Forbidden Love 3

Falling Fast

Disclaimer

I only own Hannah Montana in my dreams. However, I do own everything that you don't recognize. Tee hee.

Chapter #11

My Lives Are Going Down Hill

"Please God, please." I prayed. "Let it be negative." With my right hand I gripped the thin golden cross hanging from my neck, my left hand still holding the test. I opened my eyes and flipped it over. Slowly, meticulously, I read the screen. It was a digital test with words instead of a confusing key of colors and symbols. Still, that only seemed to make it all the more daunting. More permanent. It took four read-throughs and two inspections of the instructions until I finally came to terms with the results. Positive.

FALLING FAST

"Here are some clips:" the screen changed to a rough video taken from a cell phone. I watched as it showed Traci and I posing and helping each other adjust our bathing suit straps. Hugging and pretending to be crazed fans. I winced as it got a close up of me whispering something in her ear, but the angle of the phone made it look more like we were kissing!

Suddenly, I could hear heavy foot falls coming into the room and switched channels to a station covering the latest bombings in Iraq. We went back to eating as dad entered the room, going on as if nothing had happened.

FALLING FAST

I spent the rest of the day doing the homework I'd put off on Saturday for my party. And in between every worksheet, I tried to call Owen. But every time, every single time, it went straight to voicemail. Home phone or cell, I could never reach him. Even Oliver's cell went to voicemail, immediately! That boy never turned his cell off until now. I'd wanted to tell Owen before anyone else knew, especially my parents. Apparently, that didn't seem like it was going to happen as I'd also promised I'd tell mom and dad after dinner. And Lord knows that girl won't let anyone back out of a promise. "Better to be honest right off the bat." She said. Well, it wasn't her baby to be honest about.

Jackson had an extra late-shift at Rico's that night, so dinner was just me, Lily, and our parents. It was nice. We ordered pizza and ate like pigs, so no one noticed my slightly-increased appetite. It was all jokes and contests. Fun.

"Miley!" Dad called, his voice sounding stern. He'd retreated to the deck once our games were over. I helped Heather stuff the last of the boxes into the trash before running over to him. Well, I ran the first two steps, but after realizing my "delicate state" I just walked quickly. And as I closed the porch door, I saw Lily stifle a giggle at me. I stuck out my tongue at her before turning to talk to dad.

"Yes?" I asked innocently.

"Well, Emily Ramona," Oh no, my full name. That didn't bode well for anything, "I've been watching the news. And one of the most popular stories has to do with you and your friend Traci at the mall." I winced. "So you're familiar with it?" I nodded. "I want to hear your story about what happened." I was relieved, because I knew he would believe me. How could he not when I was only telling the truth?

"That was the day you let me off grounding early." I began, telling the complete truth. "She wanted me to help her pick out a bathing suit for a beach party later in the week. When I got there, it turned out that she had also picked out a couple for me. We pretended that the little hall between changing rooms was a runway. It was just the two of us having fun! We didn't do anything wrong dad, I swear." He nodded.

"I believe you." He said, "However, there's still going to be some punishment."

"What?" I screamed before I could stop myself. Slow down. Think. Don't let your hormones get away with you. I told myself. "Why?" I asked, more calmly.

"Miley, you didn't technically do anything wrong, but you're getting older and you have to get more responsible. The paparazzi are vicious, we see examples of it everyday, and I can't always protect you from them. You have to be able to protect yourself. And I want to make sure you learn this good and early, because – with Vanessa as an example - people forgive things like this. But if we're not careful you could fall into a trap that's not so easily forgiven. I don't want you turning into one of the Spears girls, Miley."

Here it was, the perfect opportunity to tell him. Sighing, I spun around a chair from the wicker table on our porch and sat in it. I lift myself up to pull my legs under me, and lean against the chair's side. "I may be more like them then you think, dad." I mutter; I can't believe I'm saying this. But through the window over dad's head, I can see Lily giving me an encouraging thumbs-up.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I drew in a deep, shaky breath. "I'm- It was-" I took a steadying breath. "This morning I found out that I was – am – pregnant."

"Oh God, Miley." He sighed, placing his head in his hands.

"I'm so, so sorry daddy." I promised, trying to bite back my tears. I needed to be strong this time, I didn't want sympathy, but I wanted him to understand how hard this was for me.

"Miley I-" he was looking straight ahead, and what was right in front of his face was my stomach, my t-shirt flying up in the breeze. He lifted his head so that he was looking me straight in the eye. "Were you raped?" he asked. "It's okay if you were, just tell me."

"Um . . ." how to explain? "I wasn't raped, but it wasn't exactly my idea, either. I was kind of . . . drunk. It was on Halloween." Dad nodded, and then sighed.

"I need to think. And I need to talk to Heather. Do your homework, and we'll call you up when we're ready to talk to you, okay?" I nodded solemnly, standing and walking away. Just as I was about to open the door to the house, he asked: "does Lily know?"

"Yeah, she's the one who convinced me to tell you today, before I convinced myself not to."

Dad smiled. "She's a smart girl, and she knows you well." Oh God, that stung. Lily was smart. Not that she isn't, but the way he said it . . . like she was a better daughter or something. How could she be a better daughter when she'd only been his STEP daughter for three months? I gave the door a slight slam as I stalked to the table, grabbed my bag and pulled out my homework.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, confused, as I roughly rooted through my pencil case for my pink pen.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I snapped, grabbing the pen and yanking off the cap.

"Miley, what's wrong, what'd I do?" she asked. I ignored her, starting in on my world history homework. I made a line through an answer that I'd written early that I had just remembered was incorrect. The pen broke through my paper. I shoved it into the trash and grabbed a new sheet, ripping it in the process. I grabbed another. And another.

"Miley, what happened? Did you tell him?" Lily begged for an answer, handing me a clean, unripped sheet as she did so.

"Tell him what?" Heather asked from the couch. Dad hadn't come in yet, he was still sitting out there, staring into the ocean.

"Why don't you go ask him?" I suggested nastily. She glared at me, but left, closing the door behind her. I took the paper Lily had offered to me and threw it to the ground. Somehow, watching the falling paper made tears creep behind my eyes. One fell, and then another. Soon my eyeballs had turned into waterfalls as I tried to control myself.

"Shhh." Lily whispered, reaching out to me across the table. "Everything's going to be fine." She assured me.

"Easy for you to say." I whispered, not maliciously. "You're the favorite."

"What?"

"Yeah, dad just said that you were smarter." I cried.

"He's just upset, Miley." She assured me. "You're the one in honors, you're the one who can handle two completely separate lives at once."

"That's the thing." I sobbed. "He wasn't even mad. Well, he was, but he wasn't raging and storming. He was pretty damn calm, actually." Lily walked around the table and hugged me, before leading me over to the couch. She fed me tissues for ten whole minutes and listened to my blubbering.

FALLING FAST

"Hormones are deadly." I muttered later, during a commercial break.

"No." Lily disagreed, "they aren't. But the mood swings that they cause are." We both started to laugh, and neither of us noticed dad and Heather coming inside until they were sitting in the living room with us. Dad turned off the television.

"Lily, hunny, why don't you go upstairs?" Heather suggested rhetorically.

"But I want to be here with Miley." she said defiantly.

"Lily, we need to ta-"

"Please, Heather?" I begged. "I want her to stay." Heather sighed, but nodded. Lily smiled and gripped my hand, letting me know that she was there in case I needed her.

"First of all, do you want to keep this baby?" he asked. "Abortion isn't an option, but adoption . . . it is. We can understand why you'd choose it."

"I don't . . . I'm not sure." I answered. "I never considered abortion, but I don't really know if I'd be able to give up my baby for adoption. I just . . . I don't know yet."

"That's okay." Heather assured me kindly, "you have a long time to decide, and I'll help you." Of course, Heather used to work in adoption. She'd know everything.

"Now as for punishment." Dad said, anxious to get it over with. He didn't like being the bad guy. "You can consider yourself indefinitely grounded." I knew that was coming. "Unless Heather or I is with you, you can't leave our property. However, you can go down to the beach area visible from our house. But just out there, and someone else has to be home with you." I nodded. "Owen is completely forbidden unless he's at our house, in this front area, under our approval. Or, of course, at school." Again, I nodded. But still, I felt a tear stinging in the corner of my eye. I'd expected this, and I knew not to rebel, but it still hurt.

"This is all Miley punishment." He continued. "Hannah, however, is another story. You can disappear forever, announce a vacation, or tell the world. It's your choice, and we need the answer now."

"I'll take a vacation from Hannah." I answered firmly. "Once I start showing." He nodded.

"But time as Hannah is limited, Miley. Just for concerts and parties that I'm at. And absolutely no Traci, that girl is bad news."

"But dad, she's my friend!" I defended.

"Miley, she took that video and she gave it to the press. You are not allowed near her, do you understand me?"

"Yes." I squeaked, bowing my head in frustration.

"Alright then," Heather said calmly. "I'll make you an appointment for as soon as possible. While I'm out at work tomorrow, I'll grab some prenatal vitamins, stretch mark crème, and a couple of books. Maybe there will be some classes or groups available or something." She sighed, "Miley, do you have any questions about what's happening to you? I know adults skim over facts when they teach sex and pregnancy to kids. Anything you want to ask, don't be afraid."

"I do have one question." I began, laying a hand on my stomach. "I haven't been throwing up or nauseas or anything. Is that . . . bad?" She chuckled softly.

"You're lucky." She answered. "No, people don't always get morning sickness, Miles. You're just lucky, in that respect. However, I think you're getting a good kick of mood swings already."

"I am?" I asked.

"When you snapped at Lily." She offered as an example. "You don't normally snap at anyone, Miley. But you've been doing that a lot more for the past week or so."

"Sorry." I muttered, turning red.

"It's not your fault," she assured me, "just remember it when someone's bugging you, okay?" I nodded.

"I have another question." I asked. Heather nodded encouragingly and Lily gave my hand a squeeze. "When will I start to . . . you know . . . show?"

Heather chuckled before replying. "You're a little over a month right?" she asked, I nodded. "You might have two months of not showing, and two more where you can hide it. I'd say people will really start to notice when you're at the end of your fifth month. But every pregnancy's different, and you're so thin, you could start showing a little bit in only a couple weeks." I groaned, leaning back against the couch. Only a couple weeks? I'd been planning on at least a month! She and dad laughed at my aggravation. "Alright hun, I hope we weren't too harsh on you. Remember, whenever we seem mean, we're just trying to do what's right."

"She's right." Dad agreed. "However bad the decision leading to this situation was, I'm glad you were honest with me from the beginning. I love you."

"I love you too." I muttered.

"It's getting late." Heather commented, standing. "And staying up really isn't the best idea for you, missy." She smiled. "Go to bed, okay?" I nodded, and Lily and I stood. Before I could leave, dad and Heather gave each of us a big hug.

FALLING FAST

Despite the stress of the day, I went to bed easily that night. However, I did wake up once before it was morning. It wasn't morning sickness. It was my dad.

He stood in the doorway, framed with light. I could just make out his outline through my squinted eyes. He didn't know I was awake, so I left my covers where they'd fallen at my ankles (which is probably why I'd woken). He walked towards me and knelt next to my bed. Slowly, careful not to 'wake' me, he placed his warm hand against my stomach. "I love you." He whispered, pulling the hand back. He quietly brought the covers up to my chin. He kissed the top of my forehead lightly. "I love both you." He whispered, tiptoeing quietly from the room.

Author's Note

Sorry about the two last-chapter flashbacks, but I felt it was important considering how much had happened.

Please read my addition to the tagging game!