Well, this chapter sucks and it's so short.
But I wrote it this morning and I was like, bleh. I'm still like, bleh.
So I started watching Once Upon a Time, so that's kinda taken my mind off of writing. Oops. Please don't spoil anything. :)
Life is starting to catch up to me. I've avoided this pretty well in the past. I never let school get in the way of writing, and it's not exactly in the way, but it's part of the problem. I'm still really tired all the time and can't really focus, which explains this chapter.
Sorry I couldn't give you all something better. :/
Louisa took a deep breath, pushing a hand through her blonde hair, and she stepped into the living room.
Mara looked up from rocking Tyler to sleep and smiled. "Hey, sweetheart, what's up?"
Louisa bit her bottom lip and sat down slowly. "Can we talk?"
"Of course," Mara replied.
"It's really important," Louisa said as Mara set Tyler down in his crib, "and I'm scared."
Mara returned to her place on the sofa and took Louisa's hand. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," Louisa whispered. She cast a worried glance in the direction of the kitchen and squeezed Mara's hand tightly. "Please don't tell daddy."
Mara's expression changed, showing her reluctance to keep something from Jerome.
"I know you and daddy tell each other everything, but can you please keep this a secret until it's certain?"
"Until what's certain?"
"I think I'm pregnant," Louisa replied.
Mara's hand tightened on hers and she stood up. "Okay, I'm going to get a pregnancy test."
Louisa followed her to the front door. "Mum—"
"It's going to be okay. We'll work it out with your father later. You'll be okay. I'm here for you." She promised, pulling Louisa into a hug.
Jenna shook her head. "No, no, Leonidas," —Leo stopped pushing the sofa and looked back at his sister— "we should do the theater set up. Put the sofa in the back of the room and the loveseat in front of it."
"Oh, yeah, and put the TV across from the loveseat," Leo nodded.
Arthur shot up from the loveseat. "I want to help!"
"Get on in here, kid," Jenna motioned to the sofa.
Arthur helped Jenna and Leo pushed the couch away from the TV and then moved the loveseat to the middle of the room. When the TV was moved, the three of them collapsed onto the sofa, swung their legs over the back and their heads hung off the cushions.
"Holy Moses," Alfie said surprise when he walked in the front door.
"Hey, dad," Jenna smiled at him.
He looked down at her. "Hey."
"How was work, pops?" Leo grinned.
"Fine."
"Like it?" Arthur asked, referring to the living room.
Alfie scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess, but where's your mother?"
"Sleeping," Leo replied.
"Oh, that's how you got away with it. I knew she didn't give you permission to rearrange." He shrugged. "Your funerals, kids."
"She'll be fine with it," Jenna waved his comment off.
"What happened to my common room?" Amber exclaimed, and Leo rolled off the sofa in surprise.
"What'd she do?" Josh chuckled into his headset, directing the soldier on the screen to climb up a ladder to the roof of a building. Leo groaned when his character was shot down by a sniper and the limp body fell from another building, and Josh laughed before Leo could answer his question. "I saw that happen."
"Yeah, ha ha, that was so funny," Leo replied. "She made us move everything back and promise to never rearrange the living room again. Jenna wants to rearrange the kitchen next."
"Good luck, bro."
"Thanks," Leo chuckled.
"On your left," Josh warned him as his soldier ran up beside Leo's and knifed him in the neck.
"I understood that reference." Leo grumbled. "But that's not what they did in the movie! There was no knifing!"
"Hold on a second, my phone's ringing." Josh pulled his headset off and picked up his phone.
"Yeah, I'm pregnant," Louisa said before Josh could say hello when he answered her call.
Josh blinked once, and then blew out a calculating breath. "What are you going to do?"
"Mum's going to keep it a secret until I tell dad. I need you here, Josh. I'm so scared. I can't tell him alone."
"Okay, hold on," he said, getting up from the sofa. He walked down the hallway to Michael and Emily's bedroom, keeping his cellphone pressed to his ear. "Mike?"
Michael finished buttoning up his shirt and swiped a hand through his damp hair. "What's up?"
"Can you drive me home? Lou needs me."
"Look into the emptiness and step into the cold. Right between your body and your soul. Deep inside of all of us there's something left to hold. Even when we give up all hope, there's space enough to grow, to grow. What do you see when you close your eyes?" -Space Enough To Grow, Of Mice & Men
-Rachel