Warning: This chapter contains some rather...emotional scenes. Get your tissues ready!
And it also has some profanity, of course, but forgive Elaine, she's hormonial.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. - Helen Keller
No.
No.
No.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
When the body goes into shock, usually it takes a moment for the mind to register what has just happened. Elaine slid down the wall and sat on the tiled floor, her mind empty of everything. The only sounds she could hear was the dripping faucet and her heartbeat: Ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump. For a moment, she just stared at nothing in particular, time suddenly frozen in its place.
And then, all at once, everything hit her.
In that moment, that one moment, Elaine just wanted to run away. To vanish on the spot, disappear. Never seen or heard from again. Gone forever. How she longed to escape from her increasingly terrifying life...
She didn't want this to happen. She never wanted this to happen. It had to be fake, not real, just a big lie. Elaine hoped and prayed to anyone listening that this was just all a dream. But instinct - overwhelming, powerful instinct - told her it wasn't.
What could she do? The Stella wasn't a place to raise a child - if she'd go through with this, that is. What would happen? Would she give it up for adoption? Elaine knew they couldn't afford a baby; they'd have to get rid of it. But would she? Yes, she had to; she couldn't cope with a baby. She was too young. Way too young.
What about Scipio? What would he think? Would she even tell him? Well, she had to, that much was obvious...Would he be angry? Blame it on her? Would he leave her, really leave her, for good? Would he deny that the baby was his?
Elaine couldn't have a baby. She just couldn't. They wouldn't be able to afford it, take care of it, raise it. She'd have to give it up for adoption, and then, later during her life, the child would be told she was adopted and given up in the first place because its mother didn't want her...
All of these thoughts are usually too much for a single person to comprehend in one moment, and Elaine felt her head begin to hurt. The room stared to spin in a kaleidoscopic blur and she felt sick again. She crawled over to the sink, in case her lunch came back up, but it didn't; after a moment, Elaine slumped back down to the floor.
Tears started to blind her vision and she tried, in vain, to blink them back. She had to be strong; if not for anyone else, for herself. But she couldn't stop herself when she started to cry, really cry, tears rolling down her cheeks, sobs shaking her entire body as she pulled her legs against her chest and laid her head on her knees.
There was a sudden knock at the door. "Anyone in there?" came Hornet's voice, and Elaine jumped. Before she had time to answer, however, Hornet had opened the door.
"Oh, God, sorry, I didn't know you were in - Elaine?" Hornet knelt down beside her friend, suddenly scared. She had never seen her fall apart like this and all sorts of horrible thoughts about what could be wrong entered her head. "Are you--what's wrong?"
Elaine just shook her head, unable to answer. She just didn't know what to say. Hornet edged around her, putting her arm across her shoulders, and at that moment, she spotted the pregnancy test, plus side up.
"Oh my God! How did...what...I..." she stammered, now in shock herself. "Elaine, you..." But she could find nothing to say. There was nothing to say. Hornet just didn't know what to do. After mulling it over in her head for a bit, she said, in a very soft voice, "Come on, Elaine. It'll be okay." She helped her up and lead her out of the bathroom and up the stairs. Once reaching their room, Hornet helped her get her shoes off and helped her into her bed, pulling the sheets over her. For what seemed like days, the only sound was Elaine's sobbing and Hornet rubbing her back, whispering soothing words.
Finally, Elaine managed to choke out, "It's Scipio's."
Hornet nodded. She'd thought so. "It was that one night that we were all at the store and Bo and you were here, right? A few weeks ago?"
Elaine nodded, her eyes now red and puffy. She felt dehydrated, but somehow, her body still found a way to make the tears fall.
Usually, Hornet could find a way to comfort Elaine. But now, all she could do was rub her back and say that it would be okay, over and over again, as she cried herself to sleep.
Elaine didn't know what time it was when she woke up, but the darkness beyond the windows and in the room told her that it was night. She wasn't sure why she woke up: if it was the voices coming from downstairs or the fact that she really, really had to use the bathroom. Once she had emerged out of the bathroom, she left the room and looked over the railing, into the theatre.
She had almost expected it, but seeing Scipio, at last, surprised her. Elaine tucked a rebel strand of dark brown hair behind her ear as she surveyed the scene. Mosca, Prosper, and Riccio seemed to be a bit angry, while Hornet was looking at Scipio, obviously worried. Elaine thought she knew why.
She heard a door open from behind her and turned around. Bo had emerged from his and Prosper's room, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Elaine smiled at him as he asked, "What's happening?"
"Scipio's here," she said, as Bo came to stand next to her and look at what was happening, as well. After a moment, he asked,
"Why are they mad?"
"I don't know," she said thruthfully. The only thing that she could come up with was that they were acting like they were angry at Scipio for not coming to the Stella in over two weeks, but she knew them too well: they were really masking their relief.
Struck by a sudden yogurt craving, Elaine made her way down the stairs as quietly as she could, trying not to draw attention to herself and hoping Scipio wouldn't notice her, even though she knew that he would. Her stomach was tying itself into knot after knot, her heartbeat quickening as she drew nearer to the kitchen, which was right next to the theatre.
Elaine managed to make it in there without anyone noticing. She searched through the refrigerator and, to her relief, found a cup of blueberry yogurt. It was the last one, but for now, she was okay. After searching around the cabinets for a spoon and finding one, she opened the yogurt and quickly ate it, feeling unbelievably hungry all of a sudden. Elaine threw the empty yogurt container away, put the spoon in the sink, where she'd wash the rest of the dirty dishes later, and went into the theatre. Her heart was thudding at an incredible rate when Scipio spotted her and she said, abruptly, "Scipio, we need to talk."
Elaine felt a new sense of relief and another wave of nervousness when he nodded at her. She pointed her finger up the stairway to signal that she wanted to talk to him upstairs and quickly walked up the stairs, hearing him follow her. She opened the door to her and Hornet's room and turned on the lamp. Closing the door after her, she sat down on her bed with him and tried to calm herself down.
He was the first one to speak.
"Elaine, I'm sorry."
Elaine opened her mouth and shut it again; she hadn't expected that. "W-why?" she managed to choke out.
"For...well...you know...I mean, if you hate me now, I understand. But I had a reason for leaving."
"Yeah?" she said, suddenly angry at him all over again. "And what would that be?"
Scipio stared at his hands. He had known it. She hated him. And now, she'd dislike him even more.
But he had to say it. He had to explain himself. If she was going to hate him, she was going to hate him, but he wasn't about to leave without explaining everything first.
"Well...my mom and dad got divorced when I was pretty young. I didn't ever see her again. But...my dad, he's still alive. Well, I mean, they both are, but...I still live with him."
Elaine just stared at him, one question in her mind. Anger was already starting to flow through her veins, but before it could really get to her, she asked, "You...where do you live?"
"Sage Boulevard."
Elaine gasped. Sage Boulevard was one of the richest neighborhoods in Venice. And if he lived there with his dad, that meant...
"I can't believe you!"
She stood up, furious with him, her voice raising as she repeated, "I can't believe you! You...oh my God...I can't believe..."
"Elaine, let me---" he began, but was cut off by her shrill remark:
"DON'T! Don't talk to me, you fucking traitor!" Elaine put her hands over her face, muttering, "I can't believe you...you've been lying to us...all this time...and...and that means that everything was stolen from your house, Scippy boy, was it?!"
Scipio nodded glumly. It wasn't the yelling that tugged at his heartstrings, it was the clear dissapointment in her voice.
"You...I can't...you've been lying to us! Oh...I just...God...the Thief Lord...all a bunch of lies...So you had to go home to your dad, did you, and leave me behind? What, you think he's more important than I am? I don't know about you, but I don't have sex with people and then just get up and leave all the damn time!"
"It's not that! It's...God, you don't understand..."
"Don't tell me I don't understand!"
"But you don't! Seriously, you don't understand! Do you know what my father's like when I can't get a fucking good grade, do you? Do you know how he'd react if he woke up and found me nowhere in the house?"
"I...I wasn't---"
"No, you don't know. Don't you even have any idea what my life is like? My father doesn't act like a father at all. He's always, always screaming at me for no reason whatsoever and blaming everything on me. Do you know what it's like when your own father tells you the reason he and your mom split up was because of you?"
"I...no, but..."
"Well, until you have any idea of what it's like, don't run around making accusations---"
Scipio suddenly stopped when he noticed a few tears roll down Elaine's face. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him, lower lip trembling. He hadn't meant to make her cry, and instantly he felt bad for reacting the way he had. It was, as he was realising now, a rather harsh reply.
He stood up and walked over to her. Putting his arms around her, he said, "Elaine, I didn't mean to freak out like that."
"Izzokay," she managed to stutter.
"No, it isn't okay. It's just...I didn't mean to get mad. I'm sorry."
Elaine nodded and looked out the window. The moon was up, and it was a clear night. The moonlight reflected on the canals' murky waters and Venice looked, to underestimate it quite a bit, absoloutely beautiful.
"Scip?" she whispered.
"Yes?"
"I've...got something to say..."
"What is it?"
"Well...you might want to sit down."
Scipio sat down and Elaine curled up next to him. Staring at the floor, she said, "Scipio...I'm...p-pregnant."
Scipio's jaw fell open. The first thought that came to mind was, Oh my God.
"And...and I know it's gotta be you, because you're the only one...you know..." her voice trailed off into the silence.
"Are you serious?" Scipio asked quietly.
"Of course I'm serious, Scipio, why would I lie about something like this?"
"You wouldn't, it's just...I can't believe it..."
"I know," she said, and started to cry again. "Scipio, I don't want to be a mom! I'm not ready for this kind of stuff!"
"I know, I know," he said, hugging her closer. "I...I'm scared too."
"Are we gonna keep it?"
"Well...I don't really know yet, Elaine...it's all kind of sudden..."
"Yeah, I know, but I can't get rid of it!" Elaine wailed, trembling. "I just can't! What if it grows up and its foster parents tell it its parents didn't want it and...and...and I don't want to put my kid in a foster home!"
She wiped her eyes and tried to stop her trembling. "P-please don't be mad..."
"I'm not mad," he sighed. "This wasn't anyone's fault. It's just...I'm scared."
Elaine nodded and scooted closer to Scipio. "I know. I am too. I was just thinking, though, that we can't afford a baby! I mean...well..." she trailed off and looked at Scipio. He certainly had money, but she'd forgotten about it for a moment.
"You know, I do have some money in the bank...I mean, a lot of it came from my grandpa, but my mom and dad put some in there too...well, before my dad started hating me and they split up. But it's just that..."
"Should we go through with this?" asked Elaine, finishing his sentence for him. "I mean, having a baby can cause emotional and physical problems and stuff and...and we're too young anyway..."
"Yeah, we are, but what do you think?"
"What do I think?" Elaine asked, astonished.
"Yeah."
"Well...I mean, even though I'm really scared...I think it'd be kind of nice to raise a kid. I mean," she quickly added, before Scipio could respond, "yeah, there'd be lots of problems, but I...I want to have this baby. Even though I just found out about it today, I already...I mean, this might sound kind of cheesy, but I already love it like a parent would. You know?" she said, giving him a sideways glance.
"Yeah. I know."
"What do you think, Scip?"
"Well, I think whatever you think. If you want to have this baby, then I'm with you all the way."
"Oh my God! Scipio! It's...oh my God...I love you!" she said, breaking out in fresh tears. It was the first time either of them had said it, but in that moment, they knew, all of a sudden, that it was ture.
Scipio smiled. "I love you too," he said, and leaned down to kiss her. This time it was short and sweet, unlike their first kiss, but it contained the same amount of love and passion. "We'll figure something out to do about this," he said, breaking apart from her. "Don't worry."
They lapsed into silence once more and looked out at Venice. And, that night, a new life begun - for all three of them.
Author's Notes: Aww, how cute! Heehee. I know that Scipio's reply was kind of harsh, but oh well. Reviews are loved!