Zac POV
I know I have to tell Vanessa when I start rehab but I'm worried about her reaction.
I walk into Vanessa's room and sit next to her. I've been spending a lot of time here recently. Van is sitting on her bed with her headphones in, listening to Ashley's music with Shadow lying down beside her. "Van, can we talk?" I squeak out as Van takes out her headphones and looks at me with a smile. "Yeah sure." I just need to go right out and say it. "I got my start date for rehab." Van gets excited but she won't be for very long. "It's on Monday though." Her face crumples and she starts crying. I immediately hug her. "But that's in two days and you'll miss our baby's birthday!" I wish I wasn't starting on Monday but I have to if I want to get clean and my life back on track. "I know I will but you know that I'm only an hour away and you can come and see me." Vanessa sighs as she stops crying. "I know but it doesn't make you going any less painful." I sigh as I rub her back soothingly. "I know, I know but you've got my family, your family and Ashley." Van freezes. She has told Ashley and her family about the miscarriage, right? I pull away from her and look at her. "Vanessa, you have told them haven't you?" Vanessa ducks her head, indicating that she hasn't told them yet. I groan internally. "Right, we're telling them today." Vanessa's mouth hangs open. "What? No!" Vanessa starts protesting against it but I interrupt her with a glare. "I don't care if you don't want to tell them, you're doing it." I snap before getting off the bed and going into the living room, leaving Vanessa and Shadow alone in the room.
I sit on the couch staring at the black TV. My parents and brother have gone back to SLO so me and Vanessa can have some time before I go into rehab but they promised us that they'll drop everything and come back down if we need them to which we might need them today because I don't think that the Hudgens family will be thrilled that Vanessa and I were pregnant but didn't tell them straight away and then the miscarriage and not to mention that we've hid it from them for three years. Ashley might be a little shocked but she'd understand why we kept it from her. I quickly grab my phone and text Mom:
To Momma: Me and Van will need your, Dads and Dylan's support. We're telling her Gina, Greg, Stella and Ash about the baby. We could use you for moral support because Gina, Greg, Stella won't be enthusiastic about it all. But Ash will understand. It's just the Hudgens we need help with but we're telling them all together so it won't put even more stress on Van. Love you guys ~Zac.
I press 'send' just as Shadow comes out of Van's room, whining for the bathroom. Getting off the couch and walking to the Toy poodle puppy, I open the back door so she can go out. I walk back to the couch and my phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I read the text. It's from Mom.
From Momma: Of course we'll be there for you guys. It's probably best to tell them all at the same time. Ashley will definitely understand why you guys didn't tell her but the Hudgens won't. We'll stay the night in case they start yelling at you two. If it gets too heated, you and Ashley can take Van out. Love you too. ~Mom.
I quickly type a 'sounds perfect' to her. I hear footsteps coming but I ignore them as they stop and someone leans into me. "I'm sorry." A familiar voice says quietly. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. "I know you are but you need to tell them." Vanessa groans. "But my Mom and sister will start yelling at me and I don't want to argue with them. Ash will understand why but my parents and sister won't, they'd just say that I wasn't even pregnant and just faked it to get attention from you and the paparazzi." They won't say that, she's just overthinking things. "Van, they won't say those things to you, they might be a little mad but they'll still love you." I love her but she tends to overthink things when she's stressed out. Vanessa shrugs into my shoulder. "Hey wanna watch a movie?" I suggest to her. Vanessa nods. "Yeah, but let me text Mom, Dad, Stella and Ashley first, okay?" I nod. "Okay." Vanessa's fingers fly across the keyboard and two minutes later, she's putting her phone on the coffee table and leans into me again. We hear a bark and the sound of claws scraping along the hardwood floor. Shadow jumps onto my lap and lays down.
We end up watching a chick flick called 'Wild Child' at Vans request. I have to admit, it's really good. We hear the doorbell ring not long after we've finished the movie. Vanessa smiles nervously and gets up to open the door. "Hey, Dyl." She greets my little brother with a huge hug that lasts for about 2 minutes. She pulls away from him and moves onto my parents.
Me, Van, Dyl and my parents sit in comfortable silence until the doorbell rings again. Van gets up again and opens it. We hear high pitched squeals and know Ashley is here. Vanessa comes running in with Ashley hot on her heels. "Zac, help me!" Van jumps on me as Ashley jumps on her and tickles her. Vanessa squirms, trying to get away from her best friend. Ashley chuckles. "Squirming won't help you, Vanessa." I laugh. "Zac, help me!" Vanessa squeals. I start tickling her too. "Not like that!" Van screams at me through her giggles. We hear the doorbell again but none of us three get it as we're too busy. We only stop when we feel another person jump on top of Ashley. "Zac attack!" It's Stella! "Okay you four, get off each other, Zac and Vanessa want to talk to us about something." Gina snaps. It's like she's not happy to see me or be here. Stella and Ashley get off me and Van. Van sits up and grabs my hand. She looks like she's going to throw up at any point.
Vanessa POV
I grab Zac's hand as we look at my Mom, Dad, sister and best friend. I don't want to tell them about the baby but I've got no choice with Zac going into rehab and me needing support through this. "We have a few things to tell you guys." I begin. Looking at my Mom, I take a deep breath. "Zac, you're up first." I say, squeezing his hand. Zac looks at me and smiles. "Thanks, Ness. Erm, I've applied for rehab in San Diego. I start on Monday." Ashley squeals and hugs Zac. "Yay, then after you're clean, there can be a Zanessa again!" I hope so too, Ash, I hope so too. When Ash sits down, Zac looks at me, with sorrow in his eyes. "It's your turn, Nessa." I look at my Mom again and take a another deep breath before talking. "Okay, so three years ago, a few months before we broke up, we found out I was pregnant," Mom stands up immediately and starts yelling at me. "VANESSA ANNE HUDGENS!" I flinch at the tone of her voice. She's never ever shouted at me before. "Are you serious?!" She yells. I nod. Mom starts screaming. "You're a disgrace to us! To me and your Dad! You're not our daughter!" Then she slaps me hard, making me fall back against Zac. I get off the couch, grab my car keys and run out of the door with tears streaming down my face. "VAN!" I hear Stella, Ashley, Zac and Dylan shout my name but I ignore them. I hop in my car and drive, not caring where I'm going. I just need to get away from my Mother. I didn't think she'd react like that, let alone say those things to me. Why would she slap me? I thought I was her daughter, but not anymore apparently.