Please Don't Evny Me
Written by: American Idiot's Broken Dream

Chapter Eight
Giving Him His Daughter

"Mom," Manny called out, as we entered the Santos home. "Daddy?"

The house was silent, which made us aware that we were completely alone. I observed that the house was decorated in mostly Filipino themes, much like Hazel had that obvious air of African/Muslim culture in her home. It was beautiful to see that the Santoses took pride in their ethnic background, something that I wished my family could with our Ukrainian heritage.

Manny led us up the polished oak stairs and into her room.

"Wow, this is a very cute room, Manny." Hazel complemented, looking impressed.

I too was impressed to at the theme of blended purple, pink, and white along with the subtle appearance of stuffed animals and cutesy things like Precious Moments figurines. But, something I noticed in particular was something that was like a shrine that sat on the top shelf of the bookcase built into the wall.

Two small, Precious Moments angels, a boy and a girl, were kneeling on a tuft of clouds, facing each other and it had a picture of a sonogram in a frame behind the figurines. And two small pillows, one embroidered with blue thread and the other a rich pink, sat on either side of the picture frame and behind each respective figurine.

The tears were almost too many to keep back, as it dawned on me what that shrine meant. It was for her lost baby and since she didn't know what it was, she had combined it to be for a boy and girl. While Hazel and Manny conversed about her CD collection, I stood in front of the bookcase, too mesmerized be the shrine's combined beauty, sadness, and love.

"Hey, Paige, do you want—oh." Manny had turned to ask me about something, but caught me staring at the shrine.

"Manny, this is so, so incredible. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you to loose your baby, but it's beautiful that you could honor him or her this way." I murmured, emotionally.

"Yeah, I wasn't far along enough to find out what it was—just two days under sixteen weeks. Craig and I hoped that it was a girl, but, we'll never know now." Manny said, and I could feel the tears in her voice.

Looking over at her, she stared up at the shrine with the same emotion as me, but stronger and with tears in her eyes.

"Would you mind reading them inscriptions on the pillows to me?" I queried gently.

Looking back to the floor, Manny whispered, "To who might have been my precious baby boy. I never got the chance to meet you, know you, or love you like I truly wanted too, but that didn't stop the pain of my loss of you any less. I know you are now in heaven, looking down on me and giving me strength when I need it the most, and I just want you to know that I'm sorry for never giving you the chance at life. If I could turn back the hands of time I would have waited a little longer to bring you into this world, but we can't change history but we can regret the mistakes we made. I love you and hope to see you again someday, so I can really love you the way God meant for it to be. I love you the most, your mommy."

Throughout the whole message, Manny held her head down and her voice got thicker, with the lingering pain of loosing her baby. I looked over at Hazel to see her eyes shining too and her face streaked with tears. We both could only imagine a fraction of the horror Manny must have felt every day.

"And, it's the same thing for a girl, except at the beginning, I profess how much I would have like having her as a daughter." Manny sobbed.

"Oh, Manny," Hazel said, stepping forward and taking her into her arms.

Manny held onto Hazel, as though she were a scared child, and cried heavily. This time, when I cried just as hard as Manny, I knew it wasn't hormones, but the fact that at one point and time, we both faced the harsh decision whether or not we should terminate our pregnancies. The only difference was, mine was an empty threat that hung loosely in the winds and Manny was a followed through reality that she carried with her everyday.

All three of us must have cried for a good thirty minutes, before Manny's door was eased open, and Mrs. Santos stood in the doorway. Manny raised her head from Hazel's shoulder, and looked towards the doorway at her mother, who was staring at the three of us with a confused look on her face.

"Manuela," Mrs. Santos began softly, "I didn't know you brought friends home."

"I'm sorry I didn't call before hand, Mama, it was just a spur of the moment thing." Manny apologized. "Mama, these are my friends, Paige Michalchuk and Hazel Aden."

"Hello ladies," Mrs. Santos smiled warmly, "I'm Sonia Santos, Manuela's mother. It's nice too meet you."

"Nice too meet you too, I'm Paige," I gulped.

Somehow, it was hard to believe that this woman, who was standing here and smiling at us like daughters, could be responsible for so much of Manny's pain. Couldn't she see by looking at her daughter, that every day was a constant struggle for strength and happiness?

"And I'm Hazel, it's nice too meet you also," Hazel smiled just as warmly as Mrs. Santos, but I knew she didn't mean it.

"Well, I'm glad Manuela invited you over, you all should have fun together. But, I must ask—why are you three crying?" Mrs. Santos looked between us, waiting for an answer.

"It's nothing, Mama. We were just listening to a song on the radio that made us emotional. You know the routine, hormones with feet." Manny lied with ease.

"What song could have made you cry that hard? And there's no use in crying you've been crying hard, Manuela, I can tell that you have. Your nose is all red and your eyes have become blotchy." Mrs. Santos knew her daughter well, but not well enough.

"One of Selena's ballads, "Dreaming of You", and then Mariah Carey's "Butterfly" followed that one, and the next thing we knew, we were in tears." I stepped in before Manny could say anything.

Mrs. Santos nodded and winked at us.

"It must be that time of the month. When women get around each, they tend to start their periods around the same time, so all is understood. Before I leave, would you girls like anything to eat, drink?" Manny's mother offered.

"No thanks, Mama, we just came from the Dot, and we should be good for another couple of hours or so." Manny said sweetly.

"Oh, actually, if you have it and it's not too much to ask, could I bother you for something sweet?" I asked, discreetly putting my hand on my stomach.

"Oh, not problem, dear. What would you like, because we have chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, and…oh, yes, I forgot that we still have half a cake let over from Saturday! So, anything appeal to you?"

Truth be told, everything appealed to me and I was practically drooling. But, I didn't want to sound like a freeloading pig in front of Manny's mother, so I offered to get it myself.

"Certainly. Manuela, show Paige to the kitchen, will you? I have to leave again or else I'm going to be late." Mrs. Santos seemed to suddenly remember she had to be in somewhere.

"Okay…when will Daddy be home?" Manny asked.

"Oh, I'm such an airhead! I completely forgot to tell you that your father had back home, to Manila, for some business. It was urgent, and he left while you were in school, but he told me to tell you he loves you and he'll call you tonight." Mrs. Santos informed, and I watched as Manny's face fell pitifully.

She and her father must have a close relationship, for her to look so hopeful as she asked, then crushed when she found out he was on business. I wished for the same thing with my father, but I knew it wasn't happening. For all I knew, he could have a whole other family, and just forgotten about me, Dylan, and Mom.

"But, sweetheart, I really have to go now. You all help yourselves to whatever's in the kitchen, and Manuela, feel free to have Paige and Hazel stay the night. I might have and all-night ahead of me. I love you, and I'll see you later. And, Paige, Hazel, it was nice meeting you." And with a quickly blown air-kiss and a wave, Mrs. Santos left for where I assumed she worked.

"I hate my family," Manny mumbled miserably, her head sinking back onto Hazel's shoulder.

"Hate is a strong word," I replied casually sitting on her bed.

"No, this is the perfect word. My mother is always gone, and the only time we are really together is in the mornings when she comes in and even then, it for like ten minutes before I have to leave for school. And then, my dad is gone for most of the time. Mostly, it's going back home to Manila, but other times, it's England, Mexico, New York, Los Angeles…among other places so far from home." Manny shared, a newfound passion in her voice.

"Wow, that's must be tough. Do you two have a good relationship?" I wondered.

"It's better than me and my mom's, but not as good as I'd like it to be. He's a wonderful dad, and when he is home, we spend so much time together, just laughing and talking about stuff…that's why I miss so much when he's gone." Manny sighed dejectedly.

"What did he think about the whole incident with Craig?" I asked softly.

"He was disappointed in me, and wanted to kill Craig, but he was totally against the abortion because of Daniela—" As if she realized what she was talking about, she stopped suddenly.

"Who's Daniela?" Hazel and I asked in unison.

"Nothing. Nobody, I mean, let's just drop this. It's really not something I should talk about." Manny hurriedly detached herself from Hazel and began walking towards her bedroom door. "Come on, Paige, let's get your food."

Hazel and I looked at each other, wondering who Daniela was and why Manny was so hesitant to talk about it. But, knowing that this was something that caused her major discomfort, I didn't peruse it any longer. We followed Manny into the kitchen, and I gleefully satisfied my craving for sweets with a chocolate and vanilla shake, sprinkled with Chip Ahoy! cookie crumbs and homemade German Chocolate cake mixed in.

As Manny, Hazel, and I laid on the Santoses living room floor, surrounded by pillows, blankets, and assorted snacks, my cell phone rang, and I dove for it. None of us had heard anything from either Jimmy or Craig in hours, besides the two minute call from Jimmy to Hazel, explaining that both were okay, though Craig was a little banged up, and everything was taken care of. I was still sick with worry, but felt a little better now that I knew Craig wasn't in the hospital.

But now, as I stared down at the vibrating cell phone that was blaring "Bring Me to Life" as the ringtone, it was all I could do not to shout out with relief and burst into tears. The name on the caller ID said "Craig".

"Hello," I said desperately.

"Hey, baby, it's me." Craig replied wearily.

"Craig! Are you alright!" I felt short of breath waiting for his answer.

"Other than a couple of scrapes on my back, a busted lip and a bruised cheek, I'm fine. Just pissed to the high heavens for two reasons."

"What's wrong?" I asked alertly.

"Well, Paige, because of the fight, I had to tell Joey about us and about you." Craig revealed, slightly guiltily.

I was in silence for a full minute before my emotions got the better of me, and I exploded.

"YOU TOLD HIM ABOUT ME!" I yelled furiously.

"Paige, I'm sorry I had to! I wasn't like Spinner was going to keep his mouth shut, so I figured it would be better coming from me than him." Craig yelled with the same ferocity.

"GREAT CRAIG, NOW EVERYONE KNOWS I'M A SKANKY SLUT!" I screamed. "THANKS A LOT, CRAIG!"

"You're overreacting, Paige! Joey is upset, yeah, but he's okay with it! After all, he helped Emma's mom when she got pregnant, so it's not like he hasn't been through this before!" he replied.

Calming down enough to quit screaming, I questioned, "Did he put you out or something?"

"Not at all. In fact, he wants to meet with your mom so they can work out a little deal to where as we can have our own little apartment." Craig disclosed his voice calm and steadier than before.

Shock must have over took my face because Manny and Hazel began furiously waving, motioning for me to tell them what happened. I ignored them and found my voice again.

"Are you serious, he wants to give us our own little apartment?" I gasped, shell-shocked.

"Yeah, baby! He figured that since we are having a child that I can't keep living in his garage, and your house isn't big enough to accommodate me, you, and a baby comfortably. So, it won't be anything big, but enough for the both of us and the baby to live comfortably. Like two bedrooms at the most." Craig explained, making my face light up with joy.

"This is amazing!" I rejoiced, "Craig, I'm so sorry about exploding on you earlier. I guess it was a mood swing or something, but I'm sorry for it."

"Don't apologize, babe, I got kind of hot headed too. I'm just so pissed at Spinner! I just know he's going to do something stupid tomorrow. He's just like that when you've go something he wants." Craig murmured, talking more to himself than me.

"Well, what exactly happened after Manny and Hazel lefty with me? What did you and Jimmy do to him?" I questioned.

"Basically, he had his foot on my chest for about twenty minutes hollering at me and trying to suffocate me. He kept going on and about how you were a—you know—and how we were supposed be friends and how friends didn't do this to each other, basic sappy bullshit—oh, sorry, Ang— and then, he said that he wished our baby would die—"

"Craig! He said that!" I was shocked beyond words that Spinner would say something like that, but once I thought about it, I wouldn't have put it past him.

"Yeah, and that was what really got me going. I just wanted to kill him, baby! It made me so pissed and angry that he would say something like that about our baby. I wanted to hurt him and cause him as much pain as he causing us, but I couldn't because of Jimmy. He wouldn't let me hurt him, hurt him, but he didn't let me get my fair amount of licks in." Craig informed angrily.

"Well, Jimmy's just looking out for you. It won't make things any better for me or the baby if you're in jail over murder," I grinned.

"I suppose you're right," Craig sighed.

"No, I am right. Craig, please, tomorrow, at school, don't do anything to push him. He knows now, and if he doesn't yell it out in front of everyone when we first get to school, then he's got us blackmailed. In a way, he's in control of everything." I reasoned wisely.

After a few moments, he agreed, "I'll try but I can't promise anything."

"Craig," I began, "Are you excited about this baby?"

"Excited? Paige, I'm ecstatic! This is my chance to be a better father than my own was, and I'm going to take it. I already love this baby more than—than anything in the world!" Craig reveled.

"More than me," I teased.

"Paige, don't start. I love you, and I'm in love with you, but this baby is just different."

"Aww, that's sweet. What do you want, a boy or a girl?" I speculated carefully.

"I don't know…a son would be great, you know, someone to play ball with, do manly-man things with, but a daughter would be so much better."

"How come?" I questioned.

"I honestly have no idea. Manny and I wanted a girl, so I guess that feeling is still left over. But, if we do have a girl, she's not dating until she's thirty-five."

I laughed, and replied, "You honestly think you could handle a girl?"

"Well, if she's as beautiful as her mother, I think I just might have to sit outside the house with a shotgun, and a box of non-perishable food items."

"I think I want a girl too," I mused softly.

"Hey, uh, Paige," Craig began uneasily.

"Yeah,"

"If we have a girl, are you going to tell Manny what it is?"

"Sure, I mean why wouldn't I?" I shrugged.

"Well, I was thinking that since we wanted a girl so badly, then her mother made her get an abortion, I thought that things would tense and complicated between you two." Craig sounded uneasy and worried, but spoke his mind.

The thought threw me into silence. That sounded like a very logical, true thing that would happen, but Manny was being so truthful and real with me that I couldn't imagine that happen. We were completely over all the things that happened last year, and now she was steadily becoming one of my best friends, even in the few hours we had mended our differences. I didn't want to loose Manny, but what Craig was saying seemed true.

"Please, that's not going to happen." I falsely assured myself. "But, I feel myself drifting, so I'm going to go head and go to sleep. But, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, okay," he said disappointedly, "I love you."

Trying to muster up a smile, I said, "I love you too" and I hung up.

Manny and Hazel didn't waste anytime. As soon as I slipped my phone back into my purse, they were right in front of me, waiting for all the details.

"Well," Hazel pressed, "what happened when we left? What'd they do?"

I recounted all the events Craig told me—like me they couldn't believe Spinner said that about our baby—and they lapped up all the details eagerly. But, Craig's accusation still weighed heavily on my mind and I just had to know.

"Manny, can I ask you something?" I began nervously.

"Sure," she conceded.

"Craig and I are going to find out what the baby is when I go back to the doctor in a month, and, this is something that really doesn't matter, but would you completely hate me if I had a baby girl?" I stammered and stumbled over my words, watching Manny's face crumble.

I thought it was from the fact that I might be right, but she proved me wrong when she opened her mouth.

"You honestly think I'd hate you for having a baby girl, Paige?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"No, it was just that—"

"Paige, I know I didn't get to have my chance to have my girl, but if you have a girl, I will honestly be happier for you. In a way, I guess, it'll give me the chance to love her like my own." Manny smiled sadly, her eyes glistening in the dim light.

"Thanks, Manny," I said warmly, and leaned forward to hug her.

Smiling softly, and folding her hands like she was saying a prayer, Manny said, "Plus, if you're having a girl, you'll be able to give Craig the daughter he's always wanted."

I smiled thankfully at her, glad that she wasn't going to hate me if I had a girl and glad that Craig was wrong. But still, there was a lingering feeling that tomorrow wasn't going to be as bright as today.

Disclaimer: See chapter one
Ha! I told you this was going to be a tear jerker! I, the one that's in control of everything that goes down in this story, felt the familiar pricking of tears in the back of my eye when Manny was reading the pillows to Paige and Hazel—ah, so sad! But, the next chapter will be the one were STUFF goes down. And in chapter nine, we get a new character who will sort of kind of take Spinner's place. Sounds good, huh? As always, I'm not telling, but just know that you should expect some stuff. And, for all you who can't wait to find out what they're having, just two more chapters (three at the most) and you'll know what they're having! Be patient, keep on reviewing, and everything will pay off!

Reviewers

Xcrazibabii69x- Ha, a new reviewer! Thanks for the awesome complements, you rock! No, I've never seen another Degrassi FanFiction site before this one, but there are tons of stories out there with similar names before, and that wasn't mine. But, keep reading and reviewing and maybe you'll win one of my awards! (LOL)

Medicated and Dedicated- Ellie and Marco will be in this story, but Ellie is Ashley's best friend, so you can imagine what's going to happen. After all, she was mean when Manny passed by them in the hall during "Accidents Will Happen Part One"…but Marco is still going to stick by Paige and Craig! So, no worries with there!

Maibe Josie- Well, actually, there is someone that's bipolar on the show, and that's Craig. But, since nothing after "Anywhere I Lay My Head" and "Islands in the Stream" happened, we've no knowledge of that in this story! But, if the has to be told, I don't really like Ashley. She just seems too self-absorbed with her own problems to think rationally, or see things through someone else's point of view. But, my not liking Ashley could be because I think Jake Epstein (Craig) is so HOTT and an excellent guitar player and I like Cassie Steele's (Manny) music and her acting style. I've got nothing against Melissa McIntyre (Ashley) but I just don't like her character…but, Ash and Paige will have a confrontation, but not in the way I think you want it. In the next chapter, you'll see!'

Everyone is wonderful, and all should keep reviewing! (In a British rocker's voice) Thank you everybody and g'night!