A/N: Hello all! I don't have too much to say, except sorry for the wait and enjoy the chapter! Oh yeah. There is something. I hope I don't make my chapter too unrealistic. If it is, deal with it, you can do it…..please?
Disclaimer: Nothing but the plot and Abbie and Emma and Catie are mine. Mkay? Would I really be writing this right now if Stand By Me was mine? Hmm I think not.
Chapter 17: Happiness and Propositions Galore!
Even though it had only been a week since the most wonderful night of her life, Abbie had improved immensely. It seemed as if the love Chris gave, devoted, and had for her brightened her as a human being. Her skin went back to its fresh, light tan color, her eyes sparkled constantly, and she was always glowing whenever she was around her friends. The only thing that could stop her now was her two-week bout of bulimia nervosa. Although now she ate slowly and didn't throw up after every meal, she still had problems of keeping down her bile at random moments. Even though it was painful, it never bothered her as much as it had before. Now Chris would follow her to the bathroom every time she had to vomit, pull back her hair while she did so, helped her clean up after she was finished, and gave her a hug. With Chris's encouragement and love, she knew that she would slowly get back to as normal as she was.
The day after Abbie and Chris made love, Abbie decided that she should set Teddy free. She went over to Teddy's house, and told him that she had revealed to Chris that she had been raped and that he could tell the rest of the gang if he wanted. The day after that, Gordie, Emma, and Vern buzzed around her constantly, asking concerned questions. Abbie told them that she was fine now, thanks to Chris. This raised much suspicion. Finally, Gordie got Chris to spill that he and Abbie had sexual intercourse, and Emma was quite thrilled.
But her thrill didn't last as long as Abbie thought. It was now Emma who was sickly, and she requested for the gang to show up at her house today. Definitely not wanting to disappoint her ill friend, Abbie agreed. She was now waiting at her and her cousin's house for Chris so the two of them could walk to Emma's house together.
Abbie wandered around the kitchen, scrounging for something to eat. She snagged an apple off of the counter and bit into it, hoping that something as pitiful as an apple wouldn't make her puke. She searched the counter for a magazine to read, until she came across a postcard. With very familiar handwriting.
HI HONEY!
HOW ARE YOU? Your father and I miss you so much! We have had a fun time traveling around the country: we've visited New York, Florida, Louisiana, Washington D.C., Arizona, and now we are traveling through parts of California we've never seen before, followed by a relaxing trip around Oregon. And after that, WE'LL BE PICKING YOU UP FROM CASTLE ROCK! Your father and I cannot wait to see you again, we love you and miss you! Tell your aunt, Vern, and Billy we send our love!
Love,
Mommy
Abbie reread the postcard again. If she wasn't too worried about one line, she'd be cringing at her mother's cuteness and act of Abbie still being a baby. But that one sentence "We'll be picking you up from Castle Rock!"…..it scared her. It made her heart rate race, but somehow, she wasn't as worried as she could be. Her world in Castle Rock was now so separate from the life she had before she came. It was like that other world never even existed, that she never had any other friends, that she never had parents. Her world now was Chris. That was all she wanted her world to be.
"Abbs!"
Abbie put the postcard face down on the counter and turned with a smile.
"Finally, my knight in shining armor has come! Not that this princess needs saving…." Abbie trailed off as she went to greet Chris.
"This knight needs to be saved by the princess," Chris informed, closing his left pupil to reveal a black eye and showing her the horrid blue and purple bruises on his arms.
Abbie gave him a tight hug around his waist and looked up at him, as she did only come up to his chest. "My poor Chris….you should just live with me," Abbie suggested, half-kidding.
"I wish!"
Abbie smiled. "Come on, let's go. You know Emma will blow her top if we're late."
"Ah yes, the constantly-erupting volcano of rebellion and terror," Chris said fondly as he and Abbie exited the house and started to walk on the sidewalk.
"HA! That sounds like something Gordie would come up," Abbie pointed out.
"Well, I have been around Gordo for some time now," Chris considered, "I think I've started to pick up some of his…ah, creative habits, and he's gotten some of mine."
"Do you have any of my habits?" Abbie asked him.
"Yeah," he answered teasingly, "I'm now a total nerd who lives off of Elvis and sex."
"Oh come off it!" Abbie exclaimed, but then questioned, "Can I have Elvis and sex at the same time?"
Chris gave her a playful push. "Not if you want Elvis's ass kicked by Yours' Truly."
"Oh that would be awesome, to see you and Elvis having a fight…shirts flying off…"
"Now don't get any ideas, missy! Besides, you've already seen what's under my shirt," Chris replied devilishly.
"Well, maybe what's under Elvis's is better!" Abbie taunted.
"Is there anything I can do to make sure that you are forever mine?" Chris asked optimistically.
"Yeah…..kiss me passionately and carry me to Emma's," Abbie answered with a smirk, but still with her heart drowning in love.
"Will do," Chris agreed, and scooped her up in his arms so her legs were draped over his left arm and his right arm supported her back, neck, and head.
He swooped down upon her and planted his lips firmly but softly on hers. They dove into an adoring and passionate kiss, tongues mingling and tickling each other with affection. They broke away reluctantly, realizing that their kiss was beginning to consume time along with each others' tongues.
"I love you," Abbie breathed.
"I love you too," Chris sighed, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
She leaned her head to the right, falling against his chest. "Will you carry me to Emma's?"
Chris looked down at her. "I'll carry you until my legs and arms fall off."
Emma was smiling brightly when she let Chris and Abbie in. Vern was already there, tapping what sounded like The Mexican Hat Dance on the coffee table in front of him. He looked up and flashed them a goofy smile.
"Hey guys! Chris, why are you carrying Abbie?"
"…..Because I want to."
"Oh, that makes sense."
Emma motioned for them to sit down, which they did so on a bright red sofa.
"Alright, we're waiting on Gordie," Emma informed.
"Where's the Ted-meister?" Abbie asked.
As if on cue, Teddy stumbled through a hallway door, buckling his pants.
"Just taking care of some business," Teddy notified.
"Knowing you, that means that you were either having sex or going to the bathroom!" Chris exclaimed.
"Hey, hey! Which one do I do more often?" Teddy asked.
"Have sex," answered Abbie, Chris, and Vern.
Teddy stared at them and crossed his arms. "What do you think I am? Some kind of manwhore? You think I'd have sex with another chick at my girlfriend's house?"
The whole room filled with silence.
"Drop dead," Teddy instructed to Vern, and then turned upon Chris and Abbie, "While you two: make little midgets and name them all after their favorite Uncle Ted!"
"What? You aren't going to let them call you Uncle Teddy Bear?" Abbie teased.
"Can we PLEASE stop talking about sex and children!" Emma ordered, looking nervous and tired.
The four turned to look at her, surprised.
"You ok, Em Gem?" Teddy questioned, wrapping his arms around her as he sat down on another couch with her.
"Yeah….it's just-"
BANG! The front screen door flew open and in trudged Gordie, a mess. Blood was rapidly trickling from his nose, and he had deep cuts scattered across his face. His arms carried fresh bruises, and his right hand was holding his crotch.
"That is the LAST time!" Gordie shouted with the rest of energy he had left, and fell into a chair.
Abbie immediately scurried to him. Emma tried to stand up, but she fell back in pain. Chris knelt by Gordie as Abbie dabbed at his nose with a Kleenex she had in her pockets.
"What happened man?"
"Ace happened! He saw me walking on the sidewalk and he jumped me, along with Fuzzy and Vince," Gordie explained in ache, "He nailed me right in the balls….but my nose is killing me."
"Poor Gordo," Abbie said sympathetically.
Chris studied Gordie's hands and considered, "Looks like you won't be writing for awhile."
Gordie looked over at him. "I wouldn't be writing for awhile anyway, I'm fresh out of-OW!"
Abbie had accidentally scratched one of the cuts lining his face. "I'm sorry."
Gordie turned to stare at her. His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. "That's…That's it," Gordie said with realization, "Abbie….talk to me later, alright?"
"Uh…ok…."
"Guys, ok, I can't take it anymore," Emma burst out and turned to Teddy, taking his hands and staring into his eyes, "Teddy, I'm really sorry. Our nights full of passion and love were so great, the best moments of my life, and I don't regret any of it. But Teddy, I'm pregnant."
That explained it all. Why Emma was looking so sick, and why she had thrown up that day Abbie had at school. Still, even though there was an explanation, she was still shocked. Pregnant at sixteen! She began to grope for the answers to the questions she knew everybody was mentally asking themselves: how would Emma support the baby? Was she going to get an abortion? How could the rest of the gang help her? What would Teddy's reaction be?
Abbie's eyes swerved over to Teddy. His face showed surprise, but it was rather mild. Soon, everyone's eyes were upon him. He stayed absolutely frozen, as still as a statue. His head was cocked in thought, as if contemplating if Emma was telling the truth or not.
"Holy crap," he started slowly, "I'm gonna be a father."
Emma swallowed. "I'm sorry," she apologized helplessly.
Teddy turned to her gradually and grabbed her shoulders.
"Sorry? What do you need to be sorry for? I'm gonna be a dad. HOT SHIT!" he shouted, pumping a fist into the air, now starting to talk really fast, "I'm so fricken excited! What to teach the little tike? Baseball's a must, how to shoot a gun, gotta get that boy ready for the army…..OH! I'll show him how to be smooth with the ladies, where else could he learn that from? Shit, I really hope the kid's not retarded, the ladies don't like retarded dudes, no wonder Vern never has a date…..I bet he won't be, coming with my genes. He'll be a good-looking little fucker, yes he will-"
"TEDDY!" everyone yelled.
"Huh? Oh. Sorry."
"Teddy, we can't make plans like that just yet," Emma said, "There's still so much left to decide. I don't even know if we're going to keep the baby-"
"Of course we are!" Teddy declared defiantly, "We're gonna keep him and raise him to be just like his old man!"
Emma looked at him weakly. "I don't know. We're only sixteen. It would be a lot of fun having a baby around, but don't we need to finish school?"
"School, schmool," Teddy said with a toss of his hand, "I'm a workin' man. I'll get the money while you stay in school, if it's that important to you."
"Teddy, you can't drop out of school!" Emma exclaimed, "You'll go stupid! And besides, you aren't the one carrying the baby around anyway. Who's going to watch him or her when I'm at school and you are at work?"
"I'll take him to work with me! He'll be fine, he'll be tough like his dad!"
"My parents are going to kill me," Emma claimed, closing her eyes and leaning against her love.
"Aw Em Gem, they won't kill you. You're parents are easygoing, I'm sure they'll understand. And if they don't, you can move in with me! I know my mom won't give a rat's ass."
Emma turned to look at the group. "What do you guys think?"
Chris and Abbie looked at each other. They had no idea what to say or what to do. It wasn't like they knew any better about babies than Emma did. What were they supposed to say?
Gordie stood up and put a comforting arm around Emma. "Em, it's really your descision."
"And mine!" Teddy cried.
"Well, I mean, she's the one carrying the baby. Going through the pain," Gordie explained.
"Pain? There should be no pain while carrying my child," Teddy informed, annoyed.
"There's pain in every pregnancy, don't you know anything?" Gordie asked, surprised.
"I do know that I'll make a better father than you ever will!" Teddy claimed.
"You'd make a better father if you left and never touched the kid than play with him," Gordie muttered under his breath.
"WHAT? I'LL MAKE A GREAT FATHER!" Teddy yelled.
"Teddy, face it. You're too concerned about yourself to make a good father!" Gordie told him.
"Bullshit!" Teddy cried, "I love Emma, don't I? She's the best thing that ever happened to me!"
"If you really loved her, you would have waited until your wedding night to even consider having sex! There should usually be a wedding before a child is born!" Gordie preached.
Teddy froze. He cracked a smile and leapt off of the couch, onto the floor. He scrounged the carpet for anything, only finding a shiny penny and crumbs from leftover food. He got on one knee and held the penny up to Emma.
"Emma, the love of my life, will you marry me?"
"Stop it," Emma ordered, "You're embarrassing me."
"No, I mean it," Teddy said with all seriousness, "Emma, will you marry me?"
Emma's mouth flew open, her breathing becoming hard and ragged, staring at Teddy with shock.
"Come on, please…..I'll pay you!" Teddy exclaimed, thrusting the penny in front of Emma's face, "Please, I'll do anything for you to marry me. I'm gonna kneel here until your heart melts."
"Well you better get up then," Emma told him with a smile, snatching the penny from him, "Because my heart's a liquid now."
Teddy stood up, and lifted her up into the air, spinning her around, knocking into the coffee table and Vern.
"WE'RE ENGAGED, WE'RE ENGAGED, WE'RE ENGAGED, WOO!"
The rest just stared. Abbie felt very uncomfortable, and she sensed that the others did too.
"Hey, can we go now?" Vern asked.
"Yeah, go on, get outta here," Teddy ordered, gazing at Emma's face, looking ready to devour her lips, "I've got some more business to take care of."
The rest of the group walked out of the door to the sounds of Teddy laughing and Emma gasping. They all looked at each other apprehensively.
"Right," Gordie started, "Abbie, we need to talk."
"Oh yeah, ok," Abbie agreed, still very confused about the whole situation of Emma and Teddy, "Chris, do you want to wait up or go home?"
Chris shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. "Um, I was kind of wondering if I could stay at your place tonight," Chris told her quietly, "You know, um, my old man-"
"Of course!" Abbie exclaimed, "Go on back with Vern, and I'll catch up with you guys! If I'm late, go take a warm shower, that should….ease the pain."
Chris nodded, kissed her on top of the head, and jogged up by Vern.
"You're so lucky to have someone like Chris, you know that right?" Gordie asked.
"Yes! I love Chris!" Abbie said, defending herself.
"Well, anyway," Gordie started, "I was thinking. You know how during…um…your encounter, Eyeball asked you if you knew where Catie was? I was thinking….maybe we could tell Ace, but of course, in some type of form like a letter or something, he wouldn't listen to it if it came out of our mouths. He'll think there's some kind of relationship between Catie and Eyeball, and he'll break it off with Catie and beat the crap out of Eyeball. That way, the whole group can get revenge and no more beatings….and no more encounters, most important of all. But I wanted to ask you before I did it, because you know, you're my friend. I don't want to exploit your encounter with Eyeball or just use it to get revenge, because that's heartless, and I don't want to be heartless towards you or make you feel awful, because I love you. So, is it ok?"
"Of course," Abbie answered with all seriousness, "It's definitely alright. It could be put to some use, and we can get something good out of it, and not just that…" she paused with a shaky breath, "Not just that terrible shit that I ended up going through. Of course, give them all hell."
