Mortimer POV- 15 Years Old

Something wasn't right with Megan, and I could easily tell. She'd been locking herself up in her room, saying she had homework to do as an excuse, when I knew full well she didn't. The last time she willingly came out of her room was when she was going to help the Landgraab's with the voting. That was a month ago now. I had to know what was wrong with her. Getting up off my bed (I had just currently been lying there, I woke up a few hours ago), I went the more secretive way to her room. Our two bedrooms had a bathroom in-between, so if we wanted to go to the other one's room without anyone in the house knowing, that was the way. Slowly opening the door, I saw her just lying on her bed, sighing. "You alright?"

"Mmm, I've had better days"

"Come on, you can tell me"

"You haven't realised?"

"No…"

"Well, genius, three words. I-Am-Pregnant"

"Wait, what?"

Megan sighed. "I'm pregnant, with Malcolm's child, okay? And since he's not speaking to me after Nancy died, and no-one knows, my life just feels wasted"

"Megan…am I the first person you told"

"Yeah…"

"You've got to tell Mother and Father. It's their grandchild, and since you're only fifteen, they'll probably have to look after him or her a lot of the time"

"Dad's going to blow a fuse though. If he gets mad over bad table manners, he's going to be absolutely fuming when he finds out"

"The longer you leave it the worse he will be"

"Fine" Megan sighed, heaving herself off the bed. Thinking about it, she had become a lot more careful over herself over the last month. As she walked downstairs to the living room (where Mother and Father were), I quietly followed her behind.

The living room door was slightly ajar, large enough for one of us to fit through. "I'll wait out here for you" I said. "Just in case"

"Thanks" she smiled, before squeezing through the door. I was leaning against the hall/living room wall, so I could hear the conversation.

"Good morning, Megan" Mother said cheerfully. "Sleep well?"

"About average" she said. "But I have something to say…"

"Yes?" Father said.

"Well…"

"Go on"

"Well…"

"What is it Megan?"

"I'm…I'm pregnant!"

"Say you're not" Father said in his tone which meant he was gearing up for an argument.

"I wish I could say so, but I can't. I'm sorry-"

"MEGAN MARIA GOTH!" Father shouted, "YOU STUPID, STUPID GIRL!"

Mother usually hated that word, but she never said anything. That was when I heard a noise, which sounded like a very loud smack, and Megan screaming. "Stop it! Stop it!"

"NO!" Father shouted. "I WILL NOT STOP. YOU ARE A STUPID GIRL, MEGAN MARIA GOTH; YOU HAVE RUINED THE REST OF YOUR LIFE DOING THIS!"

"Gunther, no need to be that harsh-" Mother said cautiously.

That was when Father started shouting at Mother and Megan snuck out, tears streaming down her face. "I'm running away, otherwise, I'll get this the rest of my life"

"Megan…don't"

"I have to, Mortimer. Look, just get out of my way and let me pack my bags before they find out" she said, pushing me slightly to my right so she could go back up the stairs. Luckily, due to so much noise coming from Mother and Father, you couldn't hear the stairs, however creaky they were. It sounded like Father was punching or slapping Mother or something, as you could hear her screaming. She had the disadvantage of living so far away from anyone else. Megan came down again, her backpack full of her belongings. "I'll come to school but we can't be seen anywhere out of it, and you can't tell Mother, Father or the police where I am" she said. "I'm sorry, but I have to go" she said, before hugging me and leaving swiftly.

"Where has your sister gone?" Father asked, still quite stern, but he had calmed down a bit. Mother had a black eye from whatever he did to her.

"She's run away. She's scared of you" I muttered, but he heard me.

Father sighed. "I guess I was a bit harsh" he said. "But next time you see her, tell me exactly where she's gone and no white lies here, Mortimer"

No who do I tell the truth to? My Father who I've known all my life or my twin sister? Urgh, I'll find out where she's actually gone, and then decide.

Megan POV- 15 Years Old

Panting from running, I made my way into the middle of town. I couldn't go back, I just couldn't. I slowed down to a brisk walk so I wouldn't look out of the picture, especially since everyone was setting up for something in Central Park. That's when I found somewhere to stay and keep warm before I could find somewhere until I found somewhere to stay more long term. The Bookstore. It was quiet, and there were plenty of places to hide incase Mother or Father came after me. Opening the door quietly, I saw Jocasta Bachelor sitting at the counter. Since no one else was there, she noticed me immediately. "Hello, Megan"

"Hi…"

"What's the matter, hmm? You can tell me"

So I explained everything.

"Oh, dear. Well, of course you can stay here for now. If nothing happens before I finish at seven, Bella has two beds in her bedroom, so I'm sure we can look after you"

"Thanks…" I said.

"Oh, and I found this book a couple of days ago, I'm sure you'll like it" she said, scanning the shelves for the book. I did love to read, so I came down here near enough every week to have a look. "Here it is" she said, giving me the book. 'Murder in Pleasantview' by Alexander Goth. Interesting. Flicking through the pages, time slowly passed, and it was near Jocasta's finishing time. At half six, the door opened, and someone came in. Having a quick peek, I saw it was Leighton Sekemento, son of recently deceased Yumi Sekemento, and father of ten year old Sam Sekemento. His family were also the neighbours of the Bachelor's. "Evening, Jocasta"

"Evening, Leighton"

As their conversation continued, I was sat in a W shaped position against one of the bookcases, when suddenly the case creaked. Oh, man. "Is someone else here?" Leighton asked Jocasta.

"Megan Goth" she muttered, obviously explaining the situation to him.

"I see" he said. "Megan?"

"Yes?" I said softly, getting up so my chin rested on the bookcase.

"You're not going back home right?"

"No"

"Well, I'll make a deal with you. You know my son, Sam yes? Well, since I go to work as soon as he finishes school, he's usually home alone five or six hours every weekday. If you look after Sam for me while I'm at work, I'll let you stay with us and pay you enough to get things you need"

"You don't have to pay-"

"It's just a gentlemanly manner" he smiled. He was very kind around ladies, apparently.

"Oh, OK" I said.

"So it's a yes, hmm?"

"Yes"

"OK, here's a spare key" he said, lightly throwing a key on a key ring to me. "Go back whenever you want, just as long as you're not too late" he smiled.

"Thanks" I said.

Well, it looked like I'd be living with the Sekemento's for a while.

So there's the next chapter! Sorry for taking so long to update, I've got end of school year rubbish, and we're the only school in Britain minus the school about a mile away that have to go to school until Tuesday, while everyone else it off, which is really annoying. I will try and update Tuesday, as I am on a five hour Train Journey to my Great-Uncle's, so if there is a plug socket, I will try and update. Thanks for reading!