Allison and Heather

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"Lisa, how do you know Gabriella? Why is she here?"

My mom didn't say anything. Mr. J looked from me to my mom, me to my mom, looking very confused. Then he figured it out. The color drained out of his face. He was shocked. Then his expression changed. He looked very-

-calm. My eyes widened in disbelief. Something really dramatic was happening, and he was feeling calm?

"Why don't we go have a seat and discuss this," he said coolly. "I don't want to make any wrong assumptions about what you are here to discuss."

My mom and I both nodded. I felt really shaky and my palms were clammy. Mr. Johnson led us inside and we went and sat down on his living room couch. It was nice and cushy. After we were settled, my mom spoke up.

"Bill, I'm going to be frank here. No beating around the bush. Gabriella is your daughter." My mom blushed a little.

My dad's eyes widened a bit but other than that, his expression didn't change.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive, Bill. I never cheated on you. I was about a month or two pregnant with her by the time our divorce was finalized."

"Why didn't you tell me about her? Don't you think that I might've wanted to have a part in raising my daughter?"

By that time they were both standing up. Their voices were getting pretty loud and Mr. Johnson was pacing around the room. My mom sat down, tears coming to her eyes.

"Don't you see, Bill? That's what I was afraid of. Gabi was all I had, and I didn't want you to take her away from me," she said quietly.

"So you decided to do the same thing to me? Thanks a lot, Lisa, thank you very much."

"Bill-" she began.

"Oh, don't you 'Bill' me Lisa. You know that you are losing this argument."

I couldn't stand listening to them fight. Quietly, I slipped out of the room, and went to find a bathroom. I remembered that it was the second door on the left. I walked down the hallway and went in. I sat down on the floor and started to cry. Why did things have to turn out this way? I wanted my parents to be friendly to each other but I got the feeling that there was going to be a custody battle. The one thing I wanted to do most was call Troy, but I couldn't bear to burden him yet again. So I just sat there and cried.

As I fingered my phone in my pocket, I thought of calling Taylor. But it just didn't seem right. Taylor hadn't really been that active in figuring things out, and it seemed wrong to let her know before Troy. I sighed and washed the tears off my face. It was time to go out and face my parents.

I stepped into the hallway, and I almost ran into a young woman carrying a baby. She was a few inches taller than me with shoulder-length sun streaked light brown hair and blue eyes. She was very pretty, and she looked to be between thirty and thirty-five. The baby was chubby and cute with blue eyes and wisps of brown hair. I immediately recognized them as Mr. Johnson's wife and daughter, Allison and Heather.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I gasped, "Are you ok?"
"Not a problem, dear. My name is Allison. Would you like to come into the kitchen for a drink?" she asked kindly.

"I would love that," I responded. I immediately liked Allison. There was just something about her that was really likeable. I followed her down the hallway into the kitchen.

"We have orange juice, apple juice, milk, water, Kool-Aid, Pepsi, and Sprite."

"Milk would be great, thanks." I sat down on a barstool at the counter. She handed me my milk and I took a sip.

"You're probably wondering who I am and what I'm doing in your house," I started.

"Oh, there's no need for explanation. I knew my husband's ex-wife was coming over and I saw you come in with her. I heard everything. The walls are pretty thin in this house. I guess I'm your step mom. This here is Heather, your sister."

I smiled. I had always wanted a sister.

"Is it okay if I hold her?" I asked shyly.

"Feel free!" Allison handed me Heather. She was even cuter up close. She seemed to like me. I played Pat-a-cake with her, and she smiled. I made some funny faces at her and she giggled.

"She must realize that you're her sister," Allison said solemnly, "Because she doesn't usually warm up to people so fast. She's a shy little girl."

I smiled again. But my smiled turned to a frown when Mr. Johnson stormed into the room, followed by my mom. They were both frowning, but their faces softened when they saw me holding Heather.

"Ah, Gabriella. I see you've met Heather and Allison," my dad commented. "We wanted to let you know that we have decided to get a paternity test. I want to make sure that you really are my daughter before we start making custody arrangements."

I gulped.

"Gabi, it's time to go. Come on."

I handed the baby to Allison and followed my mom out the door. We drove home in silence. We were almost at our house when my mom spoke up.

"The test will be tomorrow, Gabi. We'll go after school. Don't dawdle on the way home." I nodded and sighed. It was going to be a long evening.

………………………………………………………………………………...

The next morning I put off going to school until as late as possible, so late that I entered homeroom just as the final bell sounded. That way, no one would have time to question me.

I sat down in my desk. Troy turned around and looked at me questioningly. I shook my head. Troy passed me a note.

Meet me in the secret place during free period, okay?

I can't, I have rehearsal homework I need to work on.

Yah right, you have all the homework that's due in the next month completed and filed away. Why are you avoiding me Gabs? Meet me there or else! (jk)

Fine.

When I walked up the steps, Troy was already there.

"Ok, Gabi, what gives? Why didn't you phone me to tell me what happened? Why are you avoiding me?" Troy demanded.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

"Troy, it's just…well…"

"You can tell me, Gabi, what's wrong?"
"It just seems to me like I am the one on the receiving end of this relationship, Troy. I'm always crying to you and stuff, but I'm never there for you when you need me. I don't want to burden you."

"Gabi, you have to understand. You never have been a burden. You never will be a burden. Got it? I love you and I want to be there for you. If I ever need you, I'll come to you. But right now you're going through a hard time and I want to support you." He gently wiped a tear from my cheek and leaned in to kiss me. Our lips met, and the familiar electricity shot through my entire body. I deepened the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. He put his arms around waist when we were interrupted.

"Geez, can't you guys go for more than two seconds without making out?" Asked Chad.

We shot apart, and glared at Chad. Then the bell rang so we had to go to our next class. Troy and I walked hand in hand down the stairs, ignoring Chad. I promised Troy I'd tell him more about the previous evening later on.

I hope you all like that. Sorry for not updating. I've been busy with school. Please Please Please review! They motivate me and help me get chapters written sooner!

-freakymathgirl