Mika missed Bose so much, she wanted to tell him what was going on she really did, but she was so afraid that things would never be the same. She hated the way she was treating him but she told herself it would be better to make him hate her, this way when she did tell him she'd know what to expect. Nearly every night for the past month she cried herself to sleep thinking about him. This is going to ruin his life, I'm going to ruin his life, Mika thought. One minute she had everything under control then the next she just wanted to crawl under her bed and shut everything out. She longed for Bose to be the one holding her but again, she was afraid.

Later that week was thanksgiving, which meant Bose and Chapa's families were coming over to their place this year. Usually, Mika would glow a the thought of spending time with each other's families but this year was different. How was she supposed to act natural under such circumstances, she hoped that at least Chapa's big-mouth cousin wouldn't be joining them this year. Last year, when it was at Chapa's house, Missy made every attempt to criticize and embarrass her, she didn't understand what the hell her problem was.

All she knew was that if Missy came she would surely comment on her weight, which was a noticeable difference from last year no thanks to the fact that she was five months pregnant. Luckily her bump was still small enough to hide away under large hoodies and certain blouses. It was also lucky that her parents haven't really bothered to check up on her, it was a benefit being the most responsible and well-managed child, her parents just assumed she was taking care of everything and needed no help.

Mika sighed, looking at yet another pregnancy test she had decided to take the third time this month, she didn't even know what she was hoping for anymore, this all felt like some joke being played on her. Mika heard chatter from downstairs and quickly threw the test into her little trash bin, fixed her hair, put on her best fake smile, and then went downstairs to greet everyone.

)))))))

When Mika came downstairs Bose and his family had already arrived. The tension between them for the last month was still there but he still made his way over to give her a kiss on the cheek and greet her. Mika gave him a polite smile and he returned it. She then walked away from him because she had the urge to take him away from everybody and tell him everything, but she knew it would destroy them. Bose gloomily watched as Mika walked away from him, it's all she did these days. Bose feared the worse was coming, that she would break up with him soon. He heard laughter from the other room and sighed, he just wanted one day when things were back to normal, he'd try to make it today.

In about 30 minutes, thanksgiving was in full swing. The good news was Chapa's cousin Missy didn't come, the bad news was that her other cousin Luke was in attendance, and his mouth was apparently louder than Missy's.

Mika saw him struggling to use their remote so she came over to help him, "See, you just have to press this", Mika said as they both stood in front of the tv.

"Thanks," Luke thanked her, and Mika smiled, but then he looked her up and down, "You know, you look bigger than Missy described," Luke commented and spread his arm out a little to show he meant her weight. Mika's face turned hot from embarrassment, unlucky for Luke, Bose was sitting behind him and kicked the back of Luke's knee, hard, causing him to fall face forward on the carpet.

"Have some respect," Bose said as if this insult was the most foul he'd ever heard. Bose shook his head, just when he was starting to like the kid. Mika put the remote on the couch and left the room, the rest of the night she started to feel subconscious about her body, the body that was growing a baby.

))))))))

When It was time to finally eat, Bose and Chapa were the most excited, there was just something about Angela's cooking that made them wish their stomachs didn't have a limit. The Macklin house wasn't too big so when it came to everyone needing to wash their hands, Bose decided to go use Mika's bathroom; he didn't think she would mind because both of the other bathrooms were occupied or had someone lined up to use it and the kitchen was off limits until dinner was over.

Bose walked into Mika's room and went into her private bathroom, he put his phone on the sink counter as he washed his hands. When he was reaching for the stack of paper towels to dry his hands, he knocked his phone off the sink counter, and it fell into her little trash can. The trash can was empty except for a box and something else Bose couldn't make out. He reached inside to get his phone and wiped it off with the paper as he tried to make out what the box read. It looked oddly familiar, First response... pregnancy...six days sooner...than your missed per...

Bose's eyes blurred out all the other words and it became hyper-fixated on the word pregnancy. Was this a pregnancy test? Bose thought. He quickly put his phone into his pocket and reached back inside the can for the box, and the test. Yes, he read it right. Bose anxiously looked at the test, back at the box to understand what the result was, and he was not ready. All sorts of questions started flooding his mind like,

Why does Mika have a pregnancy test?

Why does Mika have a positive pregnancy test?

Was Mika pregnant?

or Was this test someone else's?

In his mind, Mika couldn't be pregnant, it didn't make sense...or maybe it made perfect sense and was the reason for her behavior this past month. Bose studied the test, it looked freshly used, which made him question more...

This couldn't be the reason for her behavior because she hasn't been herself for a while, she must have just found out...or had she always expected she was pregnant?

Was this because of him? That he would know.

Bose was going into a full-blown panic in his mind, what did this mean? He blinked hard because his eyes were starting to sting from staring at what was in front of him. What was he supposed to do?

)))))))

"Yeah I'll be down in a sec i just need to grab something," Mika called out opening the door to her room. However, she stopped in her track when she saw Bose sitting on her bed with his back turned to her. "Bose?" Mika asked as if she wasn't sure it was him. Bose snapped out of his trance and quickly got up, putting his arms behind him, and hiding the pregnancy test. "What are you doing in here?" She asked folding her arms. She wasn't mad, just curious because his stance was suggesting something was up. Bose was still recovering from the semi-shock, what was Bose supposed to say?

Bose revealed the test he was holding and Mika caught her breath in the back of her throat. The red blood cells on her face were decreasing. She was terrified, terrified of what tonight would become and he could tell.

"Is this yours? Are you really pregnant," Bose asked softly, his voice was a mix of concern and bewilderment.

In an instant, Mika's atmosphere changed, her face frowned and she stormed over to Bose grabbing the test out of his hands. "So what? Now you're going through my things?!" She furiously said slamming the test on top of her dresser. "No- i-it was, i just found it okay, are you pregnant? Like for real?" Bose stammered. Mika wanted to hide her fear and possible tears under layers of anger, "Oh you just found it in my trash can?! What were you really looking for Bose?"

"It was just there- and you know what that doesn't even matter, Mika are you pregnant?" Bose asked once more. He was getting frustrated and wanted answers. Mika started opening her drawers and rummaging through them, she was looking for something to distract her, "This is a total invasion of my privacy,". It wasn't supposed to happen like this, he was supposed to find out from her, when she felt the time was right. Mika couldn't help the tears that started to build up and she quickly wiped them.

"Okay i think you're failing to talk about what really matters right now- Are you pregnant?!" Bose shouted. He wasn't easily impatient but it felt like everything was on the line- everything was on the line. Mika turned around to face him in a huff and he was only inches away from her face. "That is none of your business, Bose," She snapped. Mika's breath was shaky, and even as water ran down her cheeks, she was determined to keep up the facade she work so hard to build. Mika was ready to bolt past him but Bose caught her by the waist and she pulled him away.

"None of my business?..." He repeated dangerously low, "Mika, You are my business and I know this has everything to do with me, just tell me the truth. Something has been up with you and I've spent every day trying to figure out where i went wrong if i hurt you, or if you just didn't love me the same, but this, never this. You can't hide from me anymore, i won't let you," Bose demanded.

Bose was angry, he didn't know how to be or what it really felt like, he just knew every vain in him was ready to pop. Why wasn't she answering the question?

But then the image of a petrified Mika who had no idea how to cope and had to carry such a secret for so long clouded his mind, and Bose calmed himself down. "Babe, just tell me the truth, and we'll work this out," Bose sincerely said in a comforting voice.

His change of tone made was enough for Mika to start trying to control her breathing and she sniffled. The air around her felt like it was thinning. Mika felt her throat swell from how much she was holding back. Her head was down from defeat and she nervously started picking at her fingernails. Maybe it would never be the right time to say something like that, she thought.

Bose wanted to step forward but the room was so quiet; except for her snuff, that you would hear cotton balls drop. The tension that's been rising between them was like a bubble head to head with the front of a needle, ready to burst.

"I didn't know how to tell you," Mika's voice cracked with her confession. Bose couldn't stand seeing Mika so distraught. So it was true.

He pushed all his dismay aside for a moment and carefully went in to give her a hug. Mika hadn't expected it but feeling Bose this close to her again eased her anxiety.

Bose laid his head onto hers and held her head closer to his chest. Mika warped her arms around him, rested her head on his chest, and cried harder into his sweater, "I didn't want you to hate me," Mika faintly sobbed. Bose held her tighter, that didn't make any sense, but he knew Mika took things really hard. "Why would i ever hate you? You weren't alone in this," He kissed the top of her head. Hearing that brought Mika a new level of solace.

They pulled apart and Bose took Mika's hands in his after wiping her cheek. She tried to smile a little through clouded eyes. Mika hadn't realized how much this had been weighing her down.

"You have two seconds before we start eating without you!" Miles yelled at them from downstairs. Mika quickly let go of Bose's hand and started rapidly wiping her tears.

They completely dismissed that today was thanksgiving and everyone was downstairs, surely they'd ask questions. Bose was still processing the news and he wasn't sure he could be able to stay focused for long, his thoughts were all over the place. Mika was still emotional and it was hard to tell when it'd wear off because her hormones were messy and it didn't help that she would most likely throw up her dinner.

"I can't- i can't do this, i can't go in front of all of them right now," Mika started hyperventilating.

Bose put his hands on her shoulder, told her to calm down, and everything was gonna be fine. He'd love for them to stay up here for the rest of the night and talk about everything but he knew everyone would be suspicious. Bose took Mika's hand again, "Here, Just hold my hand, we'll go have dinner and it'd be over before we know it," Bose assured. "Yeah, it'll be over," Mika scoffed.

Nevertheless, she held Bose's hand and they made their way downstairs, thankfully everyone was too caught up with chatter and the food and they hadn't even noticed Mika's pink puffy eyes and Bose's tense body language.

Mika and Bose tried to act normal but they knew very soon, that everything was about to change.