AmuletGirl AN: Hello lovely people of the fanfiction world! I am so very sorry for the ridiculous wait for this chapter. I honestly am ashamed that it took this long. I beg your forgiveness and I hope you really enjoy this chapter. It's also almost winter holiday so we will hopefully be able to get chapters out a bit quicker. So, enjoy and review! Love to you all during this time of thanksgiving.
The Kids Are All Fucked Up
Lyla's Point of View
"I could kill a hooker!" I grunted as I paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. The common room was still relatively littered with people but a lot of people had left after the whole Laura incident. Which brings me back to what I just said. James, Remus and Blair all sat on a couch and watched as I burned a whole in the floor. Alexa was missing; Sirius was acting a fool; and Laura was damn lucky that I'm pregnant and couldn't kick her sorry ass. I personally thought I could still take her with ease, even considering my condition, but others disagreed.
"Lyla, just calm down, okay," Remus said, for what I'm sure was the millionth time.
"I mean did you hear her? She just came out with it and said it so insouciantly," I rattled on. I knew I was talking too much and that they were all concerned about the situation but absolutely bored with my rambling.
"Insouciantly is bad, right?" James asked, leaning in toward Remus.
Remus nodded to James. "Yes, James, it's bad," Remus, told him.
"Bad indeed, James, really bad," I emphasized. "Our lives have gone to hell and have become a freaking drama. She is such a little home wrecker."
"Um, Lyls, I know you're upset, and I dislike Laura just as much as you do, but we have bigger things to worry about right now," Blair said. I stopped and looked at her, worry written all over her face. "We still don't know where Alexa or Sirius are and I don't think this is just another one of their fights."
I looked down in shame. Blair was absolutely right. I had been going on and on about senseless people who I could care less about while Alexa was out in the castle somewhere probably tore up about the whole thing. "I know, I know," I said letting out a sigh. "I just get so frustrated by all this. I worry about her." I sat down on the couch between Remus and Blair. Blair gave me an empathetic look and linked our arms together.
"Guys," James said, "You do know it would be so simple to find the both of them. We made the Marauder's Map for a reason my dear friends. Granted, this wasn't it per say, but it sure can be applied to such a situation."
It no doubt would be helpful but that's not what we needed right now. "Alexa doesn't want to be found right now," I told him, regretfully. "And, while normally, I would completely disregard her wishes, like Blair said, this time it's different. When she's ready, she'll come to us."
"And we already saw that Sirius isn't really fit for conversing at the moment," Remus said, his hand twinging a bit in pain. "I swear they are so much alike. Both of them stubborn as hell and so set in their own ways."
"That's what made them both good and bad for each other," Blair stated. "They both were slowly learning how to compromise for one another but this was just one of those things that neither of them were willing to bend on, unfortunately."
"This is how I look at it," James started. I had a feeling this was going to be good, seeing as James was still riding his drunken high from the party. "Sirius is like a regal lion. He's the king of the jungle and everyone wants to be his mate. All the lady lions lust after the alpha male and all the other males envy the king." James looked to all of us to make sure we were following and we all nodded our heads to appease the poor boy. "Now, Alexa is a ferocious tigress." James was making all sorts of hand gestures to make his point and his face had a snarl on it as he painted a picture of the tigress.
"The tigress is a mysterious creature. For most of her life, the tigress keeps to the shadows of the jungle trees and tries to keep her affairs private, but once one boy tiger catches drift of the mystifying seductress, they are immediately captured by her presence and want to know more about the creature. The tigress could have any one of her male suitors, but they just won't do, they are too easily attainable. The lion, Sirius," he reminds us, "Loves the attention and enjoys the company of the lady lions, but he is always looking for a challenge."
"James," Remus interrupted as Blair laughed hysterically into a pillow, "Is this extremely descriptive, albeit, informative story going anywhere?"
"Moony, never interrupt a man while he is unloading nuggets of wisdom upon people," James scolded Remus. Remus nodded his head in apology and James continued. "As nature dictates, tigresses are instinctively weary of lions, especially alpha lions with questionable reputations. And alpha lions, it seems, are programmed from birth to annoy the hell out of tigresses. When this particular alpha lion got wind of this formidable tigress, he began his attack. However, instead of folding like most, this tigress stood strong and gave the lion a run for his money. Somewhere down the line, the lion and the tigress fell in love and not even nature could explain this occurrence.
"No lion or tiger seemed to support this new union, except for their close personal animal friends, and no one believed this impossible match could ever work. They thought: There could only be one ruler of the jungle, and neither of these majestic creatures would be willing to become submissive completely to the other. Science has proven to be right my dear friends; these two destroyed one another." James sat there for a moment to build suspense and then exploded, "But never fear! It is my professional opinion that science in this case is wrong. A lion and a tiger can be together, they can change to become one, rather than two separate entities, but it will take time, work, and support. Thank you."
James bowed his head and waited for our response. I looked to Remus who looked like he couldn't believe what he just heard and then to Blair who was silently sobbing from laughing so hard. I looked back at James and noticed something peculiar. "Um, James?" I said.
"Yes, Lyla, a question?" he said professionally.
"Not quite," I said plainly. James looked up questioningly. "Your pants are glowing."
"Excuse me?" James asked.
I didn't really know how else to put it. I pointed down to his pants and said again, "Your pants are glowing; literally, they are aglow."
James looked down and his illuminated pants and then back up at me sheepishly, letting out a small laugh. "Well, this is embarrassing," he said. James shifted on the couch and dug deep into his pocket. He struggled for a few minutes in an attempt to get the object out and then finally removed the object. It was a silver mirror that I knew had a twin and the Marauders used them to communicate. "Must be Sirius," he said turning the mirror around to face him. "James," the voice said. I looked up in worry immediately when I recognized the voice not as Sirius' but as Alexa's. Her voice was trembling and I could tell something was wrong. "We're on our way, Alexa, just stay put," James said hastily and then quickly stood up, returning the mirror to his pocket.
"What's wrong? Where is she?" I asked quickly. I knew in my gut that this wasn't good.
"I don't know, but something's wrong. Sirius had the mirror at the party, I'm sure of it," James said.
"Then why did Alexa have it? Was Sirius there with her?" Blair asked, worry covering her entire face.
"I didn't see him, but Alexa was crying," James told us.
Suddenly a million possibilities were running through my head. Remus put his hand on my knee to calm me and then addressed James. "Prongs, go and get the map, we'll use that to find Alexa and Sirius. Go fast, we need to find them as quickly as possible." James nodded his head and then took off toward their dormitory, Blair following closely. "Talk to me," Remus said to me, as my stress and worry levels slowly increased.
"Everything's falling apart, Remus," I said. "Something is terribly wrong, I can tell."
He pulled me up off the couch and brought me into his arms. "We're going to find Alexa and Sirius. It will all work out."
"Promise me. Promise me that everything will be okay again," I pleaded. I so desperately needed this guarantee. I needed to know that things would get better.
"I can't, Lyls," he said with sadness in his voice. "I can't ensure that everything will be fine, but I will do everything in my power to try to put things right." I squeezed him tighter. It wasn't a guarantee, but I had faith in Remus's words. I knew that Remus would go to the moon and back for me. Just as Remus released me, James and Blair were bounding down the stairs, the map in James' right hand.
"Got it right here," James said showing us the map. He unfolded the map and tapped it with his wand saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." After James said this, the dark delicate script of the map began to appear and various names were showing up here and there. My eyes scanned the halls of the school searching for Alexa and Sirius' names.
To get a better look, James and Remus unfolded the map to its full span. They spread in on the floor and we all dropped to the floor to search. I was getting so frustrated, there was so much castle and I just couldn't find the two names that I so desperately needed to find. "There they are!" Blair suddenly exclaimed, pointing to an area on the map.
"That's not too far from here," Remus said. "We need to move quickly, they're together, so we can't really say how bad or good it could be going." James gathered up the map and we all followed him out of the common room. As James led the way, I just followed; I didn't know where we were, I had no clue where we were going, I just knew that we had to get there. "They should be just around the corner."
I broke away from the group and forged ahead. As I rounded the corner, it seemed to be worse than we thought. Alexa was sitting on the ground and Sirius was lying down with his head in her lap. Alexa was crying and Sirius wasn't moving. I started to run over to where Alexa and Sirius were. Alexa looked up at the sound of my footsteps. "Oh, Lyla," she sobbed. "Help him, help him please."
I dropped to my knees next to Lyla and looked closer and what was going on. There was blood all over the floor and Alexa and she was pressing her now blood drenched sweatshirt against Sirius' head. She held her hands up; they were stained red. "I can't make it stop, Lyla," she said with a horrified look on her face. "It won't stop."
The others were now running up to us. "Shit, Padfoot," James said. "What the hell happened?" he asked Alexa.
"I can't get it to stop," is how she responded. "There's just more and more blood." Alexa was in shock, not that I blame her.
"We need to get him to Madame Pomfrey right now," I told James and Remus.
Remus nodded. "James, you get his head and I'll get his feet. Blair, take my coat," he said sliding out of his jacket, "And continue to apply pressure to where it's bleeding." Blair took the jacket and watched with wide, terrified eyes as James and Remus carefully lifted Sirius of the floor and out of Alexa's lap. They quickly took off down the corridor blood dripping every so often despite Blair's attempts.
Alexa just sat there and stared at the blood that was surrounding her. "Alexa," I said softly, placing my hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at me, tears flowing from her eyes. "I couldn't make it stop bleeding," she repeated.
"I know," I told her. "You did everything you could, Alexa. Madame Pomfrey will help him, I'm sure she'll make him better."
She returned her gaze to the floor and stared at her hands. "I didn't mean for any of this to happed," she said quietly. "I never wanted any of this."
"Alexa, what happened?" I asked. "Who did this to Sirius?"
"Caradoc." That little weasel! What the hell was his problem? "But it was because of me; it's always my fault. All I do is hurt him, Lyla." Alexa burst into another frantic sob. She leaned into me and put her head on my shoulder. I put my arms around my sister and tried to calm her down so she could tell me exactly what happened.
"I caught Sirius and Laura. I was so mad and hurt and Caradoc was there. He mad me feel better and like I wasn't crazy for feeling that way. We kissed, but I swear Lyla, as soon as our lips touched, I knew it was a bad idea so I put a stop to it and left. It turns out that Sirius saw the whole thing and then he got into it with Caradoc. Sirius hit his head really hard on the floor and Caradoc just ran off. Then you guys came."
Oh gosh, poor Alexa. "Alex, none of this was your fault, Caradoc is the one who hurt Sirius," I tried to reason with her.
"No, Lyla, they wouldn't have been fighting if it weren't for me. It's my fault; I hurt Sirius. That's all I ever do, I'm starting to see that now," she said trailing off into a whisper. She sat up and looked at me, wiping her eyes. The shock of it all was wearing off and she was calming down. "Can you love someone but know that you shouldn't be together?"
I went to say something but Alexa cut me off. "No, Lyla, it's true. I love Sirius, I do. He was the first person I loved; I fell completely for him. And even though we fight and disagree all the time, I always thought he was the one for me and that we belonged together."
"Alexa, I still think that's true," I told her, speaking honestly.
"Well, I don't know if I believe it anymore," she said looking away from me. "Maybe we will end up together, maybe we won't, but right now, I don't think we belong together. I don't want to hurt him anymore and I don't want to be hurt. Bottom line, we both need a lot of growing up before we can really work."
I took Alexa's hands in mine, she made a face as the blood now spread to my hands, but I didn't care. "I understand where you're coming from Alexa, I do, and I completely agree that you both have a lot of growing up to do," I told her and gave her a slight smile. "But, I also have full faith in you and Sirius. I truly believe that you two are perfect for each other. I had my doubts, but Sirius has really proved himself. Just before you make any decisions, think about it. I mean, you guys really didn't start having problems until Laura came around, and now I think Sirius sees her for who she truly is."
"I wish that were true, Lyls," she told me. "But Laura was just the breaking point, we were having all sorts of problems before that; I think our whole relationship was founded on problems. We were always fighting, and about the dumbest things."
"Every couple fights, Alexa. It's okay to disagree and argue, and you guys would always get over it and make up," I tried to tell her. In the end, the decision was Alexa's entirely, but I wanted Alexa to be happy, and I knew, deep down, she would be unhappy without Sirius.
"You and Remus hardly ever fight," she said countering what I had said. And honestly, that had to be one of the worst counterarguments I had ever heard.
"You've got to be kidding me," I said with a slight laugh. "Do I need to remind you of that huge fight we had not too long ago? That was a fight of huge, epic proportions. We stopped talking and almost broke up." Alexa frowned and I knew exactly what she was thinking. "And don't even try to say that that's different, because it's not. You always hold mine and Remus's relationship to this high esteem, and we don't deserve it. Every relationship is different, Alex, so how Remus and I work, is a lot different from you and Sirius; plus, have you looked at me lately? I'm having a baby with my 16 year old boyfriend, I wouldn't necessarily say that that is something to strive for."
Alexa smiled slightly and squeezed my hand. "I just think that maybe some time apart would do us some good. He can't trust me, and I don't think I can trust him right now."
I gave her a sympathetic smile and then pulled her into a hug. "Whatever you decide, I will support you and help you in anyway that I can," I assured her. She hugged me tighter and I began to tear up a bit. I released Alexa from my hold and then stood up, helping her up as well. "Now, let's get to the Hospital Wing, I know you're worried and so am I.
We quickly made our way through the castle and finally made it to where the rest of our friends were. When we entered the wing, James and Blair were sitting on a nearby bed, Blair in James' arms and Remus was at the foot of Sirius' bed looking downtrodden. Sirius was lying in the bed, motionless. He had a bandage on his head and had a bag of blood hooked into his arm.
Alexa stayed back a little bit, not wanting to get any closer, and I went over to Remus. I put my hands on his shoulders and leaned against his back. Remus took my hands in his and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" I asked.
"The last time we talked, we were fighting. I punched him, Lyla," he said with a frustrated sigh.
"Remus, he knew he was out of line, and he knows that you were just defending me," I said, trying to put him at ease. "He hasn't woken up yet?"
"No," he said sadly. "Madame Pomfrey said he had lost quite a bit of blood and that he may be out for a while." I suddenly remembered the blood on my hands and elsewhere on my body. "How's Alexa doing?"
"She's pretty upset," I said. "She thinks it's her fault. Sirius saw Alexa and Caradoc kiss, Caradoc hit Sirius, and then Sirius hit his head." I felt Remus tense up as I mentioned Caradoc. "Don't worry about him right now, and don't think about hitting him again," I warned him, "Just be here for your friend."
Remus rubbed my arm and relaxed a bit. "I won't hit him, but I'm not going to stop James from doing it once he finds out," he said with slight satisfaction in his voice. I smiled slightly and just accepted those terms. Because Alexa still didn't want to see Sirius like this, I sat on the other side of the room with her as the others sat around Sirius' bed. Madame Pomfrey came out after a while to check on Sirius and to scold us for underage drinking. She could apparently smell the alcohol and 'she had been around long enough to tell an inebriated fool from a sober one', her words, not mine.
After a few long hours, Sirius began to regain consciousness. All of us, except Alexa, rushed to his side as he groaned awake. "Bloody hell," he said groggily. I couldn't help but smile a bit. "I feel like shit." He reached up to where the bandage was and touched it gingerly.
"You look like shit too," James said. Blair hit James and Sirius smiled.
"Thanks mate, that's encouraging," he said, moving slightly in his bed. He looked past me and saw Alexa standing there alone. He next shifted his gaze to me and I gave him a look that said everything, and he understood.
"Sirius," Remus started.
"I'm sorry," Sirius finished. "I was out of line and I deserved it. Just forget it, okay?" Remus nodded his head and then gave him a brotherly pat on the shoulder. "Well, we should probably get out of here and let you rest, Madame Pomfrey told us we had to leave when you woke up."
Remus, Blair and James said their goodbyes and I let them all leave before I said mine. I leaned in and gave Sirius a hug. "How bad is it?" he asked looking over to Alexa again.
"It's not good," I told him honestly. He gave me a weak smile and nodded. "I hope you guys can work it out, though."
"Thank you, Lyls," he said squeezing my hand. "And I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I didn't mean it."
I shrugged my shoulders and downplayed the situation. "You were right, it was really none of my business. I need to let Alexa deal with this stuff on her own and only help when I'm asked. And I was in part doing it, I think, because I don't quite have a grip on my own situation; but I'm working on that. So, I'm sorry as well." I gave him another best friend hug and a small peck on his cheek. "Good luck."
I turned and walked over to Alexa, whom I could tell was nervous as hell, and pulled her into a hug. "Do what you think is best," I told her. I gave her a smile and then left without looking back to make sure she was okay. The other three were waiting out in the corridor for me when I closed the door behind me.
We all went back to Gryffindor Tower and we were all left with the unsatisfactory feeling that there was nothing that we could do to help the situation. The common room was entirely empty by now and the castle was really quiet considering all that had happened. Blair and James walked in front of Remus and I. Blair had her head rested on James shoulder as they walked. "So are you going to tell James that Caradoc was behind all this?" I asked Remus.
Remus tilted his head giving the question a great deal of thought. "Yeah I'll tell him. That is, after we get up to the dorm room so I can seal the door and maybe even handcuff James to his bed," he said in all seriousness. I thought about it for a moment and just had to laugh. "What?" he asked as I continued to giggle.
"I'm sorry," I said, trying to stifle my laughter, "That just sounded so dirty." Remus's eyes opened wide in shock that I was joking about this.
He pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head. "Let's hope our baby doesn't inherit that dirty mind of yours, my darling," he said jokingly. I gave him a slight elbow to the stomach and continued to laugh a bit.
"So what to do now, crew?" James asked, turning around abruptly to face us.
Remus gave me a wink and then walked over to James, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "James, my boy, I thought we'd just turn in for the night and maybe have a little chatsie," Remus said, sounding very upbeat.
James immediately got an elated look on his face. "Oh! A chatsie, it's been too long, brother," James exclaimed excitedly. I just shook my head at him and smiled. He looked over his shoulder at Blair and said, "Goodnight, Bear." Then the two boys disappeared up the stairs. James may be in a good mood at the moment but that soon would change once he found out about Caradoc.
Blair came over to me now and pulled me into a hug. "Well, I think I'm going to bed, you heading up too?" she asked. "You need to get your sleep, Lyls."
I gave Blair a grateful smile. "Yes, I know, Blair," I told her. "I'll be up in a few, I promise." Blair wrinkled her nose and stuck out her pinky. I looped my pinky with hers and she gave me an understanding nod. Blair let out a huge yawn as she headed up the steps to our dorm and bid me goodnight.
Truthfully, I was extremely tired, but I wanted to wait up for Alexa. She was going to need someone once she got back from the hospital. I settled myself into a couch and made myself comfortable as I waited. As I sat there in the silence, I began to get the sick feeling that I had been getting a lot lately whenever I was alone with my thoughts.
Thankfully, not too much later, Alexa walked in looking more downtrodden than I had ever seen her. She saw me out of the corner of her eye and walked over in silence. She plopped down next to me and let out a huge sigh. "How are you doing?" I asked her.
She leaned her head back against the couch. "Awful," she said truthfully. "I hate what I did, but I really think this is what we need. I just need some time to adjust I suppose." I nodded my head and squeezed her hand. "I just don't want to think about it anymore, I keep second guessing myself the more I dwell on it. Tell me something to take my mind off all this."
I looked down at my lap and the new edition to my left hand caught my eye. "Well, Remus proposed to me tonight," I told her with a smile. She sat up and was beaming at me. She looked down at my hand and lifted it closer to her to get a better look at the ring.
"Lyla!" she said covering her mouth as she looked back at the ring. "That's incredible. It's so beautiful," she gushed. "Congratulations." Alexa pulled me into a hug and squeezed me tight.
"Thank you," I replied as she released me from her hold. "I'm glad you approve," I said jokingly.
"Of course I approve," she said. "I knew it would happen sooner or later, I guess it just happened sooner than we thought." I nodded my head in agreement.
"We thought it would be best for the baby. And like you said, it was going to happen anyway, so why wait given the circumstances," I explained.
She just smiled at me and nodded. "You know mom and dad are going to kill you, right?" she asked with a shit-eating grin.
"I am aware," I said with a laugh. "I'm hoping the Easter holiday will put them in a forgiving mood, but that's probably just wishful thinking." Alexa's look told me that I was absolutely correct. "Well, what about you? You're going to have to explain to everyone why Sirius isn't there."
The smile quickly left Alexa's face and she looked away. "Well, not quite," she said. I gave her a questioning look. If she really thought no one would notice his absence, she was more delusional than I thought. "I told Sirius he should still come." I went to say something, but I didn't know what to say. I was extremely confused. "Sirius is still coming."
"Yeah, I gathered that," I said, "But I thought you guys weren't together anymore, or did I misinterpret that completely?"
"No, you're right, we aren't together, but that doesn't mean he can't still come to Easter. He is still everyone's friend and he has a right to be there," she pointed out, very maturely, I might add.
"Are you sure that won't be hard for you two?" I questioned, making sure she had really thought this decision through.
Alexa shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It just seems that it would just make it so much weirder if he wasn't there, I mean, the family is in love with him and Claire would be crushed if she didn't get to see him." I looked over Alexa's face trying to determine if she was really okay with all this. Unfortunately, I couldn't really tell, so I guess I would just have to take her word for it and see how it goes.
"One thing's for sure," I said leaning back into the couch and linking my arm with my sister's, "This is going to be an Easter to remember."
"Yeah," Alexa said. We sat there for a few moments and then she added, "It's going to suck so bad."
"Indeed," I responded listlessly. Nothing celebrates the rising of Christ quite like teen pregnancy, am I right?
I stared out the window as the beautiful newly blooming countryside blurred by. I had remained quiet most of the ride; I just had too much on my mind. It was Easter holiday, which meant that I finally would have to tell my parents that I was pregnant. My parents were always really understanding of most things, but something told me that they wouldn't exactly be comfortable with their sixteen year old daughter being pregnant with a werewolf's child.
"Lyla!" Alexa suddenly exclaimed, drawing my attention away from the window. "Stop shaking your leg, it's driving me crazy." I looked down at my leg and saw that it was convulsing. I quickly stopped the shaking and gave her an apologetic smile. "Thank you."
"What's wrong, Lyls?" Blair asked. "You haven't said a word and you've been staring out the window this whole time. Are you okay?"
"I thought I was, but now I'm freaking out!" I said honestly. "Mom and Dad are going to kill me." Remus put his arm around me and pulled me to his chest. I knew he was freaking out about this too.
"That is absolutely true," James chimed in. "But," he said quickly continuing upon seeing my panicked look, "You will rise from the ashes like the phoenix that you are."
James just gave me his usual goofy smile. "Thanks, James, that was extremely uplifting." James gave me a nod and looked satisfied with himself. I looked over to Sirius who was sitting quietly reading. Him and Alexa were sitting as far apart as possible and they hadn't said a word to one another. Amongst all the stuff that I was dealing with, I was very interested to see how Sirius continuing to join us for Easter was going to work out.
"So, Moony, what about you? Are you freaking out?" James asked. "I can picture it now, Gary with his hands around your neck, and—"
"Okay," Remus said cutting James off. "I think that's quite enough, thank you." James just shrugged his shoulders. "We're just going to take it step by step. We'll get through this, I know it." Remus laced our fingers together and kissed my temple.
"Now, know that I love you," Alexa started with a smile, "But I can't wait until they find out. I'm just curious to see their reaction."
My jaw dropped and I looked at her in shock. "Good to know you care, Alex," I chastised.
"Oh, come on!" she said frustrated. "It's not like I wanted you to get pregnant, but, I won't lie, I'm anxious to see how mom and dad handle this news. You've always been perfect Lyla who always follows the rules, and I've always been Alexa, the screw-up. The tables have turned and I think I'm going to enjoy being in your shoes for a while."
"I love how you take such satisfaction from my problems," I told her, giving her a smile. "Well, this is definitely your chance to be the perfect daughter, I will be promptly demoted as soon as we tell them I'm now an unwed teen mother. Have fun at the top, it's a long fall down." As soon as I said this last part I realized how incredibly pessimistic I sounded.
"Well, damn," James, said. "That's severely depressing."
"I'm sorry," I said while laughing slightly at my ridiculous behavior. "But, seriously, can you all promise me something?" James, Sirius, Alexa and Blair all stopped what they were doing and gave me their full attention. "I need you to promise to not say a word about this to anyone until we tell mom and dad. And actually, I would like to try to keep this from the majority of the family for as long as I can so just don't say anything. Can you guys do that for me?" A slur of mumbles followed my question. "Can you guys handle that?" I asked again, this time more forcefully. They all quickly jumped in with compliance. "Raise your right hand."
"Oh, Lyla, we promised, isn't that enough?" Alexa complained.
"Raise your right hand," I said giving her a look. She rolled her eyes and raised her hand along with the other three. "In raising your right hand," I started, "You solemnly swear that you will not release any information pertaining to mine and Remus' current situation. You will not make any cryptic jokes or references that could possibly lead some family member to figure out what is going on. Also you will not even mention the word baby or anything pertaining to pregnancy or getting engaged. If you swear to adhere by these guidelines, please say 'I solemnly swear'."
"I solemnly swear," they all said in unison.
"Very good," I said with a smile. Even thought they swore, I just couldn't help but think that things were going to go horribly wrong. And who could blame me? Things never typically went the way we wanted them to and it would be a miracle if any of them kept their mouths shut.
We could feel the train slowing down and we knew we were close. I was that much closer to having to keep secrets from my whole family, from having to walk on eggshells in my own house, to telling my parents that I was pregnant. The train came to a complete stop and we all gathered our things. Remus took my hand in his and gave me an encouraging smile. We stepped onto the platform and immediately saw our parents waiting for us. I could feel my heart racing as my mother walked toward me. She had a beaming smile on her face and she pulled me into a hug. "Oh, darling, it's so good to see you!" she exclaimed. At the same time my father was hugging Alexa while James, Blair, Sirius and Remus stood by. "How are you, sweetheart? You look tired," she said looking me over with concern. "Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating enough? You look a bit peaky."
"Leave the poor girl alone, Evon," my father thankfully cut in. "She's not been home for ten minutes and you're already fussing. Come here," he said with a wink and pulling me toward him. I hugged my father close and took in his smell. I hadn't realized how much I missed my dad until in that moment. Mom and Dad greeted the rest of the crew and then we all headed back to the house.
"My dear, Alexa," Mom started again, "I couldn't help but notice that you are not so effectively avoiding your mother. Could it be because you are trying to keep your new hairstyle from me?" Alexa poked her head out from behind our father's broad shoulders and she gave our mother a sheepish smile.
"So, you noticed?" she asked with a nervous laugh.
"Of course I noticed," my mother exclaimed. "What on earth did you do to your beautiful hair?"
Alexa ran her fingers through her short blonde mane and looked sad as she did so. "Well, I cut it all off and I dyed it blonde," she said straight forward.
"I realize that dear," my mom said, but I could tell she wasn't satisfied with that explanation. "And what was the cause of this drastic change? Surely you didn't change your entire appearance on a mere whim." The air suddenly got tense and I cheated a look at Sirius who was looking down at the ground guiltily.
I saw Alexa look back at Sirius and she sighed. She shook her head and then responded, "No reason," she said, "It was pretty spur of the moment. Thinking back on it, it was pretty stupid to do, but it's just hair. It will grow back eventually and I haven't decided on whether I want to keep the color." Our mother just shook her head disapprovingly and linked her arm through my father's as they continued ahead. Alexa looked over to me and gave me a look. "You better relish in this moment," she leaned in and whispered to me. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to remember you when I'm at the top." She gave me a smile and I elbowed her, rolling my eyes.
The whole way home, mom was freaking out about everything and was running over list after list of preparations. Mom had always been a bit anal about things, but I never remember it being this bad. "What the bloody hell is wrong with Mom," Alexa asked aloud to no one in particular.
"Please don't get her started," Dad said shaking his head.
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me!" she asked frantically. "This break is going to be a disaster." Didn't I know it? "Everything is just wrong and it's going to be horrible."
"What's going to be so horrible? Have we missed something?" Alexa asked. "Easter has never been that difficult before."
"Well, my mother is now involved, so that automatically makes things that much more unpleasant," my mother said dismally.
"Gran is coming?" I quickly asked. This was just getting worse. We hadn't heard from Gran in years. My mother's side of the family is all muggles and when my mother married my father they decided to keep his magic a secret and that kind of drove distance between my mother and Gran. Although, she never really cared too much for Dad anyways, seeing as my father's Scottish. Adding that he's magical would have just been too much for dear ole Gran. Gran was funny about those sorts of things; she just didn't think it proper for her proper English daughter to marry a wild Scottish boy. We would see Gran from time to time but apparently there was a huge falling out between her and my mom around the time I was born and Gran pretty much disowned my mother.
"Yes, Gran is coming and so is Suzi," my mom informed us. Suzanne was my mother's younger sister. Gran always seemed to favor Aunt Suzi and I don't ever really remember her as a pleasant person.
"So, what, are they coming before the Parker side comes?" Alexa asked trying to clarify.
"Of course not," Mom said angrily. "Mother had to be difficult and insisted that they come on Easter and only on Easter. And we would have told all of Dad's family to cancel but that proved to be too much of a hassle because a lot of people rearranged their schedules for this. So, now, it's going to be a Parker Hennley Easter." Alexa and I looked at each other in concern.
"I don't get it, why is it so bad that your mom's side is coming?" James asked, so naively.
"Well, Mom doesn't quite get along with her mother, or her sister for that matter," Alexa explained. "Gran only had contact with us when we were little and even then, she refused to see our mother, just us. Eventually she just gave up on our whole family. Our grandmother is very judgmental of Mom and Dad."
"Isn't it good that they want to come though?" Sirius asked, speaking for the first time since we all piled onto the train. "Maybe she wants to patch things up with your mom."
"Knowing Gran, she probably has ulterior motives for coming," I told him. "And also, it's not good because my muggle grandmother and aunt will be in a house full of witches and wizards. We're not going to be able to use magic while they're around. And that may be a bit difficult keeping all the Parkers under control."
"Wait, your grandmother doesn't know that her daughter married a wizard and has two daughters who are witches?" Blair questioned.
"That's right," Alexa said. "They don't even know that magic exists."
"I'm confused," James added, looking highly perplexed. "We won't be able to do magic or talk about magic for the whole break?"
"Right, James," I told him. "No magic, at least while Gran and Aunt Suzi are around."
James gasped. "No quidditch?" he asked, the most terrified look on his face. I shook my head and his whole face dropped. He looked like someone had just told him that he was going to die in three days. "That is just depressing. This is really going to put a damper on this holiday season."
"Somehow, I think I can find something for you to do that's even better than playing quidditch," Blair said in a seductive way.
James looked down at her for a moment and then responded. "There is nothing better than playing quidditch. I don't even know what you could be referring to." Blair gave him a death stare and then dropped James's hand.
"You are unbelievable," Blair said angrily.
"What?" James asked desperately. "What did I do?" Sirius just laughed and shook his head at his friend. "I can never win with her, I swear."
As we got back to the house, I swear I could feel the buzzing energy from inside the house. Part of me was excited to see my family, but it also made me nervous. "So is Gran here now?" Alexa asked looking up and down the street searching for Aunt Suzi's car.
"No," my mother said quickly. "She thankfully isn't coming until Easter day and she's only staying for the day." A wave of relief spread over me. It's not that I didn't want to see Gran, it's just I didn't think I could handle the tension of her being there on top of everything else.
As we made our way up the walkway, all our bags in hand, I suddenly heard a voice drift toward us. "They're here! They're here!" I looked toward the source, and there, leaning out one of the front windows was Xavier screaming frantically. Within a matter of minutes, the front door was opened and the entire family was in the doorway.
Breaking out of the mass, Claire ran forward, a smile spread across her face a mile wide. She made a beeline for Sirius and grabbed onto him with tight arms. "Sirius!" she squealed. "Did you miss me?" she asked.
Sirius dropped his bags and squatted down to properly hug her. "Of course I missed you, Cee," Sirius said, very older brotherly.
"Now, Claire, you let that poor boy go," Zoe called out. "They haven't even made it into the house, for goodness sake." Claire gave Sirius a mischievous smile and then scampered off back toward her mother. I looked over to Alexa who was watching Sirius with a longing look on her face. I nudged her with my elbow and gave her an encouraging smile, which she returned weakly.
We finally made it into the actual house after greeting family member upon family member. The atmosphere in the house was great; it was so loving and joyful. The whole family was present, even Monica and her new husband attended. Alexa came over to me, looking flustered. "Can we please go up to the room, this is becoming too much to handle. I need to get away from everyone," she said breathily. I of course knew that when she said everyone she clearly meant Sirius, even if she wouldn't admit it. I nodded my head in agreement. "Dad," Alexa yelled over the chatter, "We're going to head up to our room and put our stuff down. Will you show the boys where they'll be staying?"
"Actually, they'll be staying with you girls," Dad said. Alexa looked at me in shock. I too was surprised by this turn of events. "We had to shift everything around, so, against my wishes, the boys will be up in your room."
Alexa shook her head frantically. "Dad that is a terrible idea. I mean, you've always said we should never trust boys, why change that now?" Dad slipped his arm around Alexa's shoulders and gave her a squeeze.
"No change, darling," he said with a smile. "I said what I said and I stick by that. You see, I'm allowing the boys to stay with you, but there are some stipulations." Alexa looked up at my father and he pulled me closer to him, holding his two girls. "While I trust you two and Blair, I still have certain trust issues with your male companions. I was their age once; I'm not stupid. So, to avoid any nonsense, Claire and Eleanor will be sleeping with you lot." Alexa and I looked at each other with concern.
"Claire and Eleanor are staying with us?" Alexa questioned. "Won't that be a bit crowded, Dad?"
"Rubbish," Dad said quickly. "The more crowded it is, the less room you all have to do… you won't be able to… well, there just won't be any funny business."
"Okay Dad," I said, saving him from having to explain what he meant, "We get the picture. And don't worry, nothing will happen, I can promise you that."
Dad gathered up Alexa's things and mine and he started to carry them upstairs. Alexa sided up next to me. "I don't know if I'm more concerned about the boys being in there or having Eleanor in there. You'll probably have to beat her off Remus with a stick," she jokingly said.
"Honestly, Alex, that is the least of my worries," I told her. "I'm a bit more concerned about her finding out that I'm pregnant," I added in a whisper. "You know how much of a snoop she is. She is just going to try and find out any secrets that we have."
Alexa took in everything that I was saying and nodded your head. "Yeah, that is going to suck for you," she said. "I have no secrets, I have nothing to hide, and I am golden." Alexa looked off into the distance with a satisfying smile on her face.
"Oh, so you're cool if I just go around telling everyone that you and Sirius broke up? Eleanor will be the first to know," I said knocking Alexa down a few notches.
Her head snapped around to look at me and she narrowed her eyes. "Previous statements retracted," she said dryly. "Well played, sister. Well played." I started laughing and gave my sister a nudge. She rolled her eyes at me and ran over to Blair and pulled her along toward the stairs; I quickly followed after.
Dad was leaving just as we were entering our room. Alexa and Blair immediately collapsed on Alexa's bed and Little Sirius ran playfully out of the bathroom at the sound of our voices. But I just stopped in the doorway and looked around my childhood room. I was seeing my room from a whole different perspective. This was the room that I had grown up in. This room is where I had spent days upon days playing with Alexa. This room, in a sense, shaped my childhood and my future. It was in this room that I thought about all the things that I wanted to do, all the things I wanted to be.
Would my baby have any of this? What kind of future would they have? Could I ever provide them with a life like my parents were able to give Alexa and me? There was so much that I wanted my child to have, but I honestly didn't know if I would be able to give them everything. I didn't want them to want for anything, but at seventeen how could I possibly give them the world when I was still just a kid myself?
"Hey, Lyla," Alexa said drawing me out of my thoughts. She and Blair were lying on her bed and Blair was patting the spot next to her. "Care to move from the doorway and join us?" I smiled widely and then went over to join my two best friends. "So what were you thinking about so deeply, my sister?"
I let out a sigh. "Oh, nothing really," I said, "Just the future and stuff."
"I still can't believe you're going to have a baby," Alexa said. "I don't think it will fully set in until the baby is actually here. It's just so weird. It wasn't supposed to happen like this; especially not to you."
"Well, when you have sex, stuff like this happens," I said, sounding like an abstinence campaign or something.
"Not to get too personal, "Blair started," But didn't you guys use protection I mean, you know how it all works."
"We did protect ourselves, I'm not that stupid," I told them. "Bottom line though, even if you take every precaution, you still run the risk of getting pregnant."
We sat there in silence for a few minutes as I stroked Little Sirius's silky smooth fur. Alexa opened her mouth to say something, but then closed her mouth remaining silent. I could almost literally see the wheels turning in Alexa's head. She opened her mouth again and spoke this time. "Do you regret it?" she asked. I just looked at her. "I mean do you wish you would have waited?"
I thought about it for a moment, but I knew my answer. "Yes, I wish I would have waited," I said honestly. "Not because I don't think Remus is the right one, but because we were just so young. In no way do I regret it though. I love Remus and I wouldn't have wanted my first time with anybody else, but it wouldn't have hurt for us to wait a little longer." Alexa's face saddened and she looked away from us. I knew what she was thinking and I put my hand on her shoulder. "Alexa, I know you're thinking about Sirius and what you and Sirius had was special. You don't regret what you did with him, right?"
"No, I don't regret it, per say," she replied. "But now that we aren't together, I just wonder if we should have waited. I thought that we would be together forever, but clearly I was wrong. I wanted my first time to be with someone who I would grow old with and I was stupid for thinking Sirius was that guy, I guess."
"Alexa, stop," Blair spoke up. "You and Sirius were great together and you two would have stayed together forever if it wasn't for that evil Laura."
"But that's the point, isn't it?" Alexa quickly jumped in. "There is always going to be some girl or something else getting in the way. If Sirius falls for these distractions so easily it never could work between us; or between any girl and Sirius for that matter." It seemed that there was really nothing we could say to Alexa to make her feel better, so she did what she always did: changed the subject. "So, when do you and Reems plan on tying the knot?"
"A date hasn't been set, and we haven't really made any plans yet. I'm not really too worried about the details at the moment. It all just happened so fast, I haven't really had time to think about it," I explained.
"You haven't thought about it? How could you not have? I have literally been planning my wedding since my fifth birthday," Blair said with a satisfied smile. "I can already tell that I'm going to be planning this wedding. Let's see, you already have the ring, and it's stunning at that." I looked down at my now bare left ring finger and thought about the ring that was safely hidden in my suitcase. Blair's face suddenly got very bright and excited. "And I can't wait to help you pick out a fabulous dress!"
"Actually, that's the part that I'm least excited about," I told her.
"The dress is the most important part though. That's what makes the wedding," Blair gushed.
"Oh really? I always thought the couple being in love was the most important part," I joked with her.
"Yeah that's good too," she said, "But everyone remembers the dress. Why aren't you excited about getting a dress? We'll all go together and make a day out of it, it will be fun." I remained silent just thinking about the awful experience of finding a dress. "We'll try on hideous bridesmaid's dresses to make it that much better." I smiled slightly at her.
"As hilarious as that sounds, that doesn't really do it for me," I told her, felling like I had just crushed her dreams. "I don't want to go look for a dress because I'm going to be hugely pregnant, and there's nothing like trying on thousands of dresses that will never fit or look good on me to help my self-esteem."
"That's what you're worried about?" Alexa asked looking at me oddly. "Lyls, you'll look stunning no matter what and besides, you may not even get that big, look at you now, you aren't even showing."
"You think that just because I'm really good at hiding it," I told her. "My stomach is starting to stick out and people are going to begin to notice."
Alexa quickly got up off the bed and stood before Blair and me. "Lift up your shirt," she said in all seriousness with her hands on her hips. I sat up and just looked at her in curiosity. "You heard me, lift up your shirt." I slowly got up off of the bed and stood before my sister. She put her hands on my shoulders and guided me over to the full-length mirror by the bathroom door.
I lifted up my shirt and looked at my slightly protruding stomach. "Look at it," I said rubbing my hand over the smooth skin of my abdomen.
"You can't even tell that you're pregnant," Blair said standing behind me and looking into the mirror.
"I've gained weight," I informed them. "I'm just getting bigger and bigger."
"Well, if you've gained weight, it really hasn't gone to your stomach," Alexa said. "Any added pounds have gone to your boobs. Look at them, they're rather large nowadays."
I looked at Alexa in the mirror. "Thank you, Alexa, as if I hadn't noticed. Your boobs get bigger when you're pregnant, it's not like I can exactly help it," I said, the subject a little sore.
"Sorry, I was just saying," she said in an apologetic tone. I gave her a look and then returned my gaze to my stomach. I turned to the side and stuck my stomach out even more to see what I'd look like once I go really pregnant. "Okay, this is going to sound weird, but can I touch your stomach?"
"No, you freak," I told her immediately. "That's just weird. I don't like being touched under normal circumstances, and I especially don't want to be touched now."
"Oh, come on!" she pleaded. "I just want to see if I can feel my nephew or niece kick or move or something."
"You're not going to be able to feel anything," I told her. Alexa opened her eyes wide and stuck out her bottom lip. "Oh, my gosh," I said frustrated. "Fine, you can do it, just don't get too handsy." Alexa and Blair both stuck out their hands and placed them gently on my stomach.
Alexa let out a shiver. "It's so weird," she said moving her hand around to different places. "There is a child in there, just chilling."
"I wonder if it can hear us and stuff?" Blair asked as she leaned down toward my belly.
"I read somewhere that they actually can hear noises outside the womb. I don't know what all they understand but they can hear sounds and sometimes even associate them with people once they're born," I informed them.
Alexa dropped down to her knees and put her face uncomfortably close to my abdomen. "Hey in there," she said. I shook my head at her but Blair followed suit and lowered herself even closer to my stomach. "I'm your favorite aunt, Alexa."
"You wish," Blair said to Alexa. "Hi little baby, my name is Blair, and I'm your favorite auntie." Alexa narrowed her eyes at her and stuck her tongue out. "I can't wait to meet you and spoil you rotten. I know you're mommy and daddy are real excited to meet you too." Blair looked up at me and gave me a smile.
"Yes, I can't wait to meet you either," Alexa, added. "I will teach you everything you need to know about life."
"Umm…" I cut in, "I think we'll leave his or her moral upbringing to me and Remus, not you," I joked.
Alexa just rolled her eyes at me. "Boys are stupid," she said slowly to my stomach. "That's all you really need to know."
"Very nice, Alexa," Blair said smacking Alexa's arm.
"What are you guys doing?" With their hands still on my tummy we turned our heads to locate the voice that had just spoken. In the doorway were Eleanor and Claire. Eleanor was looking at us skeptically and Claire was watching in confusion.
"Well," Alexa started, "We were just playing a game." I looked down at Alexa and she just shrugged her shoulders. Blair and I just nodded in agreement.
"A game?" Claire asked running forward. "I want to play!"
Blair and Alexa pulled their hands away and stood up. "Blair just won so the game's over," Alexa said as she picked up Claire and pulled her into a hug. "Sorry, Claire. But we'll play a game later." Claire gave Alexa a winning smile and we all turned toward Eleanor who still looked skeptical. "Eleanor, did you need something?"
"Well, Remus and I were having a lovely talk," she began and Alexa shot me a shit-eating grin, "And he asked me if I'd seen Lyla. I told him I thought you had gone upstairs, so he asked me if I would fetch you all."
"Okay, thanks Eleanor," I said with a smile. I stepped past her in the doorway and headed downstairs, Blair and Alexa right behind me. I quickly found Remus and rescued him before Eleanor returned.
"Where have you been?" he asked as I led him into the less crowded kitchen. "Eleanor just kept talking and talking, I was so bored." I laughed as we sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen. "It's not funny, Lyla. I thought she was going to attack me when she first saw me."
"I'm sorry," I said trying to stifle my laughter. "You're right, it's not funny."
"Thank you," he said running a hand through his hair. "Now where were you while I was suffering oh so greatly."
"I was upstairs with Alex and Blair. We were just talking," I told him.
He nodded his head and then looked around the empty kitchen just to make sure no one was around. "I talked to my parents," he said. "They told me to just come over whenever tomorrow." I took a breath and then nodded. "I figure we can just wake up, get ready, and then head over there. So, that means we should probably tell your parents tonight." The last thing my mom needed right now was to hear that her daughter is pregnant, but they needed to know; and maybe they'd come to terms with it by the time Easter day rolled around and we had to deal with Gran on top of everything else.
"Okay, we'll talk to them after everyone goes to bed, when they're having their tea," I said, remembering when we did the same thing when I told them that Remus was a werewolf. I could only hope that they would take this news just as good. "And if you don't mind, could Alexa be in there with us when we tell them? Her being there will make me feel a little better."
"Yeah, you can bring whomever you'd like," he said taking one of my hands in his. "You do what you need to do to help us get through this." I felt tears coming to my eyes. I quickly wiped away the tears as they started to fall. "What's wrong, Lyls?" he asked with concern as he brushed the hair out of my eyes.
"I'm sorry," I said, slightly laughing at myself. "You're just too good to me. Seriously, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to do this. I'm glad I'm going through this with you."
"I'm glad I'm going through this with you too," he said. "I love you, I'll always love you. And no matter what our parents say, they can never make me stop loving you or keep me from loving our child any less; I just want you to know that."
"Now, why are you two in here away from the rest of the family?" Alexa asked as she peeked her head through the swinging door. "I know you two are in love and stuff, but that is no excuse to just lock yourselves away from everyone else, especially your favorite sister." Alexa made her way over to the island and sat on the stool across from me.
"We're telling Mum and Dad tonight," I said just getting it out in the open.
Alexa's bright smile quickly diminished and it was replaced with an almost sad look. "Oh," she said dryly. "Well, that's one way to kill the mood." That was Alexa for you. Whenever things got heavy or tough, she would always just try to play them off. "Is there anything I can do?"
I leaned across the counter and took her hands. "Will you be there with me when we tell them?" I asked. A look of terror came over my sister. "I know it's a lot to ask and that you hate these kinds of tense situations, but I need you there, I need my sister."
Alexa squeezed my hands and half-smiled. "If you can go through all of this, then the least I can do is sit through probably the most awkward conversation on the planet," she assured me. "I will be there to support you in any way that I can." She got up from her spot and moved toward me to pull me into a hug.
After a few more tears on my part and a good many hugs, Alexa, Remus and I returned to the hectic living room where the family was buzzing about. The chatter calmed to a dull roar after a while and various member of the family began to peel off to do their own things. The afternoon passed into evening and dinner passed in a blur. I had only one thing on my mind and nothing else seemed to matter.
I slowly approached the swinging door that led to the kitchen. I could feel Alexa and Remus right behind me. Almost all the lights were turned off in the house and the light shinning from around the rim of the door seemed to pierce my eyes like daggers. My hand met the cool door and the weight of it seemed almost too much to handle, but I managed to push it open. There at the kitchen table, as usual, sat my parents drinking their evening tea.
They noticed our presence immediately as I opened the door. "Hello dears," my mother said with a smile. "Is everything alright?" Now wasn't that just an abstract question.
Without even realizing it, I was speaking. It was like I didn't have control of my own body and thoughts. "May we have some tea with you?" I asked.
"Of course, my darling," my father spoke. "Have a seat. Evon, get three cups." The three of us sat down around the table as my mother hurried to the cupboard to fetch three additional teacups. She placed the three cups in front of us and carefully filled them with tea. As the steam began to drift up toward my nostrils, my mother returned to her seat. "So how is school going? Well, I hope," my father said, trying to fill the silence.
Knowing what I was about to tell them, made talking about school seem like an absurd topic of discussion. I knew that if I didn't tell them soon, I was just going to feel worse inside and I would somehow talk myself out of telling them. Ignoring my father's question I said, "There's no easy way to say this."
My mother set her tea down and gave my father a look. "Okay, well, are you falling behind in your work?" my mother asked. "You've always done exceptional in school, Lyla, I'm sure you can't be doing that poorly."
I closed my eyes and shook my head. "No, this has nothing to do with school," I said quickly.
"Oh, so you're doing alright then?" Mom pressed.
"Yes, Mother, I'm doing splendidly in school," I assured her. I saw her body relax.
"Thank heavens," she said with a sigh and touching my father's arm in relief. "Not that we would have been upset if you had fallen a little behind. You've worked incredibly hard over the years and it's understandable for you to slip up on some work. It's just I know the kind of perfectionist you are, and sometimes I worry that maybe you're pushing yourself too hard. I just—"
"Stop," I said a little harshly. I felt Remus's hand on mine under the table. I quickly grabbed a hold of it and held it tightly. "Stop," I repeated. My heartbeat quickened and I just looked down at my lap. I took in a quick breath as I began to cry slightly. "I'm pregnant." For a second, I couldn't tell if I had actually verbalized my thoughts. But as soon as I looked up and saw the faces of my parents, I knew I had it. My parents just looked at me. They said nothing, just stared. My father's face was a mixture of sadness and anger and my mother's of judgment and disgust. "I'm sorry," I added quietly.
And then, their silence was broken. "Sorry?" my mother questioned. "Sorry? How could you be so stupid?" she said raising her voice. My father covered his face and rubbed his temple while my mother's blood began to boil. "What the hell were you thinking? And you," she said looking at Remus now, "What were you thinking? I didn't even know you were having sex."
"I'm sorry," I said again. I honestly didn't know what else to say.
"Oh, don't apologize to me," my mother said with disgust, "You need to apologize to that poor child who is going to have two teen parents who can barely take care of themselves." Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. My heart felt like it had just been punctured and I started to get angry. "Apologize to your son or daughter for having them out of wedlock and making them a bastard child."
"Ev," my father said, speaking for the first time.
"No, Gary, this is not okay. I will not let her think that this is okay," my mother spat at my father, getting louder and louder. "If she's old enough to have sex and get pregnant, then she's old enough for me to talk to her like an adult."
"She is still your daughter, Evon," Dad tried to reason.
"This is not the daughter I raised," my mother said coldly.
I don't know what it was, but something in me snapped. "Well, you know what, I made a mistake," I said. "I'm not the perfect little daughter that you thought I was. You never thought that I would do something like this, but face it, I had sex and I did it even before Alexa did."
"Lyla!" Alexa exclaimed in shock.
"I realize that I didn't make the best of choices and that I'm not in the best position to raise a child, but Remus and I love each other. We love each other and we love our child," I said, mainly just looking at my mother. "I'm having this baby, and there's nothing we can really do now to change that. I was just hoping that you guys would be here for me, to support me."
My mother just sat in her chair with her arms crossed and she was breathing heavily. She broke our eye contact and looked down at her lap. "Well, I'm sorry, but I don't support this," she said simply.
I stood up from my spot at the table and stepped around my chair, pushing it back in. "Well, then there's no reason for me to stay here," I responded.
"Lyla, you don't mean that," Remus said grabbing my arm as I began to walk away.
"Remus, please," I said quietly, as I fought back more tears. Remus nodded sadly and stood up to follow me. When we got to the door I paused for a moment. "And my child won't be a bastard," I said. "Remus and I plan on getting married. So, don't worry, you won't have to deal with having a bastard grandchild on top of having a disappointment of a daughter." I pushed open the door without another word and let it close behind me. Remus pulled me to him and the floodgates opened. "I'm so sorry, Remus," I sobbed.
Remus just held me tighter and kissed the top of my head. "Don't be sorry," he said into my hair. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
From the kitchen I could hear a chair slid across the floor. "Don't you dare think that we're not going to talk about your actions, young lady," I heard my mom say.
"Yes, mother," Alexa replied. The door opened ever so slightly, and Alexa's slim figure slipped out.
We caught each other's eyes and we just looked at each other. Then I suddenly realized what I had done. "Oh, Alexa, I can't believe I said that, it just sort of slipped out," I said covering my mouth. "I never meant to bring you into this, or get you in trouble."
"Eh," she said shrugging her shoulders. "Don't worry about me, I'm used to mother's disapproving stare. Are you okay?"
I shook my head. "I can't stay here, Alexa," I told her. "I can't stay under the same roof as her."
"Lyla, she didn't mean any of those things she said," Alexa said in defense of our mother. "She was just angry. Under a cool head she would never say those things."
"No, she meant them, I know she did," I said sadly. "I can't blame her for being mad, but I can't be here." Alexa nodded her head, knowing that she wasn't going to change my mind.
"I'll go get our stuff," Remus said, releasing me from his hold. He disappeared up the dark stairs and Alexa took me into her arms.
"I don't want you to leave, but I'm not going to stop you," she said rubbing my back soothingly. "I love you Lyla and even though it may not seem like it now, Mom and Dad love you too."
"Nothing is how it's supposed to be," I said as my sister held me like a foolish child.
"Yeah, but since when has anything been how it was supposed to be?" she asked, posing an excellent question. "We should have learned by now that nothing goes according to plan." Remus reappeared, our bags in his hands.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Remus asked me. I nodded my head in reassurance. "Okay."
Alexa gave me a big hug. "Owl me tomorrow," she told me. "I love you." I squeezed her and then let her go. Remus set the bags down and opened the front door of the house. I crossed over the threshold and Remus followed. I looked back at Alexa and then closed the door.
Prongslittleflower's Author's Note: Well, well, well. The shit just hit the industrial-sized fan at the end of the road, did it not? Anyways, I loved this chapter with the flame of one-thousand suns! And I'm writing the next chapter as fast and as best as I can. Also, I didn't post this chapter for forever because for a while there we were getting some pretty rude reviews. I get that in the beginning we weren't the best author's in the world but come on people! I think we've improved somewhat. And I get it, Lyla and Alexa were pretty static characters in the beginning, but I also think they've developed over the past 35 chapters. Anyways, that's my rant for the week. Sorry it took so long an thanks to all that have reviewed and stuck with us! You all are the best. And one last thing, I don't mind constructive criticism at all, just the reviews that are like 'you suck. come back when you have a life' or something like that. Again, thanks to those who help us grow! Sorry for this! (:
Love to all! And have a fantastic day!