Author's Note: So I know I haven't updated in forever. Sorry for the delay but the reason behind me lacking to update every so often is because I'm not getting reviews and so I don't know whether people are liking the story or not. Also, reviews give me incentive to want to write- cause it's summer and I'm kind of lazy or busy hanging out and whatever. But knowing people want to read my story makes me want to put in the effort to keep writing. Anyways... once again, sorry for the delay. Please do review and I hope this chapter was worth the wait!
-Em
iReunion
"SAM! Oh my gosh! Is it really you!" she yelped, not picking up the pot that she had just dropped.
I couldn't believe my eyes. Here she was standing right in front of me. After all these years… here she was. "I… y-y-y-you… f-f-f-f-f-Fre…" I began to say, unable to form the words. Multiple feelings came over me at that moment as I was happy to see her but at the same time I felt like I should turn back and act like this never happened.
She ran across the loft, towards me and hugged me, not even acknowledging Lucy who was right beside me. I guessed she hadn't even noticed Lucy.
"Oh my Gosh Sam, what a great surprise! When we spoke last, you mentioned nothing about coming back! Wait… you wanted to surprise me! That's it, right?" she went on to say, not letting go of me.
"Melanie… y-y-y-you're okay!" I managed to get out in a soft whisper squeezing her tight. I couldn't believe she was perfectly okay. Not a single scratch or anything. Thank God she was okay!
"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be, silly?" she asked.
I broke out of our hug and came to the realization that it had been a lie. Her so called accident was a lie and she had told him. After all these years she finally told him. And he tricked me into coming back before I was ready.
"I can not believe you Melanie Puckett." I said angrily.
"Wait, what did I do?" Mel asked innocently.
"You know EXACTLY what you did!" I replied infuriated.
"No Sam, I really don't." she looked worried.
I took a deep breath and asked calmly, "Mel… how could you tell Freddie that we keep in touch. The deal was I would keep in touch if you kept it a secret."
"But I did! I swear!" she replied. "I haven't told a soul, and don't plan on it, until you want me to."
"Then how did Freddie know?" I asked.
Mel looked at me and thought for a moment, "I really don't know. How do you know that he knows?" she asked.
Before I could answer I heard Lucy, "Ahem ahem." Lucy coughed for acknowledgement. Mel took her eyes off of me for the first time since I got there and turned towards Lucy. Mel's eyes widened as she finally acknowledged Lucy.
"H-h-h-h-hi." Melanie stammered.
"Hi!" Lucy said excited and waved to Mel. Mel flabbergasted waved back and then turned back to face me. 'Introduction time.' I thought to myself.
"Melanie, I want you to meet a very special person in my life." I pulled Lucy in front of me and rested my hands on her shoulders. "This is Lucy Carlotta Marissa Benson." I knelt down to Lucy and began, "And Lucy, this is…"
"Auntie Melanie!" Lucy screamed. I always told Lucy about her family back home. Her aunt Melanie, aunt Carly, her uncle Spencer, uncle Gibby and her two grandmothers, both of whom were a bit coo-coo. Lucy even had an album with everyone's picture in it. I wanted her to know everything about her family and my past.
But I never mentioned Lucy to anyone back home. I wasn't ready to tell the truth to everyone back home, but now I had no option.
Lucy ran into Mel and hugged the lower half of Mel which was all she could reach. Melanie knelt down and hugged her. The look in Mel's eyes screamed that she was angry and upset that I hid her niece from her for all these years but at the same time I saw the understanding in her eyes. She now understood why I left. Why I had to leave.
"Come on in angel." Mel picked Lucy up in her arms and carried her to the sofa. I grabbed all the bags and came inside. "Are you thirsty?" Mel asked Lucy who simply nodded as she looked around.
"Mommy, I didn't know we were coming back home." Lucy exclaimed. "Does this mean I finally get to meet everybody?" I knew when she meant everybody, she specifically meant Freddie. I always told Lucy stories about my life back here in Seattle and she always wanted to meet everyone, but she respected me when I would tell her that in time she would.
"No, Luce. Sorry sweetheart. We are going back home as soon as we can." I said to Lucy.
The happy expression disappeared from Lucy's face and she just barely let out, "But this is home." I tried not to look at her because I knew she was right but I was here for all the wrong reasons and I didn't want to see her sad.
Melanie handed Lucy a glass of lemonade and then asked, "What do you mean you're leaving as soon as possible? You just got here!"
"I know Mel, but we have to go back." I sighed.
"Than why did you come back if you were going to just leave this quickly?" Mel argued.
I took a deep breath and said, "Because I was told you were in an accident and I freaked the chiz out. I wanted to be here for you. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Melanie looked at me confused. "Wait. Who told you that I was in an accident?" I looked at Lucy and was suddenly aware that my five year old daughter was in the room and I didn't want to go in depth about this with Lucy right here. Melanie must have understood because she simply whispered, "We will discuss this in a bit." Then she turned to Lucy and asked "Hey Luce… want me to show you around?" Lucy nodded excitedly and Melanie showed me and Lucy around.
Mel's loft was almost identical to Carly's, which just a floor above Melanie's was coincidentally. When you entered the loft, straight ahead you had the living room than kitchen. On the right you had the elevator to go upstairs, the stairs and a bedroom with a bathroom which she used as a guestroom. It was exactly like Carly's apartment downstairs. The upstairs, however, was completely different. Upstairs in Carly's apartment there was her room and the studio where we used to shoot iCarly but in Mel's apartment, upstairs there was a huge master bedroom with a bathroom that had a hot tub and a room similar to the studio in Carly's apartment, only Mel had turned it into an entertainment room. It was amazing what Mel had done with the space.
Lucy jumped onto Mel's bed and got comfy. "Luce…" I began to say before Melanie cut me off.
"Lucy, you and your mommy will be staying in here." Mel said.
"But Melanie," I said, "this is your room and plus you have a perfectly good guestroom downstairs."
"Well you two aren't just guests and I want you both to feel at home. So shush. I don't mind." Mel said. "Luce, you can start unpacking now."
"Wait. No. Lucy, sweetie, don't unpack." I began to say.
Mel grabbed my arm and said menacingly, "I'm not letting you leave that easily. I have five years to make up with my niece, whom I didn't even know about until like twenty minutes ago." Mel said through her teeth and then turned and sweetly said to Lucy, "Sweetie, you can start unpacking. I'm going to try to get your mom to stay for as long as I can."
Lucy looked at me hopeful and I signaled her okay to unpack. Lucy began to unpack excitedly and Mel and I left her in the room so we could talk more.
"Wow… Lucy is such a beauty." Mel said to me as we walked down the stairs.
"I know..." I said, "And she's a smarty too."
"She must get that from her dad." Mel chucked when I nudged her. After a moment of silence Mel said, "She looks just like you and Freddie. Well technically you, me and Freddie."
"Ew. Don't say that Melanie. It just sounds so wrong." I said as Melanie laughed.
"I know, I know. But you know what I mean. She has Freddie's dark brown hair and his complexion while she got our deep blue eyes and curly hair genes. She's so cute," Melanie gushed. "You and Freddie make cute babies," she said.
I sighed and let out a soft "Thanks."
Melanie and I sat on the sofa downstairs and she looked at me sympathetically. "You should have told me, you know? And maybe even mom. We're your family. We would've stuck by you. Helped you. You didn't have to run away."
"But I did Mel," I began to say. "I couldn't ruin his life and I couldn't end hers. Abortion was never ever an option for me and well it was all my fault anyways."
"Your fault? How could it be your fault?"
"I was irresponsible." I said I began to tear up.
"It wasn't just your fault Sam." Mel said trying to reassure me.
But I knew she was wrong. "No Mel, it was all my fault. The first time Freddie and I were together, like together together, it was unprotected."
"You see, it wasn't just your fault."
"No Mel, listen." I said desperately. "We were in the moment. It was unplanned but it just happened. Afterwards we pretty much ran to the pharmacy and got me the plan-B pill to make sure I didn't get pregnant. And from than on I went on the pill because I liked having him inside me without any boundaries, without any walls between us. Originally he planned on us using the condom every time but I was the one who didn't want that and so we went to the doctors and I started taking birth control. It was my responsibility but I failed." I started to tear up and Melanie put her hand on mine. I continued, "The first few months I was very conscious of always taking the pill but then after a while, I became irresponsible, sometimes missing two pills a week. I guess that's when I got pregnant."
"When did you find out?" Mel asked in a low whisper.
"Early August 2011." I said. "Our first time together was just the April before that, on our one year anniversary and I was steadily taking the pills until about July when I got careless. Then when I found out, I went to talk to him about it and I realized there was nothing I could do. It was too late. I was already carrying his child inside me."
"But why didn't you just talk to him about it? I know it would've been hard but don't you think he deserved to know." Mel asked hesitantly, trying her best not to upset me.
"I know. I tried to tell him numerous times but I just couldn't. I remember the last time I tried to tell him was a few nights before I left. We were on his fire escape and I wanted to tell him, but he was talking about his future and our future and I realized than that having a baby wasn't in the books. Not this early. And having a kid already would ruin his plans. So I packed everything I had and I left." I said, tears rolling down my face. "I went toNew Yorkexpecting nothing. When I got there, all I had on me was some money, a bunch of clothes, personal belongings and a child inside me. Not to mention all the amazing memories of my life back here."
"I wish you had told me. I would've tried to do something. Mom would've helped some way or another." Mel said as she hugged me.
"There was nothing to be done. I was on my own at that point." I said. "New Yorkgave me such great opportunities. I couldn't ever possibly dream that I would have the life I have. The night I got there, I met a woman on the train named Monica and she recognized me from iCarly. I told her my story and she helped me with everything. She helped me get into a good high school so I could finish school on time, which I did. She helped me get a job at the paper where she works to pay for my apartment, which she found for me. She helped me so much, she became like another mom to me. You know, a less crazy mom." Mel and I started to laugh. "So then after high school, I went to a CUNY college…"
"What's a CUNY college?" Mel interrupted.
"CUNY stands for City University of New York. It's a branch public city colleges. There are quite a few reputable ones all over the city." I explained. "Anyways, after a while of working as a secretary at the paper, I started writing for the paper. I finished college and got my bachelor's of sciences in biology and then started at NYU Medical where I just finished my first year. Honestly, it all feels like a dream. All the opportunities that I was presented. The way everything worked out. I was lucky." I looked at Melanie and held back tears, "Lucy might have been a 'mistake' and unexpected… but she was the best mistake of my life."
"I know sweetie." Mel said as we hugged. It felt so good to be here right now. With my family. "I'm glad you're back. Which reminds me, I mean I'm all happy that you're back, but what got you here?" Mel asked.
"Well this morning I got an award from the paper and I wanted to tell you about it, so I checked and saw you online and I video called you only to have Freddie pick up and tell me you were in an accident. So I rushed to get here."
"That's so sweet that you rushed to be by my side. But I don't really understand when he's…" then Mel stopped.
"When he's what?" I asked.
"Nothing. Forget it. I love how long you kept your and Lucy's hair. Both your hair is so long and luscious. But I must admit, I love her brown locks compared to our blond."
"What do you mean our blond locks?" I asked pulling at some of her hair. Melanie had straightened her hair and cut it so it fell just a few inches below her shoulder. "Do you always straighten your hair?" I asked.
"Well, sometimes. Kind of. Yeah." she answered sounding embarrassed. Maybe ashamed.
"Natural is the way to go." I said smiling. Just than there was a knock on the door. "Oh chiz…" I whispered. "I don't want anyone to know that Lucy and I here just yet."
"No worries. Lucy is busy unpacking upstairs and she won't be down for a while. You, you just hide under the stairs for now." Melanie whispered.
"But what if Lucy comes downstairs?" I whispered as the door bell rang.
"Come with me…" Melanie and I went into the guest room and on the intercom I asked Lucy to not make too much noise or come downstairs. The door bell rang again. In haste I hid under the stairs that led to the upstairs and Melanie opened the door.
There he stood.
The father of my child.
The love of my life.
Fredward Benson.
