-Grace-

"Sam… Isabel is pregnant." I exhaled deeply, finally putting it out there in the open. I was thankful that Cole was so easily distracted – especially by food and television.

He sort of stared at me for a bit, and I could almost see the gears turning in his head as he struggled to process this new information. Sam was intelligent, but this was a low blow. A bit of a suckerpunch, almost.

"Pregnant?" He inquired, brow quirked, looking at me as if I was suddenly speaking Swahili.
I nodded, slowly, before adding; "With Cole's baby."

His jaw dropped, and if it weren't for the severity of the situation – I would've laughed.
"They had sex? Did they do it here? In my house? I'll kill him! Oh my god, they can't be parents, Cole's a moron!" He exclaimed, seemingly more horrified over the fact Cole and Isabel had sex rather than Isabel was pregnant.

"Shh! Be quiet! Cole can't know yet!" I urged, waving my hands up at him.
"Cole doesn't know?"
"Sam, shut up! No! He doesn't! And it's staying that way until Isabel tells him!" I insisted, half growling at him.

He nodded suddenly, his mouth closing as he thought, chewing on his lower lip. "So… this whole time you've been stressed because of this?" He asked finally.
I nodded. "I… hated lying to you. You have to swear you won't tell him, Sam."
"I won't." He ran a hand through his hair, fluffing it up and giving himself a ruffled look.
"And when she gets here, don't stare at her stomach, or do anything… weird… please?" I swallowed.
"Okay, jesus. You act like I've never been around a pregnant woman before. How far along is she?" He changed the subject before I could correct him – because, as far as I knew – he has never been around a pregnant woman.

I shrugged, tapping my chin as I thought it out. "A month, or so. I'd guess, anyway. I'm not a Doctor…"
He sighed again, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Cole and Isabel." He confirmed, and after several moments of silence; "God, I hope it wasn't in this house…"

-Isabel-

I started to pack my second suitcase for my trip back to Minnesota. My mom keeps insisting that I don't need so many outfits but what does she know? First off, I'm a girl. I need an outfit – or two, for different moods – for every possible occasion. Sure, it was unlikely there'd be a freak snowstorm in the summer – but I had to be prepared and bringing my coat was a necessity. I sat on the suitcase, attempting to squish it down so I could zip it up.

Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. "All packed?"
"Just about." I shrugged. "I just have to get toiletries and makeup and shoes and stuff, now."
She nodded, seating herself at my desk.

Oh no. I do not feel like being lectured. Not after I just spent two hours hovering around in the bathroom throwing up.

"Isabel, I don't know if I'm comfortable letting you stay there. Grace lives at her boyfriend's house… and they're not even married. And that… Cole… person lives there, doesn't he?"
"What's wrong with that? You and dad moved in together fresh out of high school. And so what if Cole's there?" I crossed my arms below my breasts, mentally daring her to pick a fight with me.
"Well, I did catch you two naked under the desk in my office… I just don't know what would happen if you were both unsupervised."
"Okay, stop. Right there. I'm not doing anything with him. Besides, Sam and Grace are like parents and would beat us over the head with shovels if we even breathed within the same bedroom as each other." I scoffed, realizing how true my words were only when they left my mouth. I was on such a lying kick, lately. But what else was new when your boyfriend and best friend were werewolves?

"Well… I expect you to call. Or at least answer your phone." I knew she didn't want me to answer my phone out of care, she just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything that could ruin her and dad's reputation more than it already was ruined. I had more important things to deal with than answering her measly phonecalls, anyway.
"Alright, mom." I nodded absent-mindedly, turning my back on her. This conversation was done.

I made my way into the bathroom, rooting around in the cabinets and shelves for my things. I thought about everything that could possibly go wrong – Cole's reaction, Sam's reaction, my parents finding out… anything that could've gone wrong, and how it could and when it could. After finding all my things, I dumped them all into a duffle bag. I toyed with the zipper, sighing to myself.

I dug through the blankets on my bed to find my cellphone, and clicked dial. As she always did, Grace answered before the first ring could even finish.

"Hey, Grace."
"Hi. I told Sam. He said he won't tell. What's up?"

She sounded somewhat breathless, as if she had to run to grab the phone from wherever she had left it. I could hear the television, vaguely, in the background.

"I'unno. I was just wondering how I'm 'gonna tell Cole. Things I can tell my parents as excuses to stay for a year or so." I shrugged instinctually, unaware that Grace couldn't see my body language. "Like… what if he's a deadbeat? Or doesn't want me?"
She laughed softly into the other end, which agitated me, but before I could scold her, she spoke. "I think he wants you plenty."
"I meant as, like… more than just a baby mama." I rolled my eyes into the phone. "Maybe I'm not even the only one." The thought just struck me – but it was possible. He was in a band. He did tour. He did sleep with lots of women. Did he have other bastard children out there? Was there a club? Okay, that was a dumb question – but it amused me a bit, which relaxed me.

"Isabel, you need to stop freaking yourself out. If he doesn't want to be a father, then he doesn't. But I doubt he'd just leave you."

Oh, Grace. Always trying to be rational and optimistic.

"I want us to be a family, Grace."

To be honest, I have no idea why I said it. I didn't want to tell her that. It was personal, and stupid, and thought of in a moment of hormonal vulnerability.

"Aww!" She squealed, somewhat teasing, but something told me she actually did find my statement adorable. And I couldn't say I was too happy about that.

"Grace, stop. It's embarrassing enough." I drawled, my tone bitter.
"Why embarrassing? You're having his baby, you might as well 'wanna be a family."
"Because, I want like you and Sam have… but Cole isn't like Sam. And I'm not like you. Cole and I are too alike and total catastrophes to the population."
"That's not a bad thing." She pointed out in an optimistic hum. "You've changed a lot, anyway. Maybe he can – or has – too. You never know. Cole's always got a surprise up his sleeve. That's always a guarantee."
"Yeah, I guess that's true." I bit my lip, wondering what she said. It was true. He was always full of unexpected surprises – especially when you least expected him to be. "Anyway, I 'gotta finish packing. I'll call you later." I promised before hanging up, regardless of her answer.

I sprawled out on my back in the bed, staring at the ceiling. Hiking my shirt up, I splayed my palm across my belly, rubbing it – albeit a bit awkwardly. I thought of saying something to it, but there really were no words. Nothing to say, I guess.

Heaving myself into a sitting position, I threw the three bags I had already packed onto the floor – eager to finish so I could just get to bed already.

I would need all the sleep I could get.