House of the Scotts
I paced nervously in my room back and forth, as I tried to reach Lydia by phone. I had hoped she would have gotten in touch with me after she had woken up. But now it was the next morning and I still hadn't received any sign of life from her. Gradually, I was becoming really worried. It wasn't like her to ignore my calls. And if she hadn't have time for a long phone call, at least she would've written me a text message. So I decided to drive to her house and find out how she was doing. Fortunately it was Sunday, so I had no school. My mom and dad had gotten up early to go for a jog, they did that every Sunday. So I could leave the house unnoticed. I jumped in my little car and drove to Lydia's house. It was still pretty early in the morning when I stood outside the front door and knocked. "Hello Mrs. Scott! Excuse the early visit. But I wanted to ask how Lydia is doing," I said, waiting nervously for her answer.
"Come in, Sawyer. Then we can talk," she said and led the way to the living room.
I felt my stomach clench. What had happened to Lydia that her mother made a mystery of that? Had Lydia told her about the baby? "Is Lydia okay?" I asked anxiously.
"Please, have a seat."
With a nervously pounding heart, I followed her request and took a seat on the couch.
"Lydia is going to stay at my sister's house in Santa Barbara for some time," she came straight to the point. "She's already on the plane to California."
"San- Santa Barbara?" I stammered in confusion. "But... what's she doing there?"
"She's going on vacation for a while," she explained curtly.
"But it's the middle of the school year," I said. "The holidays don't begin until in four weeks."
"I'll talk to the school principal about that," she said coolly.
"Is it because of what happened yesterday?" I asked cautiously. "Because she was drunk and fell in the pool?" When she didn't answer, but just looked at me thoughtfully, I knew that I had guessed right. "When will she come back?" I asked softly.
"When the holidays are over."
I looked at her stunned. Apparently, Lydia still hadn't told her mother that she was pregnant. Otherwise she never would have sent her daughter away for that long. "Do you have the address and phone number?"
"I'll write it down for you." She picked up a pad and scribbled an address and phone number on it and tore off the sheet of paper. "Please keep that to yourself, I don't want anyone else to know where Lydia is!" She insisted.
"Who do you mean?" I asked, frowning.
"Davis Baker, for example," she said, wrinkling her nose. "He's the main reason why Lydia got in trouble!"
I reflexively held my breath. Had Lydia told her parents about the baby? "Trouble?" I repeated, feigning surprise.
"You know his reputation. And every day in school I see how he fools around with girls." She rolled her eyes. "Until now, I didn't care. But now he's after my Lydia and I won't allow him to hurt her!"
If Lydia's mother only knew what really had happened between Davis and Lydia! She probably would suffer a heart attack! But either way, sooner or later everyone would find out the truth. Lydia couldn't keep her pregnancy a secret forever. "Thanks for the address," I said quickly and put the note away. "I promise that I won't tell anyone where she is."
"Thank you, Sawyer. I appreciate that."
She smiled at me, making me feel bad. Was it really the right thing to exclude Davis from all this? Shouldn't he know that he became a father? "I tried to call Lydia a few times," I said. "But it went straight to voicemail."
"It's not allowed to use a cellphone on the plane. I'm sure she turned it off," she shrugged. "Just try again later."
"Thanks for the talk. But it's time for me to go now." I said and quickly got up and left before she could ask me to stay. On the short way from the house to my car, I had made a decision. A decision that Lydia's mother would dislike. But my guilty conscience forced me to tell Davis the truth. I took out the note with the address, opened the glove box and pulled out a pen and pad. Quickly I wrote off the address and phone number, before I put the note back into the glove box. Then I started the engine and headed to the Baker's house. I had expected that the grandmother would open, but it was Justin. When I remembered our last encounter and the kiss, my heart started to beat quicker. "Is... is Davis at home?" I stammered, feeling myself blushing under his scrutinizing gaze.
"He's at home but not in the state to receive visitors," he replied dryly.
"What does that mean?" I asked, frowning.
"He has to sleep off his intoxication."
I stared at him, confused, then suddenly remembering Mrs. Scott calling Davis back. Was that the reason why he got drunk? "Do you know what happened?"
He shook his head. "Not exactly. I found him by the pool. And later, Lydia's mother joined us. She banished him from her property and forbade him from seeing Lydia again. I don't know what happened between the two, but you were at the party. Do you know something more about it?"
"May I come in? Then I'll tell you what I know." He let me enter and then we went into the living room and sat down. "Well," I began, "Lydia drank a bit too much, then she lost her balance and fell into the pool."
"And why is it Davis's fault?" He asked confused.
"Her mother blames him because Lydia had never been drunk before. She thinks he has a bad influence on her," I explained.
Justin nodded. "Yeah, she said something like that and then mentioned something about 'grounding'." He rolled his eyes. "I really don't want to protect my brother, because I know that he often runs riot and does stupid things. But in this case, it's not his fault." He shrugged. "That was just a stupid accident. That could have happened to anyone who drank too much."
I bit my lower lip and hastily lowered my head. I was sure that it hadn't been an accident. Lydia had deliberately jumped into the pool. And Davis had also seen that. I took out the note with Lydia's address and put it on the table. "Can you give that to Davis when he's sober again?" I asked reluctantly.
Hesitating and frowning, Justin took the note and read the address. "What's that?" He asked curiously.
"That's Lydia's new address in Santa Barbara," I said tersely. "They didn't only ground her, her parents sent her away." I cleared my throat. "Lydia's mom gave it to me and I had to promise her not to pass it on. But I can't keep my promise, I want Davis to know where Lydia is. They need to talk." That I had already said too much, I realized when Justin glanced at me with a confused look. But I couldn't tell him more. I had fulfilled my part and had eased my conscience by handing over the address. I quickly rose and walked to the door, but Justin followed me.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, frowning.
"Because I'm a good friend?" I smiled tightly and then froze, when he suddenly reached out and touched one of my curls. He seemed to misunderstand my response because he suddenly pulled his hand away as if he had burned himself.
"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," he stammered.
I felt disappointment. Since our kiss he was constantly avoiding me. But I could feel that he had the same feelings for me as I had for him. Why was he fighting it? "Don't say you're sorry if you don't mean it," I muttered softly. He didn't say anything, just stared at me dazed and I took the chance to open the door and ran back to my car as fast as possible. Relieved, I realized that he didn't follow me. I quickly started the engine and drove home.
House of the Evans, Santa Barbara, California
The long flight had exhausted me so that I asked my aunt and uncle to show me my room after we arrived at the house. It was a hot summer day in California and I was glad there was air conditioning throughout the house. I threw my bag carelessly on the floor before I climbed into bed and closed my eyes. I hadn't realized that I actually fell asleep when my aunt suddenly stood in front of my bed and woke me up.
"Lydia?"
As she bent over me, I sat up slowly and wiped my eyes. "What?" I asked in confusion, stifling a yawn.
"You disappeared so fast I couldn't ask you if you would like to eat something," she said, smiling.
I pressed my hand against my empty stomach and nodded. "Yeah, I think that's not a bad idea." I'd expected her to leave me alone after the question, but she stopped in front of the bed and looked at me with a thoughtful look.
"I want you to know that it wasn't my idea that you come with us," she began hesitantly. "I tried to talk it out of your mom, but you know how stubborn she can be sometimes." She smiled slightly. "I think Haley was too strict with you, only because you meet this boy." She took a deep breath. "I like Davis. Maybe he has a certain reputation, but I watched him at the party and he didn't even look at other girls. I think he really likes you."
I nodded and suddenly, to my own dismay, felt tears stinging in my eyes. "Thanks, Aunt Quinn," I sniffled and slipped out of bed and walked over to my travel bag. From a side pocket, I brought out the gift that Davis had given me. Carefully, I opened the small box and pulled out the necklace with the silver miniature unicorn. "That's what he gave me for my birthday," I said in a trembling voice.
She took it and looked at it smiling. "That's really pretty. Do you want to wear it?"
I nodded and turned to her so she could put the necklace around my neck. Slowly, I stepped to the mirror and looked at it. And as I stared at my reflection, I remembered the moment that had changed everything...
"Let's go to my room."
"And what do your guests say about that?"
"They will hardly notice that I'm away. Well, are you now coming?"
Reluctantly, Davis grabbed my hand and we went up to my room. I couldn't wait to be alone with him. And it wasn't long before we found ourselves on the bed, kissing and stripping off our clothes. My whole body vibrated with desire, and I could feel that he wanted it just like me. But when I opened his belt buckle and let my hand slide into his pants, he suddenly jerked back.
"What's wrong?" I asked irritated.
"I never asked you that but..." He cleared his throat. "Did you get your monthly bleeding by now?"
My heart skipped a beat. So he hadn't forgotten and maybe even had counted the days. "Why do you ask?" I whispered hoarsely.
"Why do I ask?" He echoed in disbelief. "Well, last time we had sex with a condom that was probably already broken. And you weren't even sure if you were pregnant or not. So my question is justified."
I looked at him and felt sudden nausea creeping up on me. For several hours I knew that I was pregnant. But he didn't look as if he would be pleased with the news of becoming a father. "Don't worry," I lied, my heart pounding wildly. "I had it last week."
"Phew... thank God!" He exclaimed, wiping an imaginary bead of sweat from his forehead. "I really had sleepless nights. Those were the worst nightmares I've ever had. Could you have imagined us as parents?" He laughed humorlessly. "What a joke! We would have ruined our future. This is a responsibility for your entire life, and who wants that at our age?" He blew a strand of hair from his forehead. "We should be more careful from now on. I think it might be better if you went to the doctor and ask him for the pill."
He babbled and babbled, apparently not even noticing that I had become quiet. His words were like lashes. I realized that he would never take responsibility for our baby. I had to find a way to handle it myself. Slowly I got up from the bed. "Yes, you're right. Let's wait until I have the pill."
"That's not what I meant," he said, frowning. "I have some condoms with me. So we can do it... if you want. We should only be more careful this time."
I shook my head while struggling to hold back the tears. "I have to get back to my guests." I straightened my blouse and was about to leave my room, when he jumped out of bed and stopped me.
"What's wrong with you? Did I say anything wrong?"
The way he looked at me, with those big, questioning, dark brown eyes, I was sure that he really had no idea how much he had hurt me with his words. But how should he know? "No, everything's fine," I lied. "I just want to go back to my guests now." I wanted to get around him, when he put me in his arms.
"I haven't said that to any girl yet, but... I love you, Lydia! And I don't want you to believe that my only interest is to have sex with you."
I didn't dare to look at him, but wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face as tears were slowly running down my cheeks.
"I have something for you that I want to give you before we go back to the other guest," he said softly.
When he took a step back and then pulled a small gift box out of his pocket, I tried to smile, despite the tears in my eyes. "Thanks," I said tentatively, lifting the lid.
"Happy Birthday!"
Stunned, I stared at the silver chain with the small unicorn pendant. "That's... beautiful," I said and started sobbing again.
"If you like it... why are you crying?"
Of course he couldn't understand why I was crying and I couldn't explain it to him either. So I did what he expected most of all at the moment; I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. And for a moment, I forgot my worries and fears and was guided by my feelings. But when he slid his hand under my blouse and touched my breasts, I took a step back. His look, a mixture of hurt and shame, was hardly bearable for me. With trembling hands I put the necklace back in the little box and put it on my bedside table. "Let's go now," I said in a low voice. Surprisingly, he didn't try to touch me again and followed me when we left the room.
What had happened after that, I realized only in a blur. I had tried to get myself drunk and since I wasn't used to alcohol the impact had been massive. I had felt liberated, my head had been light, and suddenly I had no inhibitions at all. My problems, which had been overwhelming in my sober condition, had dissolved into pleasure under the dampening feeling of alcohol. And suddenly the solution had been within reach: I just had to jump into the pool, take a few deep breaths and then all my problems would be solved. But when the water had closed around me and I had tried to get air into my lungs, panic had taken over me. And it had been Davis who had saved me and our baby, even though he hadn't have a clue about it and hadn't even wanted it. When he had carried me into the house and put me down on the bed, I had wanted to tell him everything. But what would that have changed? He had made his opinion clear on the subject 'baby'. I hadn't wanted him to stay out of sympathy with me just because this 'accident' had happened to us. This baby was my sole responsibility. And I would live up to it from now on.
"Lydia? Is everything okay?"
My aunt glanced at me with a worried look and I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep my secret to myself any longer. Slowly, I shook my head. "There is something you should know..." I began hesitantly.
When she turned to me and then took my hands, I mustered up all my courage to confess what had been on my mind since I had read the positive result in the test strip. "I'm pregnant!"
