January 26th 2022
Chapter 26
Our Twists Around Truth
They would joke sometimes that it wouldn't be Halloween in their house without a bit of teenage drama. It wasn't as though they hoped for any of their young visitors to go through something emotional, dramatic, or… traumatic… They didn't hope it, but at this point it seemed foolish not to expect it. This year, well… Maybe in the midst of trying to give their best to Hallowannie they hadn't even considered it. Only now… Now, here they were.
Maya went up the porch steps and followed Ella back into the house. Inside, Nika Petrelis sat in Granny Lizzie's old chair, looking down to her costume as she traced her fingers along the patterns which she'd painted on the fabric herself. Maya had already found it beautiful outside, but in the light, she got to see so much more of it. Like her diary cover, she'd given so much attention to the small details… Just in this moment though, despite all the costume's beauty, down to accessories, hair, makeup… In this moment, the beauty was dimmed under an overwhelmed feeling just radiating off of the girl sat on the recliner. One foot was tucked under her, the other was bouncing nervously on the floor, next to its twin's shoe.
"Hey…" Maya slowly spoke. "What's going on?" she asked, looking from Nika to Ella and back. For someone who had been doing her very best not to interact with the girl from her past, Ella looked as though she'd flipped her entire attitude. Right here, she moved over and crouched next to Nika, put her hand on her arm until she looked over at her. Now that she'd lifted her head, Maya could see her eyes were red and shining, like she hadn't cried on the outside, but her insides were just screaming with it that she might as well be sobbing and hiccupping.
"It's okay…" she told her, in a voice at once quiet and reassuring. Nika took a breath, and another… Whatever was going on, she gave off the impression of a reaction long delayed, of having kept control because there'd been no other alternative. Now, she'd allowed the barrier to open… and there would be no closing it again. "You can tell her."
Thinking rather than speaking the words 'tell me what?' Maya moved over to sit on the couch, asking with a nod and a motion if Nika would come over to sit with her. It took a few moments, but finally she moved to stand, took two uneven steps on a foot with a shoe and one without before absently kicking off the second shoe. It clattered on the floor, and Nika just stood there, looking down at her teacher where she sat.
"Don't have a choice, do I?" she spoke, whether to Maya or to herself, it was unclear.
"Don't you?" Maya offered. Nika shook her head.
"Won't be able to hide it much longer," she finally explained, and Maya gasped, understanding. It would be impossible to misinterpret the meaning, not with everything she'd already seen and heard… Her eyes met Nika's, said the words without speaking aloud, and the girl nodded. Maya let out a breath and held out her hand so that she'd finally come and sit. When she did, there was an edge of fear in her eyes, fear that seemed intent on highlighting her youth. Fifteen years old… wouldn't turn sixteen until December… and she was expecting.
"How long have you known?" Maya asked, keeping a calm tone, hoping to foster reassurance, trust that… she would be alright, that she could talk to her, like Ella had promised.
"Couple days… couple days after we moved out here," Nika told her. The entire time… This has been going on, the entire time I've known you…
"And Theo, does he… No, he doesn't know, does he?" Maya asked and answered her own question from the look she was given.
"How am I supposed to tell him? After everything he did so we could come out here, me and him, on our own… start over… I had to go and end up like this…" she lowered her head again. There was the bouncing nervous foot again, and it was joined with nervous hands and fingers, tapping, twisting together as another outlet to the various bits of stress and emotions coursing through her.
"Nika, I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I think you know as well as I do that… you're going to have to tell him sooner or later. Deep down you have to know that it'll be better if you tell him than if he finds out on his own. How ever you want to handle this, I'm there for you, okay?"
After considering things some more, Nika finally made up her mind, but it required her to ask permission of Ella. Could she call Theo, have him come over, so she could tell him here, with them, tonight? As ever, she didn't want to impose. Ella was on board, and so was Maya. It took a minute for Nika to get up the nerve to text him, but she finally did, on the excuse that she needed to go home but her friends weren't ready to leave. He texted back and said he would be there shortly.
"Have you been to the doctor? Do you know when you're due?" Ella asked, sitting with them now.
"I haven't… But I've been taking care of myself. I looked things up so I could, I swear. I can't say for sure, but if I counted right, I think… March," Nika breathed. About four months along then…
"I'm sure you're doing great, okay? But now that we know, and he'll know, we'll see about getting you an appointment so you can be checked out, you and the baby," Maya told her. Nika almost flinched at the mention of her unborn child. She was so far from having accepted that part of her situation, that at the end of this pregnancy there would be a baby born into the world, her baby. "Do you know what you want to do about it? I'm assuming you plan to deliver it, but what about after?" Whatever would happen once her brother arrived, it felt important to get a few things on the table first.
"I don't know," Nika breathed. "I couldn't… Once I found out, all I knew was that I was going to see this through, I don't… I don't know if I can be… a-a mom… but I'm not sure I could give it away, what if… what if I change my mind?"
"You don't have to decide right away. We can help you look into your options though. Would that be good for you?" Maya asked. Nika just barely nodded before the door opened and they all froze where they sat.
"Hey, I couldn't find you, I… What's going on?" Lucas stopped and asked, as he took in the scene. Maya looked to Nika, who gave no indication that he shouldn't be told, before turning back to her husband and laying down the main points to catch him up. In no time, he was in line with the rest of them, as they sought to see their young guest through this situation of hers. He might have mentioned that the costume contest had been called while they were in here, that Nika had won her category, but it didn't seem like the time. Instead, he kept watch by the window, waiting to spot Theo's car coming.
When the boy finally arrived, Lucas saw him climb out of his car and look around as though he expected to find his sister outside. He opened the door and called out to him. Theo still looked unsure about going too close to the house, but he came on invitation, tipping his head in greeting as Lucas stepped back to allow him in. Like him, he only had to look inside, to take in the scene of his little sister sitting with her art teacher… and Ella… Something was going on, clearly, and he didn't know what to make of it.
"Nika…" he focused on his sister, catching the distress in her. Her face was a blur of 'I don't know how to do this,' so she chose the path of least resistance and she just told him. She was pregnant.
He was shocked, naturally. Right away, he was just speechless, his legs seemed shaky, enough so that Lucas stayed behind him as though expecting him to keel over. But then Nika looked like she was finally about to burst out crying, and the big brother part of him reactivated, cutting through everything else in his path. He moved around the couch even as Maya stood and stepped back, until he could drop into the space where she'd been and pull his little sister into his arms. As soon as he did, the floodgates broke. Her sobs took up most of the room, but the others standing and sitting nearby could hear, as well as she would, the sound of Theo Petrelis repeating over and over that it would be alright.
It was several minutes before Nika was able to speak again, and her tale was aired out again, this time with some more detail. As to the father of her baby, it was a slightly familiar story to the former couple in the room, but with a distinctive difference. Where Theo had at first pleaded Ella not to tell, insisting that he couldn't be involved, the boy Nika had been with had shown outright refusal to be pegged as her baby's father, with choice words she had to keep from repeating, especially in front of her brother. Whatever feeling those words being aimed at his sister inspired in him, Theo did his best to keep it together, even as others in the room felt a great amount of sympathetic outrage. What mattered most tonight was Nika, being with her, supporting her…
"Mama?" a little voice was heard from above, and it brought them back down to the reality of the moment and place. It was still Halloween night, at the Friar house, and after being laid down sleeping upstairs, Tori Friar had wandered off, following the voices until she could go no further, barred by the gate at the top of the stairs.
There was a brief moment, a look between Ella and Theo, where she considered something, and he tried not to let his own curiosity take him over. That was their daughter up there… she of so many photos and videos but never… Whether it was just time, or the evening had convinced her that it was, Ella passed her ex another look as she stood up. Wait here.
"I'm coming, I'm coming…" she called out in a voice turned away from concern and back to cheerfulness. "Weren't you asleep? Huh? You're not tired now?" she asked as she climbed the stairs and disappeared out of sight.
In the living room, Theo Petrelis looked like his heart might beat out of his chest at any second. When Ella reappeared a moment later, she had the two-year-old in her arms. The cupcake had been removed, though she still had the parts of her costume from underneath. Mostly, she was still on the sleepy side and clinging to her mother like glue as they came down the stairs. Theo stood up, coming around the couch and stopping there.
"Tori, honey, there's someone I want you to meet," Ella explained, and even those who didn't know her as the people in this room did could have seen she was deeply nervous, determination aside. She came to stand before Theo, looking down to the little face stuck at her shoulder and turning just a bit so she would be able to see him. "That's Theo, that's… that's your dad."
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
