A/N: Hey all. It's been too long, guys. I wonder why? I guess it's just the usual rejection. Boys suck. –makes angry face and then proceeds to kill everyone in the near vicinity- Gah.
Oh, also: The lovely journey21 has resigned as Beta. -tear- Everyone please give her a round of applause for sticking with this unpopular story for so freaking long. Go check her out!
Warning: There's a little swearing later on but I think you guys can handle it.
Standard Disclaimer: Enabled.
Nifty stayed in the hospital for another week. Slowly she began to learn how to live with just one hand. Dressing was nearly impossible for her, so I helped her whenever I could. Have you ever tried to button your jeans with just one hand? It was especially difficult for her since she was left-handed, and that was the side that had been...forcibly removed. But she was coming back. Nifty had always had the incredible ability to bounce back from basically anything, and this was no different. Slowly she was standing back up.
Rex on the other hand was a whole 'nother story. He had woken up that day and realized that the four-eyes thing was in fact not a dream. It was Rex, so of course he'd instantly started freaking out.
He was still freaking out.
Of course.
It was evening on Nifty's second-to-last night at the hospital. I was helping her get undressed when she said, "Holly, what is going on with you and Jordan?"
I froze, my hands in the air. I'd been helping her take off her T-shirt and change into the gown, and one hand was holding the fabric above her head while the other pried the sleeve away from her still heavily bandaged arm.
"Err...haha, what do you mean?" I laughed nervously. "Me and Jordan? Heh...nothing?"
My voice rose at the end like it was a question, and I cringed. She pulled her head through the hole in her shirt and stared at me with a calculating look on her face.
"What?" I said.
"You two haven't spoken a word to each other in a week, and whenever he walks in you start blushing like a schoolgirl."
"Ha...what are you talking about?" I laughed, feeling my cheeks flame more. "No I don't."
"Yes you do," she said, pulling off the shirt herself. She stood in front of me in her jeans and a bra, allowing me to see her freckle-covered body. "Seriously. What's going on? I'll be your best friend..."
"You are."
"Then tell me!"
My hands dropped to my stomach, which was growing still faster. She didn't follow the movement. "He, uh...tried to kiss me?"
"WHAT?"
I shrank back from her. "Um..."
"What do you mean, tried? Did he get one in or not?"
"One? ...No." More like five. Or ten. "...Maybe..."
"Oh, my God! He did?" She hopped around, her tail waving excitedly behind her. "Holly, that's awesome! So what did you do? I bet you guys totally made out."
"No, that's not..."
"Oh, no - I bet you guys made out for a little bit and then he asked you out and now you two are totally in love!"
"If that was what happened, why would he be avoiding me?" I said crossly.
"He's not avoiding you, you're avoiding him," she pointed out. Then her face fell. "...Oh. He didn't ask you out, then. He pulled a hit and run. Like a one night stand."
"No!" I exclaimed, my cheeks flaming again at the one night stand bit. "No! I left him. I let it get too far."
"You...left...him?" she whispered, her voice awed. "But..."
"I count it as one of my biggest accomplishments," I muttered. "Refusing a shirtless hot guy." Especially that particular shirtless hot guy.
"He was...SHIRTLESS?" she screeched.
I covered my ears. "It was morning!" I said defensively. "Rex doesn't sleep in a shirt either!"
"Yeah, but...but Rex isn't as...isn't as hot as Jordan!" she exclaimed. "Why, Holly! Why would you leave him like that?"
"I didn't want him to get too tangled up in me," I said, and then realized my mistake too late. "I mean - I mean -"
"That's what she said," Nifty giggled, then sobered up. "But seriously! Holly, the poor thing. You need to apologize to him, if it's not just for the cold shower he no doubt had to take afterwards."
I blushed down to the roots of my hair. "It didn't get that hot," I mumbled.
"Oh." She looked disappointed. Turning around to grab the gown, she handed it to me. "Help me?"
"Of course." I held it open for her so that she could put one arm inside. "Look, it wasn't that big of a deal," I said as she put her head through.
"Not that big a deal?" she exclaimed. "What are you talking about? You're no longer a lip virgin!"
"But I don't even...like him or anything," I insisted. "I mean, as a friend, yes. But as a boyfriend, no."
"Jeez, I can't believe you got your first kiss before I did," she moaned. "Gosh. Was he a good kisser? Maybe I should kiss him too."
"No!"
The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it. She smirked, and I realized she'd gotten what she wanted. "So maybe you do like him...as more than a friend?"
"Of course not..."
"Well, why not? He's super hot. He's nice. He's super hot. He's gentle. Did I mention he's super hot? Plus, just look at how he hangs out with Cory all the time. He loves kids. Someday, he'd make a good fath-"
"Don't! Do not finish that sentence!" I cried, pressing my hands over my ears. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence!" To my horror, I felt my eyes sting. It's the hormones, it's the hormones, I thought feverishly to myself, but the tears came anyway. Stop crying, right now, or else she'll guess!
Well, it doesn't matter. I have sixteen days left. She'll find out anyway.
"Holly?" Nifty said, her voice concerned. "What's the matter, honey?"
"Nothing...Let's change the subject. So, uh, isn't it so bizarre how Rex -"
"Holly." Nifty's voice was firm. "We're not changing the subject until you tell me what the hell's wrong with you."
"Nothing! Nothing's wrong." I jammed my fists into my jacket pocket, not looking at her. Instead, I examined the wall of her room, pretending that this was the first time I'd seen it instead of the sixty-six millionth.
"Holly, you better tell me right now or else I'll -"
She stopped in the middle of her sentence. I waited for her to finish, but when she didn't, I looked over at her to see her staring at me in shock, her eyes wide and moving rapidly between my face and my midsection. Too late I realized that I'd pulled the fabric on my jacket taut, thereby exposing the bump.
"What did he do to you?" she said quietly, anger burning through her voice.
All of a sudden, I couldn't hold myself up anymore. I fell to my knees, then rocked back on my ankles, burying my face in my hands. I felt the tears sting again, but this time I didn't try to hide them.
"Holly, what the hell did that bastard do to you?" Her voice was now low and furious. "Answer me now."
"It wasn't...It wasn't him."
"Then who the hell was it? Tell me right now, goddamn it!"
"It was...it was the whitecoats."
"When?"
"It was when...when me and Jordan were gone for so long. I was in the hospital, and...and they got us there. And when...when we were at the Institute, they did a surgery...they needed a human, see, and he was just available..."
"But why?"
"They wanted a test...would the kid come out with wings or without them? Would it be normal or would it be a..." Here I let out a strangled laugh. "A freak?"
"But this was, like, two, three weeks ago. No way it could be happening this fast. You can still get rid of it, Holly!"
"N-no...they added Eraser hormone to my blood, so it's about eight times faster than normal. Each trimester is...is twelve days. And it's been twenty days now."
"Does he know?"
"Does he know?" I let out another strangled laugh. "Does he know? Well, yeah, he knows. I reckon that's why he's been spending so much time with Cory, because he's...he's going to be a father, isn't he? But it doesn't matter. They'll come and get the kid the second it...it comes out. It was all in those files I read...they'll send someone to come get the 'data'..."
"So you didn't actually have sex with him."
"Thank God, there's one upside to this whole thing."
"When did you find out?"
"The day we opened those files for the first time."
"And you've been holding this in this /entire time?/"
"Uh...yes?" I looked up and gave her a weak smile. "Well, I told Jordan about it, but...I wouldn't have if it hadn't been his -"
The side of my face exploded in pain. I gripped my cheek in shock and looked up at Nifty, who was breathing hard, her hand still raised after slapping me.
"What the -"
"Fool!" she cried. "You are even stupider than I thought you were, Holly. Goddammit, if something like this ever happened I thought sure you'd come to me. Me and Rex. We've always been here for you. You can't keep something this big from your two best friends in the world!"
Clutching my cheek, I let my head fall to my chest.
"...I'm sorry."
**!**
JPOV
The first time we met...My gaze locked on the girl, and my heart stopped... Her eyes, the life fading from the blue..
Our first kiss...The feel of her smooth lips on mine...then, one white wing stretching up to the sky while her head was violently pulled backwards... The terror in her eyes when she saw my face...
Seeing her in the cage...her face dejected, her body defeated, ready for anything, anyone...her eyes dull, lifeless...
Waking up to her face...in the hospital, seeing the worry in her eyes melt into relief and then harsh denial...
In the cafeteria...when she'd told me that she was pregnant with my child...seeing her body broken over the table, her expression making my heart freeze over...her eyes dead.
In the bathroom...hyperventilating over the swell.../It's starting already/... Her eyes, the pain, the fear...and then, the desire...Can I...touch...? Passion burning behind her orbs...
In the hospital room...kissing her again...feeling her kiss back, and then...the rejection... I don't think we should... Why not?... Jordan, it's not… not right… ... That's all you can come up with?...I thought … I thought I was "your man", Holly. Weren't you just saying that?... I just - I have wings, Jordan.. you don't want to be -…...Don't tell me what I want and don't want...I don't care about the wings. I just... …I need to go...I'm not giving in. I won't mess you up in my life. You think I want this? I don't. I won't let you get hurt. This is for you...
Her forehead, soft under mine...her nose brushing my own, and her eyes, darting over the floor. This is for you...
I woke with a start, breathing hard.
I'd had that dream - that nightmare - every night since Holly had left me out on the couch. I always woke up in a cold sweat.
This has got to stop, I thought to myself. Today's the day. I'm gonna make things right.
I swung out of bed, lacing Becca's dog tags over my neck and then getting dressed. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, just to try something new, and then headed to Nifty's room to pick up Cory before I went for breakfast.
Poking my head inside, I saw Nifty still asleep in her bed with Holly curled up next to her. Nifty had her arm wrapped around Holly as she slept, in an almost protective gesture. Did she know? Did Holly tell her? More importantly, did Holly tell her all the details? My skin heated up as I thought about what the catlike girl must think of me now if she didn't. Oh, Jesus. I quickly grabbed Cory from his bassinet (the hospital did have a maternity ward and so they'd been able to lend us one) and all but ran from the room.
Heading down the stairs, I thought about my dream some more. Making up my mind, I stopped at the pay phone, fed it some change, and quickly dialed a number.
"Hello, this is Peter, how can I help you?"
"Hey, Peter, this is Jordan."
"Jordan! Hey, my man, where the hell are you?"
"I'm...around. Hey, I was wondering if I could come in for a photoshoot today. I think I got an ideal cover image."
"You do realize that we're almost a month behind schedule, right?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. Can you send a taxi to the general hospital? I can meet one there around noon."
"Okay, buddy, but you owe me an explanation for that concert you missed after you disappeared off the face of the earth."
"Uh...okay, dude. See you."
Peter was the man who owned and operated the label that I was signed to. It was a small one, and he'd just opened it up recently. There was currently only one other band signed there, but they were huge already.
I headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast and grabbed some boxed cereal. Keeping tight hold of Cory, I looked around quickly to check for empty seats. Jennifer's friend was finally gone, thank God. I sat and started cramming the dry cereal in my mouth, not bothering with civilized things like, say, a bowl or milk or a spoon.
"Hey, dude."
I looked up, my mouth full of cereal. It was Rex. He pulled out a chair as I saluted him, nodding and chewing frantically. As soon as I swallowed enough of the cereal to make talking physically possible, I said, "Hey, dude, yourself."
"Cute little bugger, isn't he?" Rex said. He patted Cory's head, then frowned and rearranged his bangs, carefully patting them down. I caught a glimpse of white before he tucked it away.
"What's up, Rex?"
"Nothing much. Just, uh, wanted to have a little guy talk." Rex folded his scaly fingers on the table, twisting his hands. I folded some more cereal in my mouth, feeling a little uneasy.
"What about?" I crunched.
"Well, um..." He twisted harder. I swallowed.
"Look, man," I said, "if you don't want to talk, you don't have to."
"No, I do," he said. "It's about Holly."
My gut clenched and my skin broke out in a cold sweat. Act calm. I popped some more cereal in my mouth. "Wha abou' 'er?" I said with my mouth full.
Rex looked hard at me. "Is she pregnant?"
I choked on my cereal.
"Excuse me?" I hacked.
"She's been acting weird," Rex pressed. "She's been way too emotional lately. Her physical body has been looking bad - stressed. Plus she's been swelling. A lot. In the stomachal area. And it's not just from the hospital food."
"Is stomachal even a word?" At his angry face, I quickly backtracked. "Er, sorry. Um...why don't you ask her?"
He looked abashed. "'Cause that would be really awkward?"
I groaned. "How would I know if she was...if she was preg -" I stopped, unable to finish. Then I said, "She doesn't tell me anything."
"'Cause you're the only one who could be the father," he said harshly. "You were gone for a long time and you still haven't told us what you were doing. For all I know you were rolling around in the hay that entire time."
I gagged. "Ew. Please don't even say that," I said. "I'm sorry, but that's just nasty."
"So is she pregnant or not?"
"Um...yeah."
"And you're the father."
"Yeah, but look-it's not like that, okay, we never had sex. We just got our asses kicked by some whitecoats and they did some surgery and stuff. I'll even show you the scar if you want."
Rex sighed heavily. "Yeah, it's all fun and games until your ass gets royally kicked." He sighed and scratched the underside of his chin. "So when did this happen, exactly?"
I shrugged. "I couldn't tell you the exact date. She thinks she's about halfway through the second trimester now." Although now that I thought about it, I was nearly positive that those numbers didn't match up.
"Oh, so you still have a couple months left still."
"More like a week or two," I said into my cereal.
He choked now. "What?"
"Oh, you know," I said, waving my hand, "Eraser hormones and all that."
"Oh, that," Rex breathed, and promptly passed out.
"Yes, my friend," I murmured. "It is truly all fun and games until someone gets their ass royally kicked."
**!**
HPOV
"You want me to do what?"
I looked at Jordan's weakly grinning face. He'd caught me in the hall, and at first I was going to duck my head and quickly walk by, but he'd put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at his face to see his gray eyes smiling questioningly.
Then he had said it.
"I want you to be on the cover of my album," he repeated.
"But hasn't it already been released?" I said, looking back at the ground. "I mean, you said -"
"Ahh, well -" He scratched the back of his head. "The whole thing with us being gone or whatever kinda screwed that up. Anyway, Holly, we talked about this before. Fang shot us straight out of the water, remember? Good ol' Fangles. If he hadn't done that, maybe we'd be on schedule."
Despite the awkwardness I felt, I still had to laugh. "Fangles?"
He laughed too. "So, you up for it?"
I shrugged. "Sure." I was sick of feeling awkward around Jordan. I just wanted to get past...that. Looks like he did too. But I knew he wasn't going to give up. It wasn't his style.
"I talked to Rex about it already," he said. "And he said he'd let Nifty know. Umm...yeah." For some reason he blushed madly when he said Nifty. I rolled my eyes, and then stopped for a second, remembering her words.
"Did something happen?" I asked.
"Haha, no." Jordan relaxed, his shoulders drooping. I pushed that thought out of my mind. What are you? A jealous wife? I thought you decided you DIDN'T LIKE HIM!
"Shall we go?" he said.
"H-huh? Now?" I said, startled.
"Yeah," he said, checking his watch. "Peter said he'd send a cab at noon, and it's ten til now. We should probably head out."
"Uh, I guess," I said. He turned and went down the hall, letting me follow him slowly. It was happening so fast...but so what? I didn't have problems with getting my photo taken. It had happened so many times before that I didn't think much of it anymore.
We went outside. My mind flashed to the last time Jordan and I had left a hospital together...No. Not gonna think about that. He stood at the curb looking at me out of the corner of his eye whenever he thought I wasn't looking.
A taxi pulled up, and a window rolled down. Jordan went up to it, nodding his head. Then he went around to the side and opened the door. I pointed at myself.
"For me? Aw, you shouldn't have," I said, climbing inside. I almost fell over into the seat, and had to grab the back of the passenger seat to support myself.
"Are you alright, Holly?" Jordan asked, sounding concerned.
"Yes." It was a little snappy, but whatever. I was so, so over this whole pregnancy thing. It was like a bad joke - I was just done.
He slid in next to me and closed the door. The taxi peeled away from the curb, and Jordan slid the sliding thing closed so that the driver wouldn't be able to hear us.
"Seriously. Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I sighed and folded my hands over my belly, fondly remembering the days when I was just your typical mutant. "Hey, why do you want me for this anyway?" I said. "I mean, I'm definitely showing by now. You really want this on the cover of your album?" I gestured to my midsection.
He looked surprised. "Well, it probably won't get in, but if it does, then no I won't mind. It's not a big deal."
We rode in silence for a bit, and then he leaned forward and rested his head on the seat in front of him. "I'm just sick of this," he said. "I feel like I'm trying to handle you with kid gloves or something. It's not right. I need to be straight with you, or else...I don't know, but it's not healthy."
I closed my eyes. "Yeah, you're probably right," I said. "This is good for us to do."
"And the kid," said Jordan.
My lips sealed and I let us fall back into silence. This one, though, was way more awkward. Jordan looked up from the seat; his forehead was red from being pressed on the leather.
"Holly?"
"Hmm?" I looked at him, my eyes wide, pretending I didn't know what he was talking about.
He shook his head. "Never mind." Looking out of the window, his eyes widened. "Ah, look. We're here."
The taxi stopped and we climbed out. In front of us was a building that was multiple stories high, and several businesses wide. In front was a sign that said 'Useless Records.' Standing in the door was a man with black hair and a tight, dark t-shirt that showed off his tattoo sleeves. He grinned broadly when he saw Jordan and went forward to wrap him in a hug.
"Hey man! Feels like forever since I seen ya! Oh, wait - that's because it HAS been forever!"
"That would explain it," Jordan muttered.
The guy let go. "And who might this lovely lady be?" he asked, walking toward me. Jordan got there first. "This is my friend Holly. I think she's good for this whole thing."
"She's not...pregnant, is she?" the guy muttered, to quiet for a human to hear.
"Yeah, she is. She was like that, though. It's not my fault, I swear."
The guy snorted and then held out his hand. "Whatever, brah. I mean, if it floats your boat, then sure, fine. Anyway, sweetheart, the name's Peter. Come on in and let's see just what makes Jordan think you're so great."
He turned and went into the building. Jordan turned and held out his hand, and despite myself, I took it. I almost dropped it like it was a hot potato, but he squeezed reassuringly so I humored him.
Or so I told myself.
God, I was pathetic.
I pulled my wings in, which had been aching lately, and rubbed my shoulder. Jordan pulled me into a brightly lit room after Peter, where a few men were milling around with cameras and big screens hoisted into the air.
Jordan pulled me into the corner and put a hand seriously on my shoulder. I turned red from the contact and looked down, feeling him sigh but decide to ignore my behavior.
"Is it okay if we put your wings in the shot?"
"Huh?" I was so surprised at his request that my head snapped up, surprised. "My wings?"
"Shh. Yes, your wings. You know, since the most popular song is called "Fly On," and stuff. It would be totally awesome."
"Uh..." It was risky. If a whitecoat ever saw it, they might be able to trace it back to this studio - to Peter, and to Jordan, which I definitely didn't want. It was putting them in danger just by thinking about it.
Then I thought of Fang. If he ever saw it, he'd get so mad. Maybe he'd come looking for me. And then maybe I'd get to say goodbye to him for real.
"Sure," I said. Jordan looked relieved.
"Okay, I'm going to hand you over to the designers now. When they get done dressing you up, we can get started."
"Wh-what? Dressing me up?" I said, but he was already gone and the designers had ahold of me.
I stood there like a dummy while they pulled shirts off of the rack and held them up to me, trying to decide what they liked best. At one point I looked over at Jordan, who was covering his mouth with his hand. I shot him a Hairy Eyeball and snapped back to attention when one of the attendees handed me a pile of stuff and told me to go try it on.
I groaned.
"She's not going to need any particular pants, jeans will be fine," Jordan called, and then they took the stack back and pulled out all of the pants, eliminating about half of it. Passing the clothing back to me, I grasped it and went behind the screen in the corner.
Thus began my first fashion show. Many girls do these a lot when they're little, I guess. Unfortunately, when your wardrobe is limited to a flimsy paper gown, it kind of diminishes the appeal. I decided that the job of runway model was not anywhere in my future.
"Are we done yet?" I said wearily, stepping out in the fifth shirt, which had only one sleeve over the right shoulder.
Jordan shook his head and tapped his pencil on his knuckles. "No. Hang on, Holly. Just a few more."
"Fine," I grumbled, stepping back in the room. I pulled the shirt back over my head and stood silently in the room, looking down at my stomach, which was definitely visible by now. I rubbed my hand over the bump, which extended about three inches from my body, and pulled out another shirt, tossing it on without even looking at it and pulling the shades aside.
"This had better be the last one," I growled.
"It's only the sixth -" Jordan began, sounding exasperated, but then he stopped. His eyes widened.
"We have a winner," he said.
"What?" I looked down at the shirt, which was tied under my breasts and flowed in waves after that. It was dark blue fabric with tiny red and pink flowers, and the sleeves fluttered around my shoulders.
"You just like it 'cause it makes my boobs look big," I said crossly.
Everyone in the studio cracked up except Jordan, who turned bright red. "Let's get on with it," he said. "Do we need makeup?"
"Yes," someone said. "Come with me, dear." Before I could say anything, a small Asian-looking woman had gripped my shoulders and spun me down the hall toward a dressing room. She sat me down in front of a mirror and picked up her tools. I groaned again.
Unlike the first (and only) time I'd ever worn makeup, this was absolutely horrible. Last time I'd just kind of relaxed and let them do their thing. This time I was squirming the whole time, my palms sweating. It felt so unnatural to be wearing makeup, and as soon as I was done I sprang up with a quick 'thanks' and dashed back without even looking at it.
"You look nice," Peter commented.
"Do I now." I wasn't in the mood to play games. Having my face poked and prodded and brushed for that long was a one-way road to irritation. "Jordan? You so owe me for this."
"Yeah, yeah, I figured," Jordan said, waving his hands. "Okay, the stage is all yours."
What little talking there had been stopped and everyone looked at me curiously. I sighed and beckoned him over.
"Slit the back," I said, gesturing to the back of my shirt. He nodded and pulled out his Swiss Army knife, ripping two holes in the back of my shirt.
Someone said a loud, rude word.
"Sorry, I have to," Jordan said, stepping back. "Is that better, Holly?"
"Yeah," I said, and unfurled my wings.
Even Jordan looked a little awed. Peter was going to have to pick his jaw up off of the floor, and no one would be able to help him, since they'd all be too busy trying to push their eyes back into their sockets.
It felt amazing to really stretch them out. I hadn't been for a fly in so long, or even unfolded them - maybe even since Nifty got to the hospital. It had been too long. I missed my wings.
I rolled my shoulders. "That feels good," I said.
"Whaaaa...?" Peter breathed.
I looked at him. "What? It's not that weird."
"Yes, it is," Jordan said firmly. "The only other person I've ever met with wings is your brother, and he was...never mind."
"What were you going to say?" I demanded.
"Nothing. Let's get on with it, guys. You didn't think I just brought her in because she's pretty, did you?"
Peter shrugged. "That seems likely."
"Well, she wouldn't have fit the name of the album otherwise," Jordan said. "I'm not that shallow. Now come on, guys. Pull yourselves together. I thought you were pros."
Everyone jumped a little and then scurried off to their positions. I stood a little helplessly in the center of the room.
"So what do you want me to do?" I asked.
"Stand there," Jordan said, pointing. I folded my wings loosely on the outside of my shirt and went over between the big mounted white screens.
"Now what?"
"Face that wall. Yeah, and look towards it. Stretch out one arm like that, and can you put one wing back and curl the one not towards us in towards yourself?"
I did what he said. It felt awkward. "This is weird," I complained.
"Tough." He didn't show any mercy, started looking at me from different angles. He was a completely different person now; at home in the studio, shooting the cover for his delayed album. Delayed because of me, I thought guiltily. Oh well. I was going to make up for it this way.
Finally they had my position down. The cameras began clicking furiously, the flashes blinding me. I felt famous. It was kind of a strange sensation, and I decided I'd leave the fame and fortune to the boy who was standing front and center, his pencil pressed to his lips in concentration.
I wasn't allowed to look at him. Keeping my eyes straight ahead at the blank wall was the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life - okay, well, maybe not, but at the time it felt like it. Eventually it was over, and I dropped my stance gratefully.
"Jeez," I said, rubbing my lower back. "You couldn't have picked a more uncomfortable position."
"You okay?" Jordan said, sounding a little concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I wasn't going to complain any more. I was strong. I could get through this. "When can we go?"
"Soon," he promised. "I just need to look through these, and then I'll decide. Go ahead and sit down."
I sank back into a directors chair and rested my head on my shoulder, a small smile on my lips as I watched Jordan bend over the cameras. My eyes slowly drifted shut, and I fell asleep.
"What?" Unfamiliar voice, full of anger.
There is silence.
"You're pregnant?"
Movement. Sounds like a foot scuffing a floor.
"That's what I said, isn't it?" This is a familiar voice, now. Mommy. Warmth as she presses her dirty hands to her slightly swollen stomach. "Didn't you hear me?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"No. Gad, Ma. You're so..."
"So what? I'm so what? Answer me now, whore!"
"Don't fucking call me that!"
There is a loud slapping noise that jostles the world, throwing it into the Other. The other thing, sharing space.
"Get the fuck out of this house, slut! I never want to see you again!"
Stumbling. The hands fall away from the stomach, her steps surprised and weak. Then she gains confidence, turning and running away from the unfamiliar voice.
"You'll regret this, bitch!"
I woke with a gasp and a shudder. My eyes flew open, panicking.
"Hey, Holly, are you okay?" Jordan said, coming over. He knelt in front of me, reaching for my face. I beat him to it, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
"Yeah," I murmured, standing unsteadily. I put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
Kinda long, mostly filler – sorry about that. Action will pick back up in the next chapter. Sayonara, please review!