.
Briar was staring at me. “I don’t know what to do.”
I chewed on my lip. I didn’t know what to do.
“I’ve been thinking of our options.”
I looked up to her. I didn’t want to discuss options, so I stared at her, and then looked away.
“We all have to talk about it…”
My head swung in her direction. “Talk about it? With who?”
“Well, with our parents… they need to be involved…”
“No!” I snapped. I jumped off the bed so quickly the box spring bounced when I did. “They don’t need to know, it can stay between the two of us, can’t it?”
Briar’s jaw dropped. “Cole!” She sounded astonished. “I just said we need to talk about our options, not come to a conclusion!” She stared at me in disbelief before turning away and looking at the window.
My heart raced, and I played absentmindedly with a loose string off my pants. Briar was still looking in the opposite direction of me. I knew I owed her an apology. “I’m sorry.” I leaned towards her, resting my hands on her shoulders.
She shook her head. “I don’t want an apology.” She shrugged me off. “I just want to go home.”
My throat felt tight. “Okay,” I muttered. I backed away from her. “I’ll go start the car.”
Briar stayed silent, so I figured she must have been disappointed in me. We hadn’t fought at all. We hadn’t even disagreed. And now this?
“No.”
I turned around, she was looking at me. “What?”
“No, don’t go, I don’t want to leave.” She looked up to me for only a quick second before dropping her head back down.
I sighed heavily, my heart aching with frustration. I had no idea how to help her. “Briar, I don’t know what to do,” I complained.
She still didn’t talk.
“Briar, come on, can you at least help me? What am I doing wrong?”
She continued to stay silent.
I squeezed my eyes shut in aggravation. “Briar, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what I need to do.” I opened my eyes and stared her down for several seconds.
She turned to me slowly, lifting her chin. “I don’t know what will help.”
I stood near the door. “What do you want me to say?”
She stared at me. “I just told you Cole,” she dragged slowly, “I don’t know what will help.”
My hands were coiled into tight fists. Maybe she was lying. Maybe this wasn’t even happening. Was that a possibility? I weighed my options. Not really.
“So what now?” I stared at the floor underneath my feet.
I saw her shrug in the corner of my eye. She dropped herself against my bed. I looked away from my bed. I couldn’t look at it the same way.
I cleared my throat. “Do I tell my parents?”
She was quiet again, refusing to talk to me.
“Do I tell your parents?” I figured she’d have to reject that offer. But she still just laid there. “Briar don’t pull this s**t! C’mon! You need to talk to me!” My patience was starting to wear thin. I had just about had it with the silent treatment.
She coughed very gently, and then sat back up, slid off the bed, and shuffled over to me, dropping her body against mine. In a matter of seconds, I felt her whole body trembling against mine. She dug her fingers into my skin and stood there, gasping silently for air.
Instinctively, I tensed at first, but when I realized that she just wanted someone to turn to, my muscles relaxed and my body felt like a bag of Jell-O. I collapsed against her, and we slid to the floor; I continued to cradle her. I didn’t cry, I don’t think I could have cried even if I wanted to. I just sat there, enveloped in her presence, my mind racing back and forth.
I don’t remember how long we were sitting there for, but I eventually realized my parents would probably be coming out of their room soon, and it wouldn’t look normal if we were both sitting in my doorway crying. I nudged her gently. “We should probably go sit on my bed or something.”
She nodded, and with one arm she wiped her cheeks free of tears. I helped her up and we walked over to my bed, placing our bodies delicately on the mattress. She looked at me. “I’m so scared, Cole,” she whispered.
I could only nod. I was just as scared. “I know.”
“I just, honestly don’t know what to do or what to say to my parents.”
I nodded again. “I know.”
“How am I going to tell them?” She looked to me, begging me to give her an answer. But I didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know what to do.”
I gave a final nod. “I know.”
It was ten o’clock. Briar’s news was now three hours old, and we still didn’t have any tactics to explain the situation to our parents. We needed a plan, and we didn’t have one, and were lacking the concentration to come up with one.
“I can call Josh,” I suggested humbly.
Briar snickered. “Yeah, get right on that.”
“Sorry.” I’d gone to Josh for everything, but this probably wasn’t the best time to turn to a friend.
Briar grumbled, yanking her brunette locks. She looked to me. “We’re just going to have to tell them. There’s no way around it.”
I shook my head silently. “No… we can’t just tell them, there’s got to be another way.”
Briar huffed. “Cole, there’s no other way. I need their permission for anything… I’m only sixteen, I need consent no matter what I decide to do.”
“So forge a signature.”
“Cole.” She was glaring at me. I looked up slowly as our eyes met. “You’re not listening to me.”
I bit the skin on the inside of my cheek. I didn’t really have anything to say. I wasn’t listening to her, she was right.
“We have to tell them. There is no other way.”
I turned my head and watched a pleasant couple out my window. There was a slender woman wearing a deep-green pea coat and a tall, robust man wearing a deep-tan jacket, which seemed to be made of supple leather. Attached to the woman was a bubbly, blonde haired little girl sho was skipping and tugging on her father’s coat every few seconds. They’d stop, and he’d scoop her up and squeeze her tightly, planting kisses all over the girl’s cheeks. The mother would smile and stand to the side as her husband and daughter showed their love for one another.
I felt a sharp pain shoot up through my chest and it lingered for several seconds. I was forced to look away from the euphoric couple with the beautiful little girl. That was what a family was supposed to look like. I could never have that at seventeen, and neither could Briar.
I turned to face her. “I can’t be a dad, Briar, and you can’t be a mother.” I stood up and walked to the door, resting my hand on the doorknob. The cold metal sent a chill up my spine. “I’m going to get something to drink,” I muttered. I left the room, and shut the door lightly behind me.
The faint smell of bacon overwhelmed me as I walked into the kitchen. Jeanne was standing at the stove, smiling into the pan of meat. When she spotted me, she looked up, and her smiled widened.
“Hi you, I was wondering when you’d wake up.” She extended an arm for a hug. I scuffled over to her, my head hung against my chest. She gave me a gentle hug. “Sleep well?”
I shrugged. “I guess.”
“Are you hungry?”
I shrugged again. “Yeah, I’ll eat.” I looked into the pan. I was only half right when I said I’d smelt bacon, I smelt sausage too. There were also several pieces of bread ready to be toasted. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I saw the food. “Mom?”
“Yes?” She adjusted the heat on the stove, carefully turning the bacon.
“Did you and Dad plan on having me?”
She chuckled. “What?” She turned to me, looking unsure. “Why, that was unexpected, why do you ask?”
I stared at the tile. “Just wondering. I’ve… been thinking a lot and, just wondered…” I had to think of something quick. “I wondered why I was an only child.”
Jeanne threw her head back, laughing softly. “Oh, well, you know what?” She turned to me, and rested her hands on my shoulders, squeezing them gently. “I just never wanted more. After I had you, I was as happy as I could be. I figured when you’re all grown up, you’ll give me grandkids, and that’ll be plenty.” She kissed my forehead. “I loved spending all my time with you, and I didn’t want another child to replace that,” she whispered playfully. “Isn’t that selfish of me?”
I couldn’t help but smile. I never knew that, it was funny to hear coming from my mom. “No,” I said through a tender chuckle.
She smiled once more and turned back to the bacon. “Well, I feel better hearing that from my son, I was always so concerned that I was being greedy.”
“Nah, Mom, you’re fine.”
I walked over to the fridge and took the carton of orange juice off the top shelf, snatching a cup from the sink. I poured myself a glass, and walked back to the room. Briar hadn’t moved since I left. “Hey,” I muttered.
She turned to face me. “Hey.”
“You hungry?”
She shook her head. “Not really.”
“Okay well, breakfast is ready.”
Her head bobbed up and down slowly, and she slipped off the bed, walking over to me. We left together, and when we arrived in the dining room, my parents had already sat down. They smiled at us when we walked out.
“Morning, Cole!” Steven greeted, taking a large bite of his toast.
“Hey Dad.” I sat down after filling my plate with food.
Briar gave an insignificant grin, pulling out a chair and falling into it heavily. “Hello.”
“Hi Briar, how are you this morning.”
Her smile grew wider, and she snickered inaudibly. “Me? Oh I’m fine.” She reached for the bacon, placing some delicately on her plate and snatching a couple pieces of toast. She looked up to me, continuing to smile. “I had a great night.”
The table grew silent. I munched on the food in front of me. Steven broke the silence. “Well, that’s good.”
“Yes, I’ve never been treated to dinner on Valentine’s Day before.” Briar reached over and grabbed my hand, stroking my fingers. “And man, what a morning.”
I looked up to her quickly. My eyes narrowed. Don’t you dare.
Steven raised his brows, taking a long sip of coffee. “How so?”
“Oh you know, just, my morning was full of surprises.” She stared at me. I was starting to feel sick.
Jeanne laughed nervously. “Cole certainly knows how to treat a girl, doesn’t he?”
“He sure does.”
“He’s always been so mature for his age.”
“Mmm.”
“One day, he’ll make a great husband and father.”
Briar’s smile grew even wider. “He sure will.” (Cue Wicked Game)
I pushed myself away from the table. “I’ll be in the bedroom.” I took off, slamming the door angrily behind me. I stood in the middle of the room, my breathing heavy. I could hear my heart beating angrily in my chest.
I heard the door open. I didn’t turn to see who it was. I didn’t need to. “What?”
“What was that?”
“I knew what you were doing Briar.”
She laughed. “Oh, you did?” She stormed over, standing in front of me so I could see her. “Cole, you’re not ever going to tell them, and this isn’t going to fix itself!”
I was angry now. “I don’t want to do this .”
“Don’t want to do what Cole?”
“This! This whole, teenage, drama, pregnancy thing! I don’t want to be part of it!”
“You can’t put the blame on me, Cole, it’s not all my fault!”
“Well it’s not mine either, and I don’t want to do this.” I shut my eyes. “I’m sorry, but, I have goals and, a baby isn’t part of that goal.”
Briar went unspoken. I opened my eyes, and saw tears rolling down her cheeks. “You know what?”
“What?” I looked at the floor.
“I don’t want to fall in love with you. I don’t want you to help me. I’ll take care of it by myself. I guess I was under the wrong…” She stopped talking.
I glanced up quickly to see she had her face buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking harshly. My head started to spin. What had I done? Apologizing wasn’t going to help, not now. And I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to apologize. I had so much anger and frustration built up inside me, and I didn’t know what I wanted. I know I didn’t want to hear Briar tell me she didn’t love me, but I couldn’t make her take the words back.
“Why don’t I bring you home?”
She didn’t move. She didn’t shake her head or yell or anything. She just stood there, crying as silently as she could.
I spun around, and left, returning several seconds later with my parents. I pulled them into my room.
“What do you want, Cole?” Steven asked.
Jeanne didn’t look to enthusiastic. “Cole, what?”
“Sit down,” I ordered.
They walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. (Cue Disenchanted)
I strolled over to Briar. She wasn’t crying, but she looked irate. She glared at me as I stood next to her. “What?” she mouthed.
I mocked a sympathetic smile. “Tell ‘em,” I muttered.
She shook her head, turning and taking me by the shoulders. “I don’t want you to be part of this anymore.”
I huffed. “Are you leaving me Briar?” I heard my parents shift uneasily.
“Cole, what do you want? I don’t want to sit here and watch you and your girlfriend fight.”
I continued to stare at Briar. She stared back. “Well?”
She let out a shallow breath, and turned back to my parents. “Cole would like to tell you something.”
I swallowed, and took a cavernous gulp of air. I decided I had no choice but live up to my potential. I had to be mature. “Um.”
“What is it, Cole?”
I went to open my mouth, but Briar beat me to it. “I’m pregnant.” She sounded lifeless. It was just a faint mumble.
Jeanne gasped. She sat there with her hand covering her mouth. Steven’s jaw was dropped slightly, he looked angry. I shrugged slowly. “Surprise.”
© 2009 NikkiAuthor's Note
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