Sebatical

Everyone Needs One

It was breakfast and a school day, so breakfast contained a popped pop tart and maybe a glass of OJ or milk. Stephen was already at work, and that left Nicole in her office, reading some therapy files and drinking her third cup of coffee. The therapy files were Kyle's and Jessi's, she just couldn't help looking back over the years.

Josh was the first one in the kitchen in the morning, he walked into the room with an energetic jump in his step, but then stopped in the doorway, he looked around, his eyes were confused. He wondered if there had been a fire, if someone had abducted his family, had killed them all, and that made him start thinking about revenge and a hint of vengeance boiled in his blood. He walked slowly into the kitchen, an air of noir in his eyes. He felt important all of a sudden.

But no one was dead, because Stephen was at work and Nicole was in her office, and Kyle and Lori were upstairs.

"What is going on?" Kyle asked, they were both dressed and ready to go for the day. "I mean, you're – how could you be pregnant? You're not pregnant," he said with defiance.

"I'm not," Lori admitted as she swiveled in her chair, her hair curled and her face prettied up with make up for the day. "Ugh!" She groaned as she stopped mid swirl and put her hands on her face. "This is so screwed up," she complained as she lifted her head and then let her feet lay on Kyle's lap; he sat across from her in a solid chair. Lori looked straight into Kyle's eyes and felt like a balloon being popped in quiet. "I'm not the one who is pregnant," she said, her face scrunching up, as it usually does when she tells the truth. "Jessi is, pregnant," she told Kyle slowly, letting it sink in for him.

"Holy effing shit," Declan said as Kyle told him the news over basketball hoops in P.E., they were paired together and by themselves, so they could talk freely. "Jessi's pregnant? She's the pregnant one," Declan echoed this in his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about what Mark had said, that scared the shit out of him, he thought he was going to have to man up, marry and waste his life away, but no, Kyle was the one who had to deal with all the family drama.

"Yeah, and she didn't even tell me," Kyle said, his eyes looked distant while he took the shot. The ball bounced on the ground and then Declan took the ball in his hands and tried to make another shot, but missed. "I don't understand why she didn't tell me, we tell each other everything. I always thought she could confide in me," Kyle rambled.

"Okay, bottom point is, Jessi's a girl, and Lori's a girl, and Lori is a blabber mouthing whore," Declan said as he held the basketball between his hands, almost ripping the air out of it before he made it in the hoop. "Cross out that last part about Lori," he said, not knowing where it had come from, maybe he was thinking about Hillary.

"Yeah, I know," Kyle said with a smirk as he took the basketball in his hands, "It's just different. Jessi's my best friend, not just my girlfriend and, after that night, when," Kyle couldn't find the words. Sex seemed like a nonchalant way to say it, and making love was only putting it mildly.

"You did it," Declan said for him as Kyle bounced the ball to him, refusing to play anymore.

"Yeah, and after that, I wanted to stay close to her, making sure she was okay and that – " Kyle sighed as his eyes look down to the ground again.

"You were afraid you were going to lose her," Declan analyzed, making Kyle's head pop up and his eyes looked as if he was guessing everything he's done through the past few days. "It's perfectly normal after the first time," he reassures.

After school Declan, Lori and Kyle met at the Rack to have smoothies. Declan and Kyle sat across from each other, and Lori sat in between them, and there was another missing chair.

"I am so screwed," Lori sighed as she rested her cheek in her hand, letting her hair fall onto the table as she leaned more toward Kyle. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone – I mean, I didn't exactly promise anything, but…"

"Her trust in you is going to be screwed," Kyle said bluntly. "I don't understand how she can do it, how she can keep all this to herself and not tell anyone. How can she not tell me?" He thought out loud, not really wanting an answer.

"She doesn't want to disappoint you," Lori answered unwontedly. "Jessi's independent, she doesn't want anyone's help, she doesn't want mom to know, and as time goes by, I keep on wanting to tell her."

"Me too," Kyle agreed.

"Hello! Is this bizarro world?" Declan asked, not wanting to be ignored. "Seriously, Jessi will tell you over time, Kyle, and Lori, stop feeling sorry for yourself, imagine how Jessi is feeling."

"How am I feeling?" Jessi asked, appearing out of nowhere behind Declan, making him and Lori jump in their seats and Kyle's back straighten. There was a faint smile on her lips, she looked playful, but that was just an act. She was trying really hard to act like this was any another day, like she was the perfect girl for Kyle, and not someone holding him back, like his anchor at the bottom of the sea. "How am I feeling?" She asked again, sensing the tension.

"Ugh, I'm gonna go get something to drink," Lori said, picking up her drink and leaving the table, Declan following suit.

"What's going on?" Jessi asked, a little bit unease as she sat down next to Kyle, whose eyes were frantic and mouth was twisting. Anger filled Jessi's eyes and her mouth set in a straight line, she looked away from Kyle, into nothing as her eyes bore into the table. "She told you," Jessi realized, and was planning a vengeance spree as she said the words.

"She didn't want to," Kyle said, trying to defend Lori as she leaned closer to Jessi, his hand reaching out to hers. Jessi just flinched away. "Look, Jessi, I know you must be scared. I am scared to but I'm going to be here for you, and you're going to be here for me, like always."