Chapter Four – Weekend Break

Joey sat up in the king-size bed that dwarfed her, trying her hardest to concentrate on the Conrad book she was supposed to be reading for her English class but her mind was swimming with images and all she could do was sit and wait for David to come back to bed. He had promised her breakfast in bed this weekend and she had decided it was the best time to tell him, they would be alone and he had no work to worry about. Audrey had promised not to breathe a word to anyone, not even Pacey until Joey had decided what to do. Joey put the book down on the coffee table and grabbed the remote control for the CD player and switched it on hoping that music would drown out the voice of her disapproving sister and the lectures of Dawson. It didn't help much but it was better than nothing and definitely better than Conrad. She sunk back into the bed and sighed heavily, she felt as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders but there was nothing else to do. The creaky floorboards outside the bedroom announced David's return and he opened the door carrying a tray laden with breakfast goodies; pancakes, toast, coffee, eggs and bacon. She grinned at the sight of him as he placed the tray on her knees and climbed back into bed beside her.

"Thanks sweetie," she smiled as she picked at a crispy bit of bacon that had broken off.

"How's the reading going? I know how much you hate Conrad," he said, taking a slice of toast from her stockpile of food, she shrugged and mumbled incomprehensibly through a mouthful of bacon. She decided it would be safer to make some form of small talk before dumping the A-bomb on his lap.

"I'm just bored of English lit in general, I don't seem to be learning anything new and I'm getting really fed up," she sighed, handing him one of the two mugs of coffee he had made. He murmured some kind of agreement and they sat in silence as they ate their breakfast, Joey could barely touch a thing so David removed the tray from her lap and placed it on the floor. He lay down and held his arm out, inviting her to snuggle in which she did automatically.

"There's something wrong," he said, stroking her hair with his free hand. Joey sighed and nodded but remained silent. "Are you going to tell me what it is or do I have to guess?" She took a deep breath and decided to bite the bullet.

"I took a test a few days ago and the results were a little unexpected,"

"Was it an English test because you haven't been reading a lot lately so maybe that's why the marks were a little off,"

"No, David," she laughed softly at his naivety. "It wasn't a class test, it was a home test. I'm pregnant,"

Joey felt the ground fall out from under her as she spoke the words aloud; she could feel David's body stiffen against hers. She wanted to look up, but she knew that the look on David's face would tell her all she needed to know, good or not. She glanced up quickly, he was silent but the fixed look of shock and disappointment was on tight, she could feel tears start to fall and cursed herself for being so over-emotional. She couldn't even look at him; he looked so upset that it was just hurting too much.

"Have you got anything to say?" she sniffed. David blinked a few times, letting Joey's question sink in as if it were the hardest in the world. He looked down at her and pressed his hand to her cheek before moving it up and through her hair, pushing it behind her ear.

"I can't think of anything to say. This is such a shock, Joey. I mean, it's more than a shock but my literary skills seem to have failed me at the moment," he babbled.

"Yeah but surely you must have some thought in there. You can't just feel nothing," she said, sitting up and turning to face him. He looked up at her flushed face and could tell that no matter what he had to say, Joey was expecting some form of reply to her statement.

"Joey, I can't even form a thought right now and the million things that are going on in my head are just… I don't want to upset you by saying the wrong thing," he admitted.

"This is about you too; you're allowed to say the wrong thing. It's not like I'm trying to deny you some emotion," said Joey. "Just say anything; I want to know what you're thinking,"

"Fine," said David, swallowing hard and bracing himself for tears and hurt. "I'm thinking that I am not ready for a baby and you are way too young to have one. I've just got a really good job and you're finishing college, these things have to come first,"

Joey stared down at him; it wasn't that she was upset by what David had said to her, it was more that she knew he was right. Bubbling underneath all of her fear and anxiety and confusion was a strong maternal instinct that was throwing her off-kilter far more than David's sweeping statement had.

"I understand all that but I think we need to come to some decision about what we're going to do. I mean, it hasn't really sunk in yet so we should give it time, right?" said Joey.

"Definitely, we should talk it through but I really can't see me changing my mind, Jo. We're just not ready for it, how many days late are you anyway?"

"Two months late," she mumbled, she could see David's face turn pale. "But it's not like I ignored it and hoped it would go away, I really had no idea what was going on. I didn't even realise anything was wrong until Wednesday,"

"It's fine, we just need to think logically about what to do next,"

"David, I want to keep my baby," sighed Joey, she'd had four days to think about it and she had already made her decision whatever he thought. David looked down at her and smiled at the innocent look on her face, his eyes softened at the sight of her so strong in her convictions. "I know I'm too young and you've just got a promotion and everything but I think we could make it work if we tried. I mean, it wouldn't be born until the summer so I'd have finished college,"

"Joey, I know you've thought about this but there are other things to consider. You won't be able to get a job after college, you'll stop seeing your friends as much and who's to say you won't end up resenting me and the baby for stealing your youth?"

"That's ridiculous. I've thought about all that stuff and there's no way I would ever think you 'stole' my youth. It was a joint decision to stay together; I love you no matter how many years are between us. I feel really strongly about this, David," she smiled, gently touching his cheek with her hand. He brought his own hand up to hold hers.

"It's a big step for us though, we've only been together for two years and I'm not saying that we haven't come far or we might break up but to have a baby…" started David.

"Yeah, we've only been together two years but we're already living together. Maybe this is just the next natural step for our relationship,"

"Maybe, I just need to think it through first. I mean, we don't have a lot of money or anything, I just need some time for it to sink in," he smiled. Joey nodded and lay back down on her pillow; she closed her eyes and smiled. Now that David knew she was serious about being ready for the baby, it wouldn't take him long to make a decision. She knew what he was thinking, he was thinking that he was older than her and if they left it until she was in her late twenties then he would never be the father he would want to be. No matter what, Joey knew that David would happily accept her decision after he'd thought it over. She sighed contentedly and wriggled back into his arms, he thoughtlessly moved his arm to let her in. It was their usual morning routine and Joey smiled to herself, she never thought in her days in Capeside that she would crave such mundane things in her life but now it was all she wanted.