Hey guys, Happy Halloween! Thanks, as always, for ye're unbelievable support through reviews/ favourites/ follows. Love ye all x x x
Starkidlov3r: Aww thank you, yes there will be a Breredith wedding, not sure when exactly but it'll come :D x x
Beffax3 : Ya your concern is understandable. Thanks for reviewing x x
Don'tForgetTheNotes: Aw thanks sweetie x x
corinadamian: Ya Joe will more than likely find out eventually about Lauren's decision to save him but for now he still doesn't know. Thanks x x
starkidllamas-llama: Ya we'll have to see what happens, there's still a few bumps on the road ahead. Thanks x x
Guest: Aww thank you, ya I guess it was bittersweet and if you wanted to give her a hug in the last chapter, I don't know how you'll fell about this one. It's a very feelsy chapter. x x
starkidsforever: Aww I know, Joe is going to be hurt by the revelation but she has to tell him. Thanks x x
narnian-starkid: Aww thank you, you're so sweet. Ya Lauren's getting it tough and it's not going to get any easier for a little while. x x
Julia stood up, yawning as the movie credits began to roll and turned to Lauren,
"Want anything while I'm up?"
Lauren shook her head silently. Julia came over and sat back down with a sigh, placing a hand delicately on Lauren's knee. She hadn't imagined everything would be this difficult. Lauren had had her first session with Dr Burrows the day before and Julia hoped that with a few more sessions they'd begin to get the old Lauren back.
She felt like she was constantly on stand by, waiting for her best friend to breakdown. It was stressful but it was better than sitting in Lauren's empty bedroom wondering if it would ever be used again, which had been the case only a few weeks previous,
"You can talk to me Lo, whenever you need to,"
Lauren released a long breath before facing Julia, her eyes wide and tear filled,
"Julia, I'm scared," she whispered, "I did something unforgivable."
Julia tried to keep her facial expression impartial but inside her heart was thumping a mile a minute with fear and curiosity,
"Lo, you did what you needed to do to survive."
"You can't tell Joe," Lauren said lowly
"Can't tell him what Lo?" Julia hushed; wiping the tears from her roommate's flushed cheeks. Lauren looked her straight in the eye,
"That Shane and I were… together."
"You didn't have a choice," Julia reasoned, shaking her head frantically.
"People always have a choice," Lauren said raising her voice slightly, "I could have pretended but I didn't need to, because… a part of me felt something for him."
"It wasn't real Lo. You convinced yourself you had feelings for him because if you hadn't… well if you hadn't he'd have killed you. You were acting a part without knowing it."
"How can you be sure?" Lauren whispered shakily,
"Because, when it mattered most, you chose Joe," Julia said softly.
"I will always choose Joe," Lauren agreed quietly, looking at Julia with sad eyes.
Julia brushed a strand of Lauren's hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear, "I know."
She stood slowly and smiled at her best friend reassuringly. However as she made her way out towards the kitchen, a small voice stopped her,
"I'm late Juls. Two weeks late."
Julia turned slowly and saw a deep-rooted panic in Lauren's face. She wasn't crying anymore but she was terrified, that much was obvious,
"Have you taken a test?" Julia asked hesitantly, her voice catching slightly.
Lauren shook her head, "no," she whimpered,"but Julia what if…?"
Julia's head was spinning. What would they do? Lauren was in no fit state to go through a pregnancy, especially if the child was Shane's. She pulled herself together and put her hands on Lauren's frail shoulders,
"We'll take whatever happens as it comes, ok? Let's not jump to conclusions. We'll take a test and just to be extra sure I'll book an appointment with a gynaecologist. It'll be ok, two weeks is nothing to get worked up about."
Lauren nodded but Julia knew she unconvinced. She herself was worried and she could only hope she'd be able to hold it together for Lauren,
"Lo?" she asked tentatively, "Joe…"
"…is to know none of this," Lauren silenced her immediately, "It would kill him and you know it would."
Julia stood outside the bathroom door for what felt like a lifetime, waiting as Lauren took the test. It had taken Julia 15 minutes at most to drive to the nearest 24 hour store and it would take only another two to determine Lauren's entire future. She checked her watch,
"Lo?" she called, getting anxious.
The sound of the lock turning alerted her and finally the door opened. Lauren emerged, her eyes puffy and exhausted,
"I can't do it," she croaked, "I can't look."
Julia nodded understandingly and gently took the test from Lauren's shaking hand. She took a deep breath before unravelling the toilet paper Lauren had haphazardly used to cover it. The paper fell away. There it was. Two clear little pink lines. She looked up at Lauren and without having to say a word, Lauren knew.
A strangled sob came from her mouth as she slid down the wall and pulled her knees to her chest. Julia couldn't move. She listened as Lauren's wails grew louder and gradually more hysterical. Eventually Julia sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around Lauren's trembling body,
"We'll call the doctor tomorrow, I promise, first thing."
Joe readjusted the weight of the grocery bags in his hands as he slipped the spare key Julia had given him into the lock. He jiggled it around a bit before it finally turned and the door clicked open,
"Have you talked to Brian about the wedding yet? Joey asked, closing the door behind him and Joe,
"No, was I supposed to?"
"Well Mere obviously wants Lauren to have a role in the ceremony so they're not sure whether or not to postpone it," Joey explained, dumping his bag down on the counter and proceeding to unpack it.
Joe hadn't even thought about the wedding and he doubted Lauren had either, "What do you think? Do you think Lauren's up to attending a wedding?"
Joey put down the loaf of gluten free bread he was holding and looked at Joe,
"I think you should talk to Lo about it," he admitted, "Where are the girls anyway?"
"Julia text this morning saying they were going out to the lake for a walk, so I guess they're not back yet."
The sound of the phone ringing caused both men to jump,
"Should we answer it?" Joey asked uncertainly.
"I guess , we can take a message," Joe shrugged, picking up the receiver confidently,
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is Dr Robert's office from the gynaecology clinic. We're just ringing to let you know that we can fit Lauren in tomorrow morning at 10, if that suits."
"Gynaecology?" he said slowly, the blood draining from his face. Joey, at this point, had stopped what he was doing and was gripping the edge of the counter,
"Yes, is that time suitable?" the woman on the other end of the line repeated.
"I don't know," Joe stuttered, "she's not here at the moment."
"Ok, well I can hold the spot for her for a few hours but if you could get her to give us a call as soon as possible."
"I will… thank you," Joe replied quietly before putting the phone down.
"But…how?" Joey stammered
"Shane," Joe replied, his voice catching before a surge of anger rippled through him, "THE FUCKING BASTARD!" he roared, slamming his fist against the polished countertop,
"Joe man, calm down," Joey intervened, "it might not be what we think."
Joe was now close to tears as his sudden outburst diminished into a weak sob,
"It's just not fair. That bastard's done enough damage already. He doesn't deserve to win. He doesn't deserve to share something like this with her. It's like a sick joke from beyond the grave."
"Joe, I know you're freaking out right now, but think of what Lauren's going through. Think how scared she must be," Joey warned sternly, "Pull yourself together."
Joe nodded forlornly and took a deep breath, "yeah, you're right, sorry."
The sound of the apartment door opening forced Joe to compose himself as he heard Julia's voice carry through. The kitchen door opened to reveal the two girls shocked faces,
"Hey guys," Julia greeted, looking at them expectantly, but Joe wasn't paying attention. He was staring straight at Lauren. From her face she gave nothing away. Julia was now looking from Joey to Joe, confusion written all over her face when neither opened their mouths,
"Dr Roberts called," Joe said eventually.
The silence that followed was confirmation enough but he still felt the need to ask,
"Lo, are you pregnant?"
He could see her shaking as Julia took her hand reassuringly,
"I think so."
Her voice was barely more than a whisper and yet it conveyed every ounce of terror that consumed her. Joe crossed the kitchen in two long strides and wrapped his arms around her,
"It'll be ok," he soothed, "we can do this together."
"I'm sorry," she sobbed, her words muffled by his sweater.
"You have nothing to be sorry about," he assured her, kissing the crown of her head and closing his eyes.
"We'll go to the doctor together tomorrow," Joe assured her, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
Thanks guys, leave a review if you can and I promise, I'll try get a little breredith in there soon x x x