Chapter two! I really hope y'all are enjoying this because we really are trying to write a good story. Since people asked, here's chapter two! Tell your friends! (Jk, but please, spread this story. I would really appreciate it.)
Julia's Apartment
Julia's POV
Ivy fell during rehearsals and had to go to the hospital. We let Karen practice in her place while she was gone. I'm not too sure what's wrong with her but she's been looking exhausted and paler than usual lately.
I get home and not too long after that my phone starts ringing. Oh good, It's Ivy.
"Hey…" I say to her.
"Hey, I need you to do me a huge favor," she says, sounding tired and upset.
I start thinking of what she could want me to do but I want to know if she's okay. "First, I want you to tell me what the doctor said." She just sighs, I can tell she's disappointed and scared. "What's's wrong?" I ask her.
"They said I'm pregnant," she quietly mumbles. I had a feeling that was possible when she started looking so exhausted and pale. Her and Derek haven't been on good terms lately so I'm not sure if he knows about this.
"Oh Ivy, how far along are you?" this is going to be really hard on her because I know she can't perform while she's pregnant.
"I wasn't really paying attention when they said… I was trying to figure out what to do about Marilyn," she says, trying to hold back tears.
"Well, we're gonna have to tell Derek." He has to know, there are some things Ivy just won't be able to do anymore.
"Can it wait?" she asks, sounding scared and I think she's crying a little.
"How long were you planning on waiting?" I ask, hopefully not until she starts showing or until the baby's born.
"I was hoping till he'd just notice but I don't think that would work" she sadly says.
"No, it won't. I hate to ask, but do you know the father?" if it's somebody that's willing to help her, he needs to know. But part of me wants to think that it might be Derek.
"Yeah, but I don't really wanna talk about that right now," she sighs.
"Alright. Now, what did you wanna ask me?" I say to her.
"Weren't you and your husband interested in an adoption?" she hesitantly asks, her voice shaking.
"Yeah," I reply, smiling just a little.
"They say it's a long process that could take years until you get a kid… it works faster when you know who you're adopting from" she quickly says, I knew this already though, it's what we were told by the people at the adoption agency.
"You want me to adopt your baby?" I ask, a little surprised she's doing this. But then again, it makes sense. She knows I would give the baby a good home, and a family. Ivy's just so busy right now with her career, she barely takes time to do things to take care of herself.
"If you're interested. It could help both of us…" she begs.
I sigh, "I'll talk to my husband. But you are going to take it easy for a few days…"
"Alright, fine," she says, sounding a little annoyed.
"Just take tomorrow off and you can come back after that if you're feeling up to it…" I suggest.
"Okay. bye Julia…" she sighs, and hangs up.
Marilyn the Musical
Karen's POV
I'm sitting in front of the mirror in the dressing room and Ivy comes in. "Hey… feeling better?" I ask her, smiling.
"Yeah, thanks…" she says, putting her bag down.
"What'd the doctor say?" I ask, she fainted and everybody was worried because she seemed like she was sick with something.
"I'm pregnant. Don't tell anyone else yet, okay…" she quietly says. Oh god, this is going to cause a lot of drama.
"I won't. How far along?" I ask. it can't be too much because she's been fine before this.
"I don't really remember what they said…"
"How do you not remember that?" I nearly scream, most women remember how far along they are when they're pregnant.
"I was thinking about what I'm gonna do about playing Marilyn!" she exclaims. I guess that's believable.
I sigh, "Ask Tom. He was at the hospital with you. He probably remembers."
"Yeah, he probably does," She says. Tom went with her when she was in the ambulance. Which was probably a good thing because if he didn't she probably would have been back up here yesterday.
"What about your mom? Does she know?" I ask.
"I haven't told her yet. I'm probably not keeping it," she says. I had a feeling she wouldn't keep it. She's not in the right spot to have a kid, heck, even I couldn't have a kid right now.
"What about Derek? He's gotta know" I say, she can't be doing all this dancing with a baby. It's not good.
"I'm just trying to keep it kinda quiet while I'm working it out," she says.
"How long is that gonna be?" I ask her.
"Well depending on what they say in the next few days, I might know who's taking the baby by the end of the week," she tells me.
"So you're giving it up for adoption then?" I ask, I have a feeling it's gonna be Julia. She's been talking about adopting for a while now.
"Yeah, I can't keep it by myself." She sighs.
"So the father is out of the picture?" I ask, I'm not too sure how she's gonna react to this one.
"Yeah," she sadly says.
"Do you know him?" I ask, not too sure who it could be.
"Yeah. He's in this show."
"So that means I know him," I say, trying to think of the guys that are in this. Tom is gay, so it probably isn't him, and I'm not so sure Ivy would sleep with Ellis. It could be one of the dancers, or Derek.
She's quiet. I knew she wouldn't tell me after she said he was in the show. "I won't tell anybody," I offer.
She sighs, "Alright. it's Derek."
"Seriously?" I exclaim. I didn't know they were sleeping together.
"Shhh! We don't need the whole theater hearing!" she loudly whispers.
"Okay, okay. I promise I won't say a word," I quietly tell her.
"Thanks," she says, turning to look in the mirror to do her hair.
Ivy's POV
Later, I'm working on another new number with the ensemble guys when I see Derek walking over, and he looks really pissed… never mind, he almost always looks pissed.
"IVY!" he yells as he gets over to where I am. "We need to talk! NOW"
"Alright, I'm coming…" I say, jeez…
"Who the hell knocked you up?" he demands as soon as we're aside.
"Who told you?" How does he know? I only told two people and then Tom was there when I was at the hospital. But asked Karen to keep it a secret so did Julia tell him?
"Ellis…"
"How'd he know?" The only way Ellis would know is if Tom told him, but I told Tom not to tell anyone. Is there anyone around here I can actually trust?
"He has his ways," Derek says. "What the hell were you thinking anyway?"
"What?" I ask.
"Sleeping with some guy and ruining your chances of getting a lead!" Derek yells at me.
"I wasn't just sleeping with some guy!"
"You obviously were," he says skeptically, "You're pregnant!"
"I was sleeping with YOU!" I yell at him.
"It's NOT my kid," Derek says, "You're a slut Ivy."
"I am not a slut!" I'm still yelling at him. How could he call me a slut? It's not like I go around flirting with all the guys in the ensemble! It wouldn't even work anyways, they're mostly gay!
"Whatever you say," Derek replies blandly, "But it CAN'T be my kid."
"You're the only one I've been sleeping with lately!" I yell.
"Yeah. But there's still no way."
"How is it possible to NOT be yours?" I really can't stop yelling at him at this point, "It's not like I go sleeping with the entire ensemble!" Again, they're mostly gay. Gay, and taken. Am I seriously the only single person in the business? Even Karen has a boyfriend!
"Okay. Fine. So it is mine, but I don't want anything to do with it."
That doesn't surprise me at all. I already figured I'd be doing this alone no matter what I decided to do, and Derek won't even care anyways.
"I knew you wouldn't. That's why I wasn't going to tell you!"
"We can't exactly have a fat Marilyn!" Derek snaps, and I know this means I'm fired. Great, so I lost my job in the process of getting it.
"I know that! Just give Karen the part!" I yell back.
He sighs. "Fine. Don't come crying to me when you don't have any money to raise a kid."
"I'm not keeping it."
"Alright then. One less thing I have to worry about." He's just such an ass…
"Like you were going to worry about it to begin with," I retort, still just angry at him.
"Whatever," he says, "Just go get rid of that kid"
*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*
I really need some fresh air. Usually, I love to be in the workshop rooms, hearing the music playing and the others dancing, but I haven't enjoyed it as much today. And to think that was before Derek fired me. I had just been a little upset all morning when I was still working on the songs. Maybe since it's been so soon since I found out I'm pregnant. Or maybe it was trying to hide it from Derek. I couldn't help but feel his eyes on me whenever I danced by him during the rehearsals.
I quickly walk down the stairs and into the cool air. It's refreshing, abet a little smelly. I'm used to the smell though, I've grown up in New York City my whole life. I take a deep breath, leaning against the wall, taking in the loud noises around me. Being a lifelong New Yorker, I always find the sounds of the hustle and bustle calming when I want to think.
But before I know it, I'm crying. I can't explain why exactly, but I can feel the hot, wet tears on my face. I just can't handle the pressure this is putting on me. Tom and Julia want me to stop performing as much, and Derek is just going to keep staying mad at me, and I don't have a chance at being Marilyn anymore. I practically fired myself when he told me we can't have a fat Marilyn!
Then I hear footsteps behind me. Did someone follow me? Or did they just come out for some fresh air too? I turn around and it's Tom
"Ivy?" I don't say anything. He steps closer to me, looking concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…" I say, wiping around my eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Come on now," he says, "Derek pulled you aside and now you're crying. What is it?"
"Did you tell Ellis about me?" I might as well have yelled at him. Who else could've told Ellis so Derek would know?
"Of course not," Tom says, "Remember I promised not to tell anyone when we were at the hospital."
"Ellis told Derek," I sigh, staring at the concrete under my feet.
Tom sighs. "Who else knows besides them?"
"I told Julia on the phone when I was home and I just told Karen, but that's it…"
"Do you think maybe Ellis overhead you and Karen?" Tom asks, I heard he tends to leak things out, but I didn't think he was there…
"I didn't see him," I say, trying to think about if I saw him lurking anywhere when I was talking to Karen.
"He can be sneaky sometimes…" Tom says, "Want me to take you home?" he offers, looking at me.
"No, I'll be fine…" I say, trying to force a small smile like I usually do when I'm upset, but Tom always knows that I am.
"You sure?" he asks, "I don't want you to do anything stupid cause you're upset."
"I won't do anything stupid," I tell him, what other stupid things are there for me to do? "I just need to go home… he practically fired me"
"Wait, he did what?" Tom asks, looking angry.
"He said he didn't want a fat Marilyn. Karen is Marilyn now," I tell him.
He squeezes my shoulder, "I'm sorry Ivy, I know you wanted this. But you're gonna get through this." I don't have anything to say to that. "Don't worry, it'll be okay…"
"How am I supposed to get a part now?" I ask sadly.
"Just wait until you have the baby and I'm sure something will come up."
"I just blew my only chance I'm ever gonna get at a lead," I sigh, thinking about how bad things look for my career right now.
"You don't know that…"
"This is the closest I've ever gotten to the lead. I just blew it."
"Just calm down," Tom says, "Things are gonna work out."
"I doubt it…" I reply, sighing.
"Why are you saying that?"
"I've always been in the ensemble," I tell him, "No one else has been interested except you, you know I'm trained..."
"Maybe once the baby's born I can try to help you find something," Tom tells me.
"Alright," I sigh.
He squeezes my shoulder. "Maybe one where the director doesn't ask his actresses to sleep with him, and isn't a heartless jerk," Tom says.
"Okay…"
"I dunno if this will make you feel any better, but if it were my kid I wouldn't act like I didn't want it," Tom tells me. I just sigh. It makes me feel a little better, but not much. It isn't his kid, and Tom is too gay for it to ever be his.
"I just hope the Broadway press don't hear about this…" I say. "If they do can we just pretend it's yours?" I ask. It would be so much easier if I didn't have to say it's the director's baby when he doesn't even like me…
"We'll just play that one by ear. We'll have to be careful about Ellis though," Tom says, and I know that. He's the one that told Derek…
"Yeah…" I sat, "You should probably talk to him about telling people stuff we don't want spread around."
"I'll try. Just go home and rest. If you want I'll call you later to check on you…"
"Alright…"
Chapter two! What do you think? Good? Bad? Yes? No? I need to know, everybody, so please just review! I know they say that people who write shitty stories don't deserve reviews, but I think they do so they can get the opinions they need to improve! I'm not saying I think this story's shitty, but if you do, just tell me. (Preferably in a polite manner, please, don't just flame it and go IT SUCKS! because that simply is not helpful.) Thank you.