I want to give a special thanks to Colmae A.K.A "thatONEguy". You've always been my best reviewer and I appreciate the support! This chapter is dedicated to you!
In the Dark Chapter 26
The tower of GeneCo headquarters was full of busy people. Genterns were providing information and recommending surgeries to clients while surgeons were performing their daily procedures. Organs were being stored away and inventory was being counted, every phone was ringing off the hook, the elevators were continuously going up and down, there was no one standing still. Every employee was focusing their concentration on their task. It wasn't until they heard the faint but audible sound of a shrill yell that those on the floor closest to Amber's office, that they ceased for a moment.
Meanwhile, Pavi was reading quietly in his suite when he heard the angry voice of his sister through the intercom.
"PAVI! GET YOUR ASS INTO MY OFFICE AT ONCE!"
He lifted his head from his book, taken aback by her tone. He wondered what he could have possibly done to upset her. He hadn't seen her all day and he hadn't left his room since earlier that morning. He shrugged it off. Whatever it was he was sure that he would be able to sweet talk his way out of it. He closed his book and set down on the table as he rose off his armchair. He grabbed his newest face, attached it to his own and grabbed his mirror before he left the room. He headed down the hall and up the elevator to Amber's office. When he got there he could see that her facial expression was just as angry as her voice had been. Pavi however, was unaffected. He was used to both her and Luigi's temper so it made no difference to him.
"You wanted to see me, sister?" he asked, taking a seat on the couch in front of her desk.
"Don't give me that nonchalant tone of yours! You just royally fucked up."
"What have I done exactly?" he asked, fixing his hair in the mirror.
Amber snapped her fingers and the henchwoman on her right side handed her a file. She slammed it down on the table and glared at him. "Open it." She commanded.
He sighed and rose from his seat and opened the file. The giant red, cross symbol indicated that it was a medical report and he noticed that it was not under his name.
"Jillian's monthly medical report? What does this have to do with me?"
"Read the bottom." She said in an even voice.
"Alight." He scanned through the file and then opened to the second page. His stomach dropped when he read the last statement. His face suddenly went pale. "Impossible." He whispered.
"You IDIOT!" she spat and then she reached over the desk and hit him over the head with the file. He winced and she continued to spew curses at him. He yelled at her to stop and then Luigi barged in.
"What the hell is all the racket?" he yelled. "I could you all the way from my room!"
That's when Amber realized she had been accidently leaning on the button to call his room. She backed away from Pavi and sat back in her chair. "Sorry." She grumbled.
"So what the fuck was all the yelling about anyway?" he asked, walking over and taking a seat in the chair next to the couch.
"Ask him." She said pointing to Pavi and shooting him an accusing glare.
"Oh, boy." Luigi said, rolling his eyes. "What did you do this time?"
"He knocked up one of our biggest money makers!" Amber answered.
"Huh? You mean the girl? She's…"
Pavi bowed his head in shame and frustration and nodded, running a hand through his hair. Amber sat back in her chair with her arms crossed. There was an awkward silence until Luigi started to burst out laughing.
"Oh, man! That's great! That's just too rich! I always knew you were a dumbass, Pavs but I had no idea that you were that stupid enough to not put a condom on!"
"Shut up, Luigi! This isn't funny!" Pavi yelled back.
"It most certainly isn't but its not Luigi who's to blame here, Paviche. Its you. Honestly. How could you allow this happen?" asked Amber.
"I'm as shocked as you are, sister!" he honestly replied "She's supposed to be on birth control for Christ's sake!"
"That alone does not prevent pregnancy, dumbass! Luigi's right! You should know better!"
"But I've always used protection! I've always been careful! I even get myself tested once a month, you know that!"
"Good thing too." Mumbled Luigi. "With all the whores you sleep with."
"You obviously weren't careful enough." Amber groaned in frustration and rubbed her temples. She then rose from her chair and began to pace around the room. "There's no other option." She settled. "We have to get rid of it."
At the moment Amber said that, Pavi began to feel a strange new feeling. It was something that he hadn't felt for anyone except for maybe her when they were children. He was feeling a sense of…protectiveness.
"No." he stated.
"No? What do you mean, 'no'?" she asked, stopping in her tracks
"That's my unborn child that you're talking about, sorella. I will not allow you to dispose of it like garbage."
"Paviche, do you realize the gravity of the situation here? That girl has only been the voice of GeneCo for a year. She hasn't even been on tour yet. Think of what the public will say about this, especially when they find out that it's yours? This is not the kind of scandal we need right now."
"I don't care. You're not killing my child." He said in a firm tone.
"So what then? Are you ready to become a parent? To spend your nights tending to a crying brat? Are you willing to sacrifice your high lifestyle for that? It doesn't take a genius to know that kids are a lot of work."
Pavi gulped. "I know."
Amber raised her brow. "So you're willing to take full responsibility?"
"It won't just be mine." He stated.
"That's just another thing you have to take into consideration, Pavi. What if Jillian doesn't even want this baby? Did you ever think of that? She's young, practically still a child herself. Do really you think she wants to be a mother so soon?"
"She won't get rid of it. I know she won't."
"How do you know? Have you forgotten that she's bipolar? Just as her father was? We all know what happened to him in the end."
"Nathan Wallace did not have the heart to get rid of Shilo and neither will Jillian do the same to her own child."
Amber placed her hands on her hips. "Okay, let's say she does agree to have it. What then? Are you going to marry her? God knows she can't stand you."
"I will do whatever it takes, sister. Just please don't make any rash decisions. Let me speak to her first and then we will all decide what do about the situation."
"Pavi-"
"I know what I'm doing, Carmela. Let me handle this." With that, Pavi rose from his seat and proceed to walk into the elevator and out of her office.
Amber groaned and leaned back on the couch. "Of all things, this had to happen."
"I know." Said Luigi, grabbing a piece of her hair and twirling it. "I can't imagine what it would be like if you got knocked up."
Amber cringed. "We are not discussing that."
"It would be a fucking nightmare for sure."
"Shut the fuck up, Luigi." She said in an exhausted tone.
"All I know is, that chick has only made Pavi crazy than he already was."
"I can't argue that logic, brother."
"You know what I was thinking though? Wasn't Jill also seeing that one guy from the genetic opera?" Amber suddenly shot up in realization, looking at her older brother with a sudden awareness.
"You don't think?" he asked
"Oh, shit." She cursed.
Meanwhile, Jillian was nervously twiddling her thumbs as she waited for David to arrive.
"It'll be fine, Jillian. He'll understand." Shilo assured her.
"Yeah, don't worry." Chimed in Graverobber. "I'm sure neither of your boyfriends will mind your new weight gain."
Both girls turned and glared at him. Graverobber shot up his hands in defense. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood."
"Well you're not helping." Jillian snapped. She frowned and bowed her head down. "What if he can't look at me the same way after this?"
"Shilo's right" said Graverobber, his tone now serious." If this guy really loves you, he'll understand."
"I hope you guys are right." Then she gulped as she heard the doorbell ring. "Here it goes." She sat up and went to answer the door. She opened it and David greeted her with a smile.
"Hey, beautiful." he greeted.
She gave him a weak smile and led him inside. "Hey, you."
"Hey, Shilo. Hey, uh, do I know you?" he asked, indicating Graverobber.
"Not unless you've ever wanted to score some cheap Z." replied the said man.
"Shut up." said Shilo. "Hi, David."
Jillian placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you sit down? I need to talk to you about something important."
"Um, okay."
"We'll give you two some privacy. C'mon, Graves." The other two left the room as Jillian and David took a seat on the couch. As soon as they sat down, David could immediately tell that something was wrong.
"What's the matter, Jillian? You've got that worried look on your face again."
"Yeah, um, I guess I'm just nervous how you'll react to what I'm about to tell you."
"Oh, God. You're breaking up with me aren't you?"
"No! Of course not! I-I love you. It's just…something's happened David."
He cocked his head. "Is this about your doctor's appointment?"
"Yes." She nodded.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine but…I don't know how to say this without you freaking out." She said, averting her eyes.
He grabbed her chin and made her look him in the eye. "Just tell me what's wrong, Jill. Whatever it is I promise I won't freak out."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened them. "David…I'm pregnant."
David's eyes widened and he released her chin. There was a pause for a moment. "Oh."
"Is that all you can say?"
"I'm sorry I'm just…trying to process this."
Jillian nodded. "I understand."
David stared down at her stomach, in disbelief that something was growing inside it. That something was in their because of him. "We were so careful."
Jillian shook her head. "Not the first time we weren't."
David bit his lip. "Oh, God. You're right." He bit his thumb and ran his hand through his hair. "This is all my fault."
"No it isn't. We're both at fault here. We both got caught up in the moment and we weren't thinking straight."
'But I should have known better. I should have taken responsibility.' He thought. "What should we do?"
Jillian shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I'm scared David. I don't know anything about raising a child and I don't know what Amber will do to me if she finds out. There are just so many things going through my head right now and I'm confused. The most logical thing I can think of is to get rid of it" She gulped. "The truth is though, as scared as I am, I don't know if I could."
She searched David's eyes for an answer, looking for something that would tell her what to do. All she could was fear and disappointment.
"Look, I can see that you're not ready for this and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to deal with all of this. I just thought that you deserved to know."
This time it was David who took a deep breath. He grabbed both of her hands.
"Jillian, when I said that I would be there for you no matter what, I meant it. So if you really want to do this, if you want to keep this baby, then I'll be there to help, every step of the way."
There he goes again, she thought, being amazing as always.
"Are you sure about that? Because I can guarantee you that this is going to get even messier than it already is. There's something else that I need-"
"I mean it, Jillian. Whatever choice you make, I'm here to support you. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't scared because I am. I know that you didn't want me to but I'm fucking freak out right now. For you though, I'm going to try and be strong. For us and for the baby."
The young girl, still frightened could now feel a small sense of relief and joy. She began to cry tears of happiness and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Thank you, David! Thank you."
"No need to thank me, sweetheart." He said, returning the embrace. "Just know that you're stuck with me."
She laughed. "I guess there's just one last thing to do then." She sighed. "How to hide this from the Largos."
"Babe, you know that you're going to get big, right? You won't exactly be able to hide it."
"Don't remind me. Sometimes wishful thinking is all I have." She then turned around and leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and she turned her head to listen to his heartbeat. "I just wish there was a way we could just leave this place, you know? I think raising a child would be a whole better experience if we could just be normal. No having to fake my identity, no stupid public appearances where I have to pretend to be something that I'm not, no GeneCo at all." She smiled at the impossible thought.
They sat there quietly as David gently pet her hair. Suddenly a thought struck him. "Wait, a second. What if I told you that there might be a way that we can?"
"I would say awesome if we lived in an alternate reality."
"I'm serious, Jillian!" She lifted her head to look at him, confused. He smiled at her. "Look, it may sound crazy but I have this aunt who lives on the mainland. She used to be a nurse and a really good one too. Her house has plenty of room and she told me to come and visit anytime."
"What are you saying?"
"Let's run away together! To the mainland! We can start our lives over and raise our baby in a normal environment!"
Jillian was in disbelief. She truly did love her boyfriend but he could be so naïve sometimes. "We can't."
"Why not?"
She rose off him and gave him a meaningful gaze." Do you realize all the risks? Even if Amber did allow me to have this baby she would never nullify my contract. Plus how would we even get there? Only those who are super rich can afford to go the mainland and I can't just let you put yourself in danger like that. What about your music career don't you-"
"Screw, Amber okay? I don't care what the hell she does. I won't let her hurt you! And as far as my music, well, you're more important to me. I just so happen to know a guy who can lend us a boat. We can use it to visit the mainland and we'll be back before you know it."
It was a crazy idea. A crazy and wonderful idea. No matter how wonderful though, Jillian couldn't help but see the flaws.
"Even if we could do that, how do you even know your aunt can help us? And what about Shilo? I can't just leave her here!"
"Shilo can come with us! I'm sure she's sick of this hell hole too! It won't be a problem. My aunt's an amazing woman. She's always been willing to help those in need and she's my family. Please, Jill. Just come and meet her once. I know she'll love you. Just think about it, Jillian. What have we got to lose anyway?"
Jillian could hear that voice again. The one who made her make some impacting decisions in the past and who was now talking to her again.
'Don't even think about. Do you honestly think that this boy's enthusiasm can save you? Do you think this stupid plan of his can actually work? No, you know it can't. Just forget about it. Stop and think for a moment. Is this boy worth the risk?' Jillian looked up into the eyes of her lover, now seeing nothing but love and just a smidge of hope. Of course he was worth it. He needed her and she needed him. "Let's give it a shot then."