Claudia and April
Summary: Back before Claudia gave birth to Johnny, there was one person she confided everything in.
A/N: Claudia had to have at least one friend growing up. One who might've known what was going on with her. One whom she confided in.
April Richmond's green eyes narrowed a little bit as she spotted her best friend, Claudia slouched down in her desk, dark gaze on the red tennis shoes she wore. She knew even without the other girl speaking that her friend was upset by something that had happened the previous night. The same thing that had upset her for months now.
She was silent as she moved to sit next to her friend and moved a gentle hand to her friend's shoulder in a comforting manner.
Claudia looked up, startled and then relaxed as she noted who it was. "April. Hi." She tried to smile, arms wrapped around herself protectively.
"It happened again, didn't it?" April asked with a sigh, already knowing the answer. They'd been friends for five years now and she knew her best friend well. Better than she knew herself, even.
The other girl seemed to wilt as she lowered her head, dark hair curtaining her face. She nodded. "I'm so tired of it, April."
"We should tell someone. Miss Abby or Coach Rickards. I know either one of them would help." April spoke, thinking of their guidance counselor and the volleyball coach and gym teacher.
Claudia shook her head and hugged herself tighter. "Even if they believed me, my father would get them fired. He'd destroy their lives."
April stroked her friend's hair gently. "I'm so sorry, Dia. I wish there was more I could do to help you.
The darker haired girl reached out to squeeze her friend's hand. "It's not your fault. Besides, you've helped me more than anyone."
April smiled sadly and flipped back her auburn ponytail, not really agreeing with her friend's words. The guilt still smothered her like a cloth.
It was a few weeks after that that things got strange. Claudia began to vomit often in the mornings. She seemed hungrier somehow, more tired as well. April had her suspicions. Ones she hoped to god were incorrect. God, how she hoped they were.
It was on a Friday that April finally broke her silence on the matter. "Claudia? Do...do you think you could be..." She trailed off, unsure as to how she should verbalize the words.
It didn't matter, though. From the stricken expression on Claudia's face, April knew that the other girl had understood what she was hinting at.
When the school day was over, April had wrapped a comforting arm around her friend's shoulders and they walked to the nearest convenience store.
Claudia seemed frozen as she stared at the endless supply of different pregnancy tests lined up on the wall. With a shaky hand she grabbed the one that looked the least bit confusing while April grabbed one of each of the rest and led her to the counter. Claudia avoided the stare of judgment she was sure was on the cashier's face and watched as April paid and grabbed the bags.
April stuffed the bag into her backpack and only pulled it out once she and Claudia were locked away safely in her room. Her parents were out for the night for their anniversary and would be gone until noon tomorrow and her younger brother, Henry was at a friend's house for a sleepover.
She headed downstairs to order a pizza, leaving Claudia alone in her room and ajoining bathroom to take the tests privately. When she came up minutes later and to the bathroom, it was to Claudia collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down her face as she stared at the first test she took. April's heart filled with dread at that and she slid down the wall beside her friend, gaze immediately on the test.
Every test after that gave the same result. Claudia was pregnant.
They kept it secret for as long as they could. But then, Claudia had begun to gain weight and she tearfully confessed to her stepmother that she was pregnant.
As much as her stepmother tried to protect Claudia, Anthony still had the last word. He concoted the plan of sending his daughter to her aunt's until she delivered the baby. Then, upon it's birth, he'd come and take it. He'd have his wife fake a pregnancy so everyone would believe the child to be hers.
When April had heard the news, she'd clung to Claudia fiercly, not wanting to say goodbye to her best friend. Not like this.
Claudia's father whisked her away late one night and April had never gotten the chance to truly say goodbye. She never forgot her best friend however and her heart had broken when she'd seen news online about her death.
April jumped slightly at the knock on the door. Her gaze trailed to the letter in her hands and she recalled what had gotten her mind on Claudia in the first place. She swung the door open and was met with a blue eyed teen girl. "You must be Josslyn."
The blonde smiled at that and immediately held out her hand. "I am. You're April?"
April nodded at that and stepped aside to allow her to come in. "I was shocked when you called me. I hadn't heard from Claudia in years. We hadn't seen each other since we were almost fourteen."
Josslyn smiled in affirmation. "I figured. Johnny Zacchara told me about how Claudia told him about you."
April bit her lip. "Was Johnny her son?" She asked, voice trembling.
Josslyn looked away for a moment before nodding. "He was. He didn't know until a few years ago. I found out a few weeks ago."
The woman shook her head. "I figured. Claudia had found out she was pregnant a couple of months before I last saw her. I saw pictures of Johnny online a couple of years ago and he looks so much like her."
"I'm sorry you two never connected again. From the way Claudia talked to Johnny about you, you were pretty important to her." Josslyn said sadly.
"It's not your fault." April answered softly. "Why is it that you wanted to see me?"
The blonde curled her legs under her. "I wanted to see you for two reasons. I wanted to know about the Claudia that you knew. I...also wanted to know if you had an extra pictures of Claudia I could give Johnny."
April smiled at that and began to tell Josslyn stories of her best friend that had the girl listening intently, wishing she had known the girl April had known.
It was about an hour afterwards that Josslyn stood to her feet. "I should be getting home. I don't want to freak my mom out."
April nodded at that. "Thank you for visiting. It was nice talking about Claudia with someone. My wife and daughter know some things about her, but others are just.." She trailed off. "Well, Claudia's story is kind of dark."
Josslyn reached out to squeeze the woman's hands. "No. Thank you for telling me about her. And for the pictures. I wish I could've known her. Until recently, she was like this villain. I only knew that she tried to kidnap me. But learning about her really put things into perspective."
When Josslyn was gone, April turned to some of the pictures she'd shown Josslyn, picking up one in particular. In this one picture, she and Claudia were both sitting in the grass, arms around each other. Claudia was beaming, a genuine smile. One that had always left April breathless when she saw it. She smiled wistfully at the picture and put it back into the photo album.