Here's chapter two! Rusty figures out what's going on with Casey. I own nothing but my imagination. Reviews would make me happy! Also, I am new to this site and can't figure out how to enable anonymous reviews, so if anyone knows and can fill me in I'd appreciate it! :)
Rusty sat on the bench outside the local Bob Evan's and tapped his foot in agitation. Casey was ten minutes late for their meeting, and he had about had enough. Ever since his sister got back together with her first love, she had been too busy spending time in his room doing things no brother wants to think about to spend any time with said brother. Even over Christmas break the two were inseparable; for the first week, Cappie came home to Chicago to meet their parents. Sure, he had met them at Rusty's freshman parent's weekend, but Cappie wasn't Casey's boyfriend then. Now he was forced to be seen in a different light. Rusty wasn't quite sure how Russell and Karen Cartwright felt about the Kappa Tau president, but the whole ordeal could have gone much less smoothly than it did. The day after Christmas, Casey boarded a plane with her boyfriend; the two were headed to Arkansas, the latest place Cappie's parents resided. Rusty hadn't heard how that went since the two were too busy spending time with each other to bother paying any attention to him. "Gee, Rusty, could you have much more of a pity party for yourself? You deserve the nickname anchor right now; you just keep bringing yourself down." The truth was Rusty missed the couple. Just because his big brother and big sister were dating, it didn't mean they had any right to forget about their shared little brother! "Wow, Cap was right, this campus IS incestuous." A familiar looking red car drove up. Casey, looking frantic, got out and ran towards the restaurant.
"God, Rusty, I'm so sorry I'm late."
Rusty observed his sister. She didn't seem like herself. She had bags under her eyes, was rather pale, and the thing that struck Rusty as the most odd was the fact that she didn't match. Also, her hair was in a messy ponytail and little to no make-up donned her face.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Rusty asked, ignoring Casey's apology.
"What are you talking about?"
"You just…never mind. Come on, I'm hungry."
The siblings ordered pancakes and coffee. Rusty ordered bacon as his side while Casey got a fruit plate. Rusty filled in Casey on the rest of Christmas break in Chicago, how he had yet to hear anything about his pending grant, and the continued passive aggressive treatment he received from Dale. Casey nodded in a supportive-sister fashion as she chowed down on her pancakes.
"Hungry much?" asked Rusty as his watched his sister inhale the griddle goods.
"Yeah, I've been nauseated off and on a lot lately and can't seem to keep anything in my stomach for long. Seems like I'm always hungry."
"You were sick at Christmas. Is this the same bug?"
"I guess so. I'm really tired too. And this morning, when Cappie and I were-"she stopped as she began to blush. She felt so close to her brother that she sometimes forgot he was just that: her brother. They talked about almost everything, but her sex life was taboo. Especially her sex life with Rusty's big brother. "God, this campus is incestuous...I'm gonna have to point that out to Cappie." Rusty blinked at her. "I'm just…sore. In places."
Now it was Rusty's turn to blush. The blushing didn't last long, though, for his facial features twisted into confusion. "Casey's been nauseated, sore, and tired for a while now…" He didn't like the potential destination for his train of thoughts. "Have you had any fever or cold-like symptoms?"
"No, none at ALL," she responded as she stuffed another bite of pancake in her mouth. "Weird, huh?"
Rusty paled. Cappie and his sister have been back together for over a month, and he had the unfortunate experience of walking in on them in Casey's childhood bedroom. He KNEW that they were sexually active, didn't just assume it. Surely they wouldn't be so stupid, though. Surely Cappie would want to protect his girlfriend. Surely Casey knew about those little things called condoms.
"What's wrong, Rus?" You look about as good as I've been feeling.
"Casey, are you…could you be…"
"What? What are you talking about? You're being weirder than usual…"Casey trailed off. She knew what Rusty was getting at. "I can't be…when did I have my last period?" The realization that she hadn't menstruated all break hit her. In fact, she hadn't been on her period since before…"Oh God, since before Thanksgiving."
The eldest Cartwright sibling proceeded to return her pancakes to the plate they were served on.
"Sunny days, chasing the clouds away…" Cappie internally sang the Sesame Street theme song. He was in a good mood; he and his brothers had a good day for the first time since Wade, Jeremy and Ferret were expelled. Stink bombs were always a fun weapon, especially when used against the Omega Chis. He opened the door to his bedroom and wished he hasn't; his good mood was immediately ruined when he saw his girlfriend sitting on his bed, red-faced and crying.
"What's wrong Casey?" Cappie was alarmed. He rushed to his bed and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair as he did so. "What's wrong? Talk to me."
"I-Cappie, I..." she was sobbing uncontrollably. It killed Cappie to see her like this.
"Honey, you can tell me anything. You've been there for me through all the douche moves that have taken place lately. You've stood by me and ignored Evanescence. I'm here for you now."
"This is just going to add more to your…" she hiccupped. "…plate". Casey felt incredibly guilty. "All Cappie's been through lately, and I had to go and get…pregnant."
"Well babe, I like to eat. Tell me."
"Maybe he could have a chafing dish…" Casey smiled for the first time since that morning. Right after hurling her breakfast in Bob Evan's, Rusty drove her to CVS where she bought five pregnancy tests. He sat outside the bathroom in the pharmacy while Casey peed on five different sticks. All five told her the same inevitable news: she was pregnant. Too shook up to drive, Rusty took her to the KT house and snuck her in so his brothers wouldn't see her crying and wonder what was going on. "Cappie…I don't know how to say this..."
It was Cappie's turn to look pale. What if Casey went to the doctor and found out she was really sick? What if someone had hurt her? His internal rage built up. "Casey, please tell me what's wrong."
The doe-eyed blonde looked up into the prettiest eyes she had ever seen. All she could do was whisper the truth, vocalize what she already knew and make it real: "I'm pregnant."