23. Mistaken

She couldn't keep her mind on school. It was too cluttered with a million terrible scenarios if her mother was truly pregnant. She'll drop the baby, or forget to change its diaper or forget the baby in the car. She wasn't going to be able to concentrate in school wondering what her mother could be doing to her baby. Relax; you don't even know if she is pregnant. Stop scaring yourself. But it wasn't helping. Everything inside her told her that her mother was pregnant. How could she ignore all the painfully clear signs?

She struggled through school, constantly forgetting to write down her notes and listen to the teacher and follow instructions and get to class on time. The only reason she made it through the day was because school was second nature to her.

She was so distracted with her thoughts, she barely noticed Leo trying to talk to her as she walked down the hall.

When the last bell rung, she almost ran out the doors and straight to the little market next to her apartment building. She grabbed three different tests and waited in line while people gave her weird looks. She ignored them, until the woman who was paying in front of her scoffed in her direction.

"And they're twins!" Thalia said cheerfully. The woman looked a little taken aback, but she pulled over a snobby resolve and walked out the market. Thalia rolled her eyes. It was really no one's business why she was buying pregnancy tests. She reached the register, paid and power walked to her apartment. She walked in, quickly calling out for her mother.

"Mom!" she yelled, as she dropped her stuff next to the island and started opening the tests. Her mother was nowhere to be seen.

"MOM!" she yelled again as she frustratingly ripped the small boxes open. She heard footsteps coming down the hallway and her mother rounded the corner rubbing her eyes. She dragged her feet and sat at the island, rubbing her hair and creating some huge and kind of funny bumps.

"Here, do this one first," Thalia said as she handed her mother a small pink stick.

"Don't talk so loud," her mother moaned, as she pressed her fingertips to her temples. "Why?" she asked irritated as she stared at Thalia's outstretched hand. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Just take the damn test," Thalia said, throwing it between her hands. Her mother huffed as she grabbed it and shuffled into the bathroom. At least she was too tired to put up much of a fight. Thalia finished opening the boxes and laid out several more tests across the island and waited anxiously for her mother to come out of the bathroom. Minutes later, she finally appeared and chucked the test onto the counter. As Thalia used a paper towel to grab it, she handed her another test.

"But I don't have to pee anymore!" her mother whined.

"Then drink some water!" Thalia snapped.

"Don't order me around!"

"Be responsible some day, and I might stop!" Thalia retorted. Her mother just scoffed, grabbed a water bottle and walked back into the bathroom. Half an hour went by, as Thalia handed her mother three more tests. When all were done, she laid them out on a paper towel on the coffee table and waited, sometimes tapping her watch because the seconds felt like minutes.

After what felt like an hour, Thalia leaned forward and felt her blood run cold. All five tests had a little pink plus sign. She let her head fall into her hands and gripped her hair. The verdict was finally delivered and what was she going to do?

A baby wasn't like a gift that if you didn't like it, you could return it. Or like a puppy, that when you can't take care of it, you give it to someone who can. Babies were like leeches. Once you're stuck with one, it's hard to get off. Not to mention her mother wasn't really the "motherly" type. And Thalia couldn't take care of a baby by herself, but she wouldn't want to leave the baby in some random adoption center either. There was no easy solution to something this big. Plus expensive! Thalia can barely pay for the apartment and her mother's car (no matter how many times Thalia tried to sell it, her mother stopped her), much less pay for everything a baby needed.

Thalia sighed. This was a nightmare. But she tried to console herself by telling herself she's got time to figure it out. She still has a few months before the baby is even due. She could come up with a plan by then. She looked towards the kitchen and saw her mother munching on some pineapple with a can of beer. And my plan starts with you.

Thalia stood up and walked to her mother.

"You're pregnant," Thalia announced as she sat down across from her mother.

"Uh-huh," her mother hummed as she ate another slice of pineapple.

"Mom!" Thalia said, slamming her fist against the counter. Her mother looked up, a little surprised. "You're pregnant! Do you know what this means?" It seemed to finally sink into her thick skull and she slowly spared a glance to her ever swelling stomach.

"You need to change your ways, Mom. Starting now," Thalia said, looking at the beer can. Her mother looked a little confused until she followed Thalia's gaze.

"I'm not going to stop drinking!" her mother exclaimed when she understood what Thalia had meant. Anger was burning in Thalia's stomach.

"Look!" Thalia said loudly, as she stood up and leaned towards her mother. "You've already ruined your life and you're doing a pretty good job with mine," Thalia said, her voice now low and threatening. "but I will not let you ruin this child's life. And if you've got a problem with that, tough luck. You got yourself into this mess. Deal with it."

Her mother stared at her with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe her own daughter was speaking to her like this. She opened her mouth to say something, but Thalia cut her off.

"No. You don't get a say in this anymore. Starting today, you will never find another beer can or another cigarette in this house. And whatever you buy, will be thrown out," Thalia said firmly. She then grabbed the beer can her mother had been drinking and poured it down the sink with an outraged protest from her mother. She opened the fridge and pulled out the six pack her mother had bought several days ago, but before she could dump it into the trash, her mother caught her arm.

"Don't you dare!" her mother warned. Thalia stared at her evenly and without saying a word, pulled her arm free and chucked the cans into the trash.

"Thalia! You can't do this!"

"I just did!" Thalia yelled, turning on her mother. Thalia was her mother's height, so she could stare into her eyes without having to look up or down. Her mother looked like she might cry as she looked helplessly at her daughter who was standing in the way between her and her painkillers. Thalia took a step towards her, feeling her determination coursing through her veins. She knew what she was doing, she knew what she had to do and she didn't care what her mother had to say about it. She had a life in her hands, and Thalia wasn't going to let her drop it.

"And you have until the end of this week to sign up at some place to stop your drinking habits, because if you don't, I will."

Her mother didn't know what to do, but stare at Thalia like she was taking everything away from her. Thalia felt the slightest pang of guilt, but it was overtaken by the overwhelming urge she had to care for the unborn child. Her… sibling. Thalia almost wanted to gag. She couldn't believe she'd ever have another brother or sister, though she should've know this would happen at some point. What with all the late and drunk nights, all the strangers. It was almost guaranteed to happen.

Her piercing blue eyes burned into her mother's, daring her to protest, but she didn't. She just grabbed the last piece of pineapple and stomped into her room and slammed the door. Thalia's whole body loosened when her mother disappeared. She felt weak, like her knees wouldn't support her and she'd fall down. She put a hand on the counter for some support as she tried to regain herself. It felt like she'd added an entirely new weight onto her shoulders and it would just take her under; like she was trying to swim with weights tied to her ankles. I can handle this. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to her mother's purse and pulled out any cash she had. Her mother might try to outsmart her and just smoke and drink at bars when Thalia was in school. But she would be mistaken.

She pulled out a ten and shoved it into her back pocket as she grabbed her bag and shakily made her way to her room.

Sorry I took so long guys! Not only was I trying to figure out how to write this next part, but I had spring break and was barely on my computer, lol. I hope you guys liked this chapter. Let me know what you think. And Arry, don't die! lol Hope you enjoyed :)