"Hi, you've reached Allie-
Who's having a boy!
And Mark and Roger, who keep inter-
Allie! You're having a boy! We're proud!
So leave a message-
ALLIE'S HAVE A BOY! LALALA-"
"Um, Allie, this is James. I know we haven't talked in a while, but, well, Dad had a heart attack, and he didn't make it. We're all at the house, so please call. We need you here."
"Hi, you've reached Allie-
Who's having a boy!
And Mark and Roger, who keep inter-
Allie! You're having a boy! We're proud!
So leave a message-
ALLIE'S HAVE A BOY! LALALA-"
"This is James again…you're having a baby?"
0o0o0o0o0
Allie got home late that night. Much to Roger's dismay, Allie took Mark's advice and quit her job at Nightlife, allowing her to pick up extra shifts at café. She was now frequently working until closing. Much to Allie's dismay, her stomach was starting to protrude. She could no longer fit into any of her pants, and had taken to wearing Roger's or Mark's.
She entered the apartment to find Roger and Mark standing over the answering machine, talking quietly. When she walked in, they quickly stopped talking and stared at her until she joined them at the counter.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Both of the men sighed.
"You should hear this." Roger said softly, as Mark pressed the playback button, replaying her brother's two messages. Allie's expression changed from puzzled to fearful, and as the end of the message sounded, she ran to her room and began to throw things around, looking for her suitcase. Roger and Mark followed her into her room.
"Are you ok?" Mark asked, leaning in the doorjamb.
"I…I need my suitcase."
"We'll help." Roger offered, poking around in her closet. Allie nodded, and checked under her bed. Mark looked around in the pile of boxes. Allie got up and threw herself on the bed.
"Will you guys go with me?" She asked, forcing herself not to cry. She moved to the middle of bed to make room for Mark and Roger to lie on either side of her.
"Of course." Mark replied, grabbing her left hand. Roger held her left
"We'll be there." Allie gave up resisting the urge as tears poured down her face.
"I don't know why I'm so upset!" She cried, sobbing, "The man hated me! I hated him!" Mark sighed.
"But he was your Dad, Al. I'm sure on some level you both loved each other." Allie shrugged.
"I suppose…ok, I really need to pack." She sat up and started again to search for her suitcase.
0o0o0o0o0
"Welcome to North Carolina." Allie called boredly from the backseat of the rental car Mark had driven from New York to South Carolina. Roger and Allie both offered to take shifts, until they realized the car was stick, and neither one had learned how to drive stick. Roger was sitting in the back with Allie, or rather, he had been sleeping, until Allie had announced they had arrived.
"Ok, so where's the turn-off?" Allie watched the sign stating Raleigh was 6 miles away.
"On the right. The Raleigh exit." Mark nodded and began to hum along with the radio. Allie rolled her eyes and continued to watch the city pass, until they turned at the exit and the city molded in front of them.
"Where's your house?" Mark asked, looking around. Allie leaned in between the driver and passenger's seats and pointed.
"See that hill in front of us?" Mark nodded.
"With that huge building on the top?" Allie laughed quietly.
"Actually, that huge building is my house. Just follow the road."
"That is your house?" Mark gaped, as the gigantic mansion drew closer. Roger, who had been silent for a long while, stared in awe.
"You actually grew up there?" Allie nodded.
"Uh yeah. Unfortunately." Roger shook his head.
"Unfortunately? My house was about as big as that window!" Allie sighed.
"It just brings up bad memories, is all." Mark pulled into the driveway, through the black iron gates. The three of them got out of the car with their suitcases and duffel bags and headed to the front door.
Allie knocked on the large front doors and was greeted by a very old butler.
"Hello, Miss Allison." He acknowledged her somberly.
"Hi Edward." He opened the door wider to let the three of them inside.
"Shall I announce your escorts?" Edward asked, clearing his throat.
"Oh, I guess. Um, Roger Davis and Mark Cohen." The butler nodded and walked slowly up the grand down the hallway, which opened at the mouth of the grand staircase.
"This place is like a castle!" Roger whispered to her. Allie shrugged as Edward cleared his throat and loudly spoke.
"Presenting Miss Allison Sutherland and Misters Roger Davis and Mark Cohen." Allie nodded for them to follow her down the hall.
"No, leave your baggage, you'll be beaten if you try to do any of your own work here." Allie instructed Mark as he began to bring his duffel. He dropped it and followed her and Roger down the hallway and the stairs, into a large grand room, with Allie's family sitting around sullenly. "Um, hello everyone." A tall frizzy-haired redhead scurried to Allie and hugged her tightly.
"Allie! I'm so sorry we haven't kept in touch! I missed you…" Allie patted her sister on the back.
"Mallory, it's ok! I'm here now!" 3 other young men stood up and slowly drifted towards their sister, while Roger and Mark hovered awkwardly by the stairs. An older woman sat tightlipped on the clawed couch, her eyes narrowed at the blonde being greeted by her siblings. "Oh, um, Mallory, James, Noah, Fin, this is Roger and Mark." Her roommates waved. "Roger, Mark, these are my brothers and sister." Her siblings waved.
"Allison, may we talk in private?" A strong southern accent echoed around the room. Everyone turned to see Mrs. Sutherland standing, waiting for them to leave. Allie nodded at her mother as Edward led her siblings and friends from the room.
"Hi, mom." Allie said awkwardly.
"Allison, why did you come here?" Mrs. Sutherland asked, taking her seat again. Allie was taken aback.
"Um, because of Dad…" Her mother sighed.
"I believe I made it well-known you weren't welcome here anymore."
"Mom, Dad died. I'm here for his funeral, for him." Mrs. Sutherland shook her head.
"He wouldn't want you here, Allison."
"Excuse me?"
"He erased you from his life long ago, my dear. As far as he was concerned, he had one daughter: Mallory. Now, luckily for you, your siblings love you dearly, and they want you to stay. Now, I understand you are with child." Allie nodded slowly.
"Yeah…"
"Which one of those bums is the father?"
"Bums? Excuse me? Neither one of them is a bum-"
"Just tell me who the father is, Allison!" Allie sighed.
"Mark." Her mother was confused. "The blonde with glasses?"
"Oh. Well, lesser of two evils, I suppose. At least he isn't that rock and roll boy." Allie shook her head.
"What's wrong with Roger, mom?"
"Oh, he's just…all wrong. So, are you and mark going to get married?"
"Um, no. We aren't even dating."
"You plan to have a child out of wedlock?" Allie nodded.
"I guess you could say that."
"Well, you're already going to hell, so I suppose it's not a terrible thing." Allie, from years of practice and abuse, knew best to let this go.
"Um, Mom, I'm just going to go get settled." Allie took a deep breath and turned away.
0o0o0o0o0o0
A/N: Sorry this took so long, I wrote it and rewrote it about 6 times with all these different ideas. I took too long to write this. At one point, I wrote like 6 pages on word, and then hated it and deleted it…I'm very nit-picky. So…I hope you like! (And again, sorry for taking so long…my life is too hectic, I need a secretary or something…)
