-o0o-
Today was a very stressful day for Sarah. More stressful than what she had experienced in college. Back in those days, she'd be locked in her room all day finishing her thesis and other sorts of analysis papers. She would be preparing for her marketing reports and such. It didn't help that her other professors dumped a lot of readings that needed to be studied. She felt like a living zombie every day that only got three hours of sleep a day. Having six to eight hours of sleep was a luxury that she could only dream of.
But what she was encountering now was beyond any stressful moments of the past lumped together. Pregnant was a very huge word for her now. She never knew that it made so much impact on her now. A baby, she was going to have a baby. It was really uncalled for. A baby that she would be taking care of until it would reach an age that it was ready to take care of itself.
She was unsure if she was lucky or not. Chuck Bartowski, the man that came into her life that one night. The man that would be a significant part of her life for many years to come, she was sure of that. At the young age of 26, being one of the executive officers of one of the most prestigious fragrance companies is really impressive. As promising as his career may sound, to Sarah, it would mean nothing if he was like other rich men. He may be a Casanova, hitting on different girls because he has the looks and the cash to back it up.
Was he really serious when he said that he would take responsibility of his actions? Or was he like the men that Sarah frequently watched on television, men who would pay the women a large sum of money so that their reputation wouldn't be stained.
Daniel was another problem. How the hell would she be able to tell her overly-protective brother that she was pregnant? Telling him that she broke up with Chris was so hard for her to do. Being pregnant was already bad enough, but being impregnated by another man was worse. She could already imagine her brother blowing up like a volcano and beating up Chuck into a pulp. That would be the worst-case scenario.
"What are you thinking about?" Chuck asked her while she was immersed in her own thoughts. They were currently on their way back to the pastry shop. If it were up to Sarah, she would be catching a cab back to the shop. But because Chuck was so insistent, saying that a pregnant woman shouldn't be riding unsafe vehicles like the cab, she ended up in the passenger seat of his car.
"Nothing." She answered bluntly. She was in no mood to answer him right now.
"Then why are you in such deep thought if you're thinking about nothing?" He tried to make her answer his question. He knew that her mind was preoccupied.
"I'm just worried." She confessed to him. "No scratch that, I'm feeling very strained right now. How can I even tell Daniel about this?"
"Who's Daniel?"
"My 'overly protective and sometimes annoying' brother."
He didn't mind replying to what she said. He knew just what kind of stress he put her through. Now he was feeling guilty of what he did. 'I'll drive you home' was just an excuse that he used so that he could spend more time with her. But then he didn't expect himself to be so horny that he actually slept with someone he barely knew. Damn his sex hormones.
It just happened that during that night, he didn't have any condoms with him. What luck. But it wasn't like he used condoms frequently. If it could be helped, he wouldn't use any. He didn't like the feeling of it stuck in his skin. Like what he said to her a while ago, 'I don't roll that way.'
But he couldn't help but feel excited about all of this. It sounds so immoral but that was what he partly felt. All his life, he strived to be the good son that his parents would be proud of. A model student for his teachers and classmates. A brilliant executive officer for his company. A perfect boyfriend for Roxy. He never did anything on the spur of moment; everything would be perfectly planned out. That was why he couldn't help but to look forward to what would be happening next.
Chuck made a turn into the street of Sarah's pastry shop. He stopped in front of the shop's door and hurriedly went out to open Sarah's door.
The look on Sarah's face when she went out of his car made him feel really bad. Worry was drawn all over her face.
"Don't worry." He smiled at her reassuringly. "I'll help you."
Even with the smile and the words that he gave her, she couldn't help but feel vexed. But he seemed sincere so she decided that it would be better to lighten up a little.
"Thanks." She nodded. "And also, thanks for the ride."
"No problem. Just call me if you need me." He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "You have my number, right?"
"Yes, I do." She answered.
"Then I'll be going now." He went back inside his car and revved up his engine.
She waved at him while he drove away. When Chuck's car was out of sight, she sighed to herself. Although he says that she shouldn't worry, it really was hard not to. She entered the shop through the shop entrance and was surprised that Lou and some of the employees were crowding near the door.
At first Sarah thought that they were just having their breaks, but she noticed that all of their eyes were onto her. It wasn't very comfortable for her.
"What's wrong?" She asked all of them, trying to act like everything's normal.
"Don't you 'what's wrong' us!" Lou pointed a finger at her accusingly. "We saw you!"
They saw me and Chuck. She thought. "Saw me doing what?" She pretended to act innocent, although it didn't work for her this time.
"Oh, come on Sarah!" Lou sighed when her best friend attempted to act all innocent. "We saw you go in and out of that hot guy's car! The guy that ate here a while ago! Come on spill!"
"Hot guy?" Chuck was attracting a lot of attention. Of course, he was. How could he not? Even Sarah, the girl who rarely finds males good-looking, thinks so too.
"Yes! The hot guy I served!" Amy, one of the waitresses squealed.
"You're so lucky that you got to be the one to serve him!" Alex pouted in frustration. She also found the curly-haired man gorgeous.
"So why did you go inside his car?" Sarah thought that she could escape being on the spotlight, but Lou prevented her from doing so.
"B-b-because…" Sarah tried to find the right words to say to them.
"So, is he your new boyfriend?" Lou asked her, looking a bit jealous.
"Bo-boyfriend?" She was in a big trouble here. "He's not my boyfriend!" It wasn't like she was lying.
"Then why did he give you a pat on the shoulder a while ago?" Amy raised her eyebrows at her.
"Because he's not my boyfriend!" Sarah was getting pissed. All of the employees here are her friends, but she didn't like it when she was in the hot seat. She preferred being the one that kept asking personal questions. Not the other way around! "He was one of my college friends. So, he treated me ice cream. That's it." She was lying of course. She didn't want any more people to know until she told her brother first.
"Oh okay! You're so lucky to have a hot friend like him!" Alex was pretty convinced and went back to work.
"Introduce me to him next time okay?" Amy requested before she went outside to serve the customers.
Lou was the only one who wasn't deceived by Sarah's stories. She's been together with Sarah for ten years already. They also studied in the same university and high school. It was the first time that she saw that curly-haired guy, so she knew immediately that she was lying.
She tried to catch Sarah's eyes and when she did, she gave her knowing look. Tell me later. Sarah nodded and went to her office to continue working. Lou was relieved that Sarah didn't try to keep anything from her and also resumed her work as the shop's head chef.
-o0o-
"So, do you mind telling me what happened a while ago? Where exactly have you been?" Those were Lou's first words as the shop was closed for the day. She was walking together with Sarah to the bus stop.
"Well, you see," Sarah paused looking around her surroundings for any eavesdroppers Lou was right behind her, listening to every word that she uttered.
"What? Continue what you were saying Sarah." The auburn-haired girl urged her continue. Her curiosity was killing her already! She had to wait until they closed the shop before they could even talk about it.
"It was Chuck, the man that I met in the bar when I was being all sulky." She answered her while they stood patiently waiting for the bus.
"You mean during the time Chris broke up with you?" Lou wanted to clarify it with her first.
"Yes Lou. You don't have to rub it in." She sighed. Nowadays, she got irked when people say 'Chris' and 'break up' in the same sentence. Sure, she accepted the fact that she was cheated on. But still, she wasn't over him just yet and any reminder of him wasn't really necessary at all.
"Oh sorry." Lou tried to lighten the mood and laughed apologetically. "So why did you ride his car? I last saw you when you chased down the guy when he left his change on the table. Then Amy and the others were whispering amongst themselves that you rode some hot guy's car. And yes, I know you lied when you told them that he was an old friend of yours."
"It was a good thing that he recognized me when I called out to him." She paused as the bus stopped in front of them. They got in and Sarah continued with her story. "Since I really wanted to be sure whether I was pregnant or not, I asked him if he could come with me to the hospital-"
"He accompanied you when he knew that he impregnated you?" Lou said in a loud voice that people inside the bus started to look at them suspiciously.
"Can you please keep quiet?" Sarah covered her mouth and shushed her.
She finally removed her hands from Lou's mouth and her friend apologized again. "I'm really sorry about that. But anyway, he's a pretty good guy if he even took you to the hospital."
"But then he didn't take me to the hospital." Sarah ruined Lou's first impressions about Chuck. At first when Sarah told her that he agreed to take her to the hospital, she found him so responsible and like a gentleman. When Sarah rebutted and told her that he didn't take her to the hospital, she suddenly thought of her as an irresponsible man.
"What? But why?" Lou asked her friend.
"Because he said that he knew a good Ob-gyne doctor, but she was on leave, so he took me to the drugstore instead." She answered.
"I don't understand how you could find an Ob-gyne in a drugstore." Lou was confused now.
"Of course, we didn't go there for that purpose!" She shot at Lou, causing a lot of people to look at them again. She felt much more embarrassed when Lou was the one that was shushing her. "He was so silly. He bought a lot of pregnancy kits." She said in a low tone, omitting the part when she thought of Chuck as someone who wanted to abort a baby. She would never tell Lou that, for she would also be laughing her heart out if ever she didn't.
"He bought a lot? Seriously?" Sarah swore that Lou was trying not to laugh at her, but she wouldn't get mad if she didn't. It surely was ridiculous. If it was another time and she wasn't pregnant, she would also be rolling on the floor laughing. "So, he wants to make 100 percent sure huh?"
"Although it was really dumb of him to do so, considering his credibility and all, I think he also wanted to make sure as soon as he knew of it." Sarah hung on to the pole near the door when the bus halted at a stop.
"That's reasonable." Lou agreed. "So, what did he say when all of the pregnancy kits were positive?"
"He didn't really say anything. He wasn't really surprised himself that it was positive. That bastard didn't even bother to use a condom on me, or even pull out of me for that matter." Sarah was getting annoyed when she remembered the two of them talking in the car, with him being all uncaring.
"Then why didn't you tell him to use a condom?" Lou held her bag closer to her when more people started to enter the train.
"I felt so drunk and turned on back then. I remember telling him to 'remove my dress' not 'put a condom, okay?'" She lowered her voice when an old lady stood near the two of them.
"Sarah, that handsome Chuck guy is a man. I repeat, a man. A man of course has raging sex hormones. Considering that you two had a large intake of alcohol, do you expect him to be less turned on than you were?" It was a rhetorical question. Damn Lou and her logic for these kinds of things.
"What about Daniel?" Lou asked her.
"What about Daniel?" Sarah repeated Lou's question. What did she mean by that?
"What was his reaction when you told him that you're pregnant? Did he go ballistic and start strangling your handsome Chuck until he turned blue?"
"I haven't told him yet." Sarah sighed worriedly. That was what was bothering her the whole day. How, oh how could she tell her brother Daniel about it?
"What? He still doesn't know? You should tell him!" Lou persuaded her. She knew Sarah's brother too well. She remembered Daniel stalking Sarah during the first few months of going out with Chris and he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tried to beat Chris when he tried to kiss her beloved sister.
"I know I should! I just chicken out when every opportunity arises." She protested, she tried to tell him this morning but failed. "It's just so hard to tell him!"
"You should tell him before he finds out himself. Daniel might get super-duper mad at you if you didn't tell him yourself." Lou emphasized the word super.
"But-" Sarah tried to reason but she knew that Lou was right.
"Do you want him to be angry at you?" Lou raised her eyebrows at her.
"Of course not! Fine! I'll tell him later!" Sarah sighed. She has to tell him, after all Daniel was her brother, one of the most important people in her life.
"Good luck with that." Lou wasn't the slightest bit sarcastic with what she said. She meant that honestly. "Here's my stop, see you tomorrow." She gave Sarah a light hug and went out the moment the door of the bus opens.
"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." Sarah waved at Lou's retreating figure.
When the bus moved again, Sarah started to think about how she would tell Daniel about her pregnancy. Should she first start with saying that Chris broke up with her because he was cheating on her behind her back? That was a very dangerous start. But maybe Daniel would be too fumed to find out that Chris broke up with her, that he would sympathize with her. Then she would tell him that she went to a bar to drink, slept with a man she had just met and end up getting pregnant.
Scratch that. Telling him that she had a one-night stand with Chuck was like adding fuel to the fire. He would be so much in a wrath if she told him that. When she got home after the one-night stand with Chuck, she told him that she was with Chris. He would be so much exasperated with Chuck than he already was with Chris. So maybe she should omit Chris from the story.
But then if she did that, Daniel would be infuriated at the thought of her twin sister cheating on Chris. He would maybe even side with Chris. Daniel did not like it when people are being dishonest when they are in a relationship.
"Crap." Sarah was panicking. Either way, Daniel would know that Chris broke up with her and Chuck got her pregnant.
She then realized that she feared Daniel getting mad at her for not being honest with him all the more rather than Daniel getting mad at her for sleeping with a random guy and getting herself pregnant.
She decided what she had to do.
She would tell him the truth, even if she was afraid of what the outcome might be.
-o0o-
When she arrived home, she was relieved to find that Daniel was still at work. Sarah still had time to recompose herself. She went into her room and changed into a loose t-shirt and shorts.
Deciding that she didn't want to stall any longer, she waited for Daniel at their living room. She snuggled in their couch and turned on the television, trying to relax herself.
The channel that she was watching featured two high school students that were dating. They really love each other even when there were many obstacles like school and people around them.
"Nicole!" The high school guy said to her. "Let's run away together!"
"Are you sure about this?" The girl looked so unsure.
"Of course! I'll take care of you! Don't worry!"
The couple ran away and ended up in a motel where they obviously had sex. Few days later, the parents of the girl searched for the two of them. They dragged the girl back home and realized that she kept on throwing up.
"What's the matter with you?" The girl's father was infuriated with his daughter's actions lately.
They later realized that the girl was pregnant.
Click. Sarah changed the channel; she was already perplexed on whether she was going to tell her brother and this show wasn't helping. She browsed the channels and finally stopped on one she and her brother usually watch.
"Breaking news about the most talked about superstar today!" The news anchor announced. "Rumor has it that Hollywood actress Amanda Starling has been found walking out of an abortion clinic looking so down in the dumps! Could this mean that she's pregnant?"
"Argh!" Sarah clicked on to the next channel. It was a music channel. "At least there's nothing about pregnancy here."
The song that was about to be featured was by Sarah's favorite band, 'Afternoon Tea Time'. It seems like it was their new song. Sarah turned up the volume a bit. The lead singer, Mindy, started to sing.
"The words you said to me a long time ago,
Was it really just a lie?
Oh how could you?
That one night I thought your love was real
But you weren't there when I woke up!
The only thing that reminded me of you is this baby-"
Sarah pressed the 'off' button of the remote and placed the remote of the television on the table with a loud thud.
"You have got to be kidding me!" She wanted to destroy their television. Even the television wanted to rub it in her face! The nerve of that inanimate and electricity-dependent object! It really wasn't helping in lightening up her mood. In fact, it was making her much more nervous than she was when she arrived home.
"Milk. That would make me calm down a bit." She figured and stood up to go to the kitchen. But before she could even exit the living room, the door opened, revealing Daniel in his business attire.
"Hey Sarah." He greeted her. "I'm back."
"D-Daniel! W-welcome back!" She stuttered. Impeccable timing! Just as she was about to lose her sanity, Daniel returns home and makes her feel like she'd die out of anxiety.
"Did I scare you or something?" Daniel asked her as he removed her shoes.
"No! Not really! You just surprised me!" She murmured to herself, but it was audible enough for Daniel to hear.
"Sorry about that." He chuckled and went inside the kitchen. "Did you eat dinner already?"
"Yeah, I did." She gulped nervously. Will she tell him now? "What about you?"
"Yep. Just before I got here." He grinned. He opened their fridge and got a bottle of water.
She stared at him, unable to even say a word. "Daniel might get super-duper mad at you if you didn't tell him yourself." Lou's words echoed in her mind.
"I'll tell him now!" Sarah thought to herself. "It's now or never!" She went beside him and handed him an empty glass. "Here."
"Thanks." He got the glass and poured water for him to drink.
"Daniel, I need to tell you something important." Sarah confessed to him. "Just say it already! Say it!"
"What is it?" Daniel placed the glass in the sink and faced her.
She gulped nervously for the second time. He seemed to be in a good mood today. Maybe she should tell him another time? No! She had to tell him now! Or else she wouldn't be able to tell him again!
As Sarah was having an inward fight with herself, Daniel's phone rang. "Wait Sarah, its Vivian. I have to answer this call first." He excused himself and answered his phone.
"Yes Vivian?" His smile was reaching his ears already! Sarah was sure that Vivian was the one for his brother.
She stood in front of Daniel, nervously watching him as he conversed with his girlfriend. It was one of the normal topics, 'When are you free for dinner' and the sort. But suddenly his eyes widened with what Vivian said. Daniel's lovey dovey face, his look whenever he was with Vivian, was now gone.
"Really?" He asked her again, unable to believe what Vivian said.
After a few nods, Daniel said goodbye to Vivian. He clicked the 'end call' and turned to Sarah. "It seems like Vivian's cousin, Vernice, is pregnant. Can you believe it? Vernice isn't even married to the guy!"
"What the hell? Why did Vivian have to call when I was about to tell him?" She panicked inwardly. Now Daniel would really get mad if she told him. "She is?" She pretended to be shock. Again, what an impeccable timing.
"Yeah. People these days don't give a damn about pre-marital sex." Daniel sighed. "Look what it got them into."
"Right." Sarah nodded. She decided that it was not the time to tell Daniel. "I think I'll go to bed now."
"Wait a minute. So, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" "Crap! He still remembers it!" She was in a pinch right now.
"Nothing! It was nothing. Just forget it!" She laughed nervously and tried to get out of the kitchen.
"But you said it was 'something important'." Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. "Come on sis, you're hiding something."
"It was nothing! Really! Nothing!" She flailed her arms around to convince Daniel, but whatever she was doing, it wasn't really working.
"Tell me." His voice was filled with curiosity.
"What should I do?" Her heart was racing so fast and she couldn't breathe anymore.
Then on impulse, she said. "I have a new boyfriend."
Daniel's eyes widened again, the second time he got home. "Really? What happened to you and Chris?"
"Well… I'm not attracted to him anymore…" She responded.
"What? But why did you replace him with a new one all of a sudden?" He asked her in disbelief.
"Because he's the one that I really love! I don't want to fool myself any longer." She blushed, partly because it was too embarrassing to be saying that stuff, even if they were lies.
"Aww sis!" Daniel hugged her sister tightly. "I always knew that Chris wasn't the one for you!" He let go of her and patted her shoulder. "I really don't like him for you!"
"Really?" She pretended to be happy with his words, but it was really offensive in some way. So, Daniel didn't really like Chris in the first place, that's why he never tried to hang out with him.
"Yes really!" He nodded. "I don't like how rubbish spits out of his mouth. I mean seriously, the guy's so vulgar."
"There! I told you already!" Sarah tried to excuse herself from making anymore lies. "I'm going to bed!"
"Wait!" He grabbed her wrist. "You have to introduce him to me!"
"What? Why?" She was taken aback; she thought she was already safe.
"Because I'm your brother!" He insisted. "That's why you have to tell me!"
"Fine! Next time!" She rushed to the stairs but Daniel ran after her.
"I want to meet him this weekend okay? Tell him!" He let her go up to her bedroom.
She went inside her bedroom and closed the door. Instead of being relieved, she couldn't help but leaned onto the door and pull her hair out. Why didn't she just tell Daniel the truth? That could have been so much easier. But no, she chose to lie and now look at the result. Chuck wasn't even her boyfriend. Boyfriend. The thought of it makes Sarah so embarrassed.
She reached out for her phone and lay down on the bed. She opened up the phonebook and searched for his name.
Chuck Bartowski.
"Just call me if you need me."
Without any hesitation, she pressed the 'call' button and placed her phone beside her ears.
A voice from the other line answered after a few rings. "Hello?"
-o0o-
