I know its been a while since I've updated and I'm sorry! things have been crazy busy at home and I haven't had the chance to sit down and write. I hope the drama in the this chapter makes up for it.
In the Dark Chapter 24
Over the course of the next month, Jillian was beginning to feel genuinely happy. Even though she and David were forced to continue their relationship in secret, things were going well. She no longer felt like she had to pretend for him or force herself to smile. Smiling had become all but natural when she around him. Shilo noticed this as well and while she was happy for her sister she also couldn't help but feel a bit envious. She and Graverobber were on good terms she supposed but, she couldn't deny the unresolved feelings she still had. She wondered if he felt the same. For as long as she knew him, he had been flirtatious by nature and so it was hard to tell when he was serious when he acted that way towards her. Still she firmly refused to forget that he had indeed betrayed her trust. If he ever wanted a second chance, she decided that he was going to have to really work for it.
Among other things that next month, those around her were starting to notice other changes in Jillian's behavior. For instance, she seemed to be more obedient towards the Largos. She didn't argue or complain about the work Amber gave her, she didn't criticize Luigi when he lost his temper with his many assistants, and much to his delight, she didn't even protest when Pavi "visited" her, which to her delight he didn't as often. It was most likely because Shilo had indefinitely moved in with her. This was good thing for both girls because Jillian now had someone to keep her constant company and Amber was too busy with other matters to notice and the Wallace estate remained untouched.
Another change Shilo had begun to notice in her sister was that she seemed to become more tired recently. Less and less they would stay late at opera house rehearsing. The minute they arrived home Jillian would have to restrain herself from collapsing on the couch and falling right asleep. After an appearance on a late night talk show, she couldn't stop herself from yawning during the commercial breaks. Her sudden fatigue wasn't the only thing that was different. On some days, Jillian experienced a constant hunger throughout the day. On other days she would have hardly an appetite at all and gag at foods that never bothered her before. Sometimes on the days she did eat, she would crave the most unusual things without realizing it. Once during her lunch break she didn't understand why Shilo, David, and the others were staring at her weirdly before she realized she had been eating a banana dipped in ranch dressing.
One morning at practice, Jillian felt a sudden nausea overcome her and was forced to run to the nearest restroom. When it was over she rinsed out her mouth and shrugged it off as nothing, reasoning that she probably ate something bad. The same thing happened the next morning, and the next, and the next. By the fourth time, not only were Shilo and the band noticing but so was Amber. As if it were a routine, before the band had played into the middle of the second song, Jillian interrupted them and ran to the nearest bathroom with one hand covering her mouth. She pushed the stall open and proceeded to heave the contents of that morning's breakfast into the toilet. She groaned and Shilo burst through the door.
"Jillian, are you alright?"
Again the said girl groaned and mumbled out a "fine" before she threw up one more time. Shilo cringed at the sound and Jillian flushed the toilet, wiping her mouth. She walked to the sink and washed her hands.
"What's going on?" asked Shilo. "That's like what, the fifth time this week?"
"I have no idea." Jillian groaned "I must have caught a bug or something."
"But it only happens in the mornings." Shilo noted. "You seem fine during the rest of the days other than being tired. I just figured you were exhausted from all the work. Are you?"
Jillian shrugged. "Nothing in my schedule has really changed so I shouldn't be. I don't know what it is."
As the two girls walked out of the restroom, Amber was outside waiting for them. Her hands were resting on each side of her hips. Her expression seemed to be a mixture of anger, annoyance and just a smidge of concern.
"What is the matter with you?" she asked, accusingly.
Jillian shrugged. "I'm sorry. I'll finish the set."
Amber fiercely shook her head. "No, I'm sending you home early. You need to rest up until you're well again."
"I'm fine, Amber. Really." Her tone was not at all convincing.
"Clearly you're not fine. You've gotten sick at rehearsal nearly five times this week and that's a lot more for me to be concerned. I want you to go home and rest. I don't need the other band members getting sick either."
"But it can't be contagious if its only been happening to me-"
"I don't care! I'm sending you home and I'm setting you up with an appointment with Dr. O'Grady at once."
"Amber, that's unnecessary."
"It's very necessary. I need you healthy, especially with the tour coming up-"
"Wait, tour? What tour?"
"Nevermind. We'll discuss it later. Just go."
"But, Amber-"
"I said go!"
Jillian sighed and did as she was told, beckoning Shilo to follow. Shilo and Amber exchanged dirty looks as she and Jillian left to tell the band that rehearsal was cancelled for the day. Some groaned in disappointment while others didn't seem to mind taking the day off. After Amber left, David hopped offstage and confronted Jillian.
"Is everything okay, babe?"
"I'm fine." She assured him. "I'm sorry that we have to cancel because of me."
"It's not a big deal. What did Amber say?"
"She told me to go home and rest up. And she's making me go see my doctor sometime soon."
"No offense, but that's probably a good idea. You've been throwing up a lot these past couple of days."
"I know. I have no idea why either..."
"Did you check all the expiration dates for the food in your fridge?"
Jillian nodded.
"Well do you have any other symptoms like coughing or a fever?"
She shook her head. "Nothing like that."
David sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well whatever it is I'm sure your doctor will know."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"You'll be fine. Just go home and try and get some sleep."
"I will. Thank you." She pulled him into a hug and when she was about to pull away he pulled her back in. She couldn't help but smile. He rubbed her back affectionately.
"Can I see you tonight?" he whispered.
"I'd like that. I'll let you know what happens after my appointment."
With that she pulled away and they smiled warmly at each other before she left with Shilo.
When they reached home, Jillian poured a glass of water for Shilo and they sat on the couch and watched some mindless television to relax. A half hour passed and Jillian's stomach seemed to have settled. In the middle of the current program, she mentioned Amber's slip of tongue.
"I think Amber's going to send me on tour soon."
Shilo turned her head. "Are you serious? When did she tell you?"
"Earlier at the opera house, I don't she meant to say anything yet. She told me that it would be discussed later on."
"Did she say where she was thinking of sending you?"
"No, but where ever it is I'm sure we'll be gone for a while."
Shilo raised her brow. "We?"
Jillian smiled. "Well if she does send me away I'm not leaving you here alone."
Shilo rolled her eyes. "You don't need to feel obligated. I don't need a babysitter."
Jillian laughed. "It's not that, Shilo. I just know how lonely it can get." She sighed. "My mom had to leave me by myself a lot and it was the worst when she left on one of her tours, especially after Cynthia was gone."
Shilo suddenly felt guilty. "Oh. Well how long did she usually go for?"
"The longest time was when I was three. I wouldn't have remembered if Cynthia hadn't told me but it was about six months."
Shilo's eyes widened. "Six months? Are you serious?"
Jillian nodded. "She was gone for so long that I didn't recognize her right away when she came back. After that she fought with Rotti to cut down the amount of time he sent her away. She was only gone for about 2 or almost three after that."
Shilo frowned. "It must have been hard not see her for so long."
Jillian shrugged. "I would still see her on television and what not but yeah, it did hurt. You know what they say, misery loves company. I would hate to put you through the same thing. Plus it could fun. I mean I would still be super nervous but we would get to travel, meet new people. It could be an interesting experience."
"That's true but what about David. Wouldn't you like to have some alone time together?" she smirked.
Jillian returned the smirk and retorted playfully. "Are you sure you're not just worried about not being able to see Graverobber for a while?"
"Hey! Don't start with that. Besides, I told you, I'm over him." She said, using a firm tone.
'So you say.' Jillian thought in her head but she knew better than to say anything questioning out loud. Instead she agreed. "Alright, Shilo." She took another sip of her water and then suddenly felt the nausea returning. "Oh, no."
"I am. Are you okay?" She noticed that Jillian had suddenly turned pale. Her stomach gurgled.
"Oh my God, not again!" She jumped up from her seat and ran to the bathroom. She heaved into the toilet. Shilo set down her drink and followed. She waited to enter until Jillian was through. She hesitantly walked in.
"Jillian?"
"Ugh! This is ridiculous!" she groaned. "What's the matter with me?"
"I don't know. What else could it be? Are you on your period?"
"No." That reminded her. "Actually, Shilo what's today's date?"
"Um." She looked down at her watch and turned on the calendar settings. "It's August 19th."
"That's weird. I should have gotten it by now. I wonder-"Oh no.
"What's wrong?"
"I think I missed my period."
"Oh, well are you taking anything that could affect it?"
"Nothing besides my zydrate pills….and my birth control."
"Neither has given you problems before right?"
"No, not at all." Jillian gulped. 'It can't be. There's no way.'
Shilo thought about it for a moment before she began to put the pieces together. Jillian was starting to get tired a lot lately, her eating habits were getting weird and now she was throwing up in the mornings. Why did these things seem familiar? It wasn't as if she ever experienced any of these problems. If it wasn't her period then what else could it be? She knew that she had heard of this before but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Wait a second, she remembered now. These were usual signs of…
"Jillian have you and David ever…been intimate?"
Jillian slowly nodded her head." A couple of times."
"Have you at least been safe?"
She hesitated for a moment. "….Well the first time, we…we may have gotten a little carried away."
"Jillian!"
"It was in the heat of the moment! Neither of us were thinking straight! I know that was stupid but I'm on the pill."
"Well I'm no doctor, sis, but I'm pretty sure that the pill isn't 100% effective."
Shilo was right. "It isn't."
"Then it would probably be a good idea if stopped by the drugstore don't you think?" Jillian turned and saw Shilo giving her a concerned look. She was about to answer when her wrist communicator beeped.
"Incoming message from Amber Sweet!" The automated voice on Jillian's wrist communicator spoke out and Jillian sighed and pressed the button to answer. The message captured Amber's authoritative tone. "I've scheduled you an appointment with Dr. O'Grady at 2:30. I expect to see a medical report from her with your diagnosis very soon!" Jillian hung up and the hologram of Amber's profile disappeared. She looked at the time on her watch. It was 12:15pm. Time must have passed quicker than they thought.
Jillian turned and looked at Shilo. They exchanged worrisome glances. "It looks we still have some time. What do you want to do?" Shilo asked.
Jillian turned and glanced at the floor, feeling embarrassed. "I guess…I guess you're right. Let's go."
Jillian called her driver. He picked them up within 10 minutes and drove them into the city, taking them to a pharmacy close to her doctor's office. Shilo rolled her eyes at the sunglasses Jillian had them both wear so they wouldn't be recognized. Truthfully Jillian didn't care so much if a fan spotted her. She was more concerned that she would be seen buying a pregnancy test. She knew that she probably could have gotten a more accurate test at GeneCo for free but she knew that someone gentern was bound to see her and spread gossip to everyone. God forbid if Amber knew what she was doing, or Pavi. Ugh, she felt like she was going to be sick again. She grabbed the most expensive take home pregnancy test, figuring it would be the most reliable in the store. She quickly paid for it and sped walked back to the car. She tucked the box into her bag and Martin drove them to the doctor's office. It would have been too late to turn back and use it at home.
They arrived at the hospital building and were dropped off. Still wearing their "disguises", they quietly but frantically searched for the nearest bathroom. They found one and thankfully no one was there. They stepped inside and Shilo locked the door behind them.
"This is it."
"Yeah, here it goes." Jillian stepped inside the stall and opened the box and read the instructions. After a minute or the toilet flushed and Jillian stepped out of the stall with the test in hand.
"It said it would take about three minutes. Too freaking long three minutes."
"It's going to be okay, Jill, Whatever happens, I'm here for you."
"Thanks, Shi." She carefully set the test on the sink and began to twiddle her thumbs.
They proceed to wait in silence and after what seemed like an eternity, Shilo checked her watch. "Time's up."
Jillian swallowed hard before she slowly turned around to pick up the test from the sink. She picked it up and when she saw the results she gasped and dropped the test as her hands began to shake. She stared at the ground in horror and then looked up at Shilo.
"It's positive."
Oh dear, what's going to happen now? Stay tuned to find out and please review! :)