Ronnie Anne spent the rest of that day trying her hardest not to think too deeply about things. Inevitably, with nothing else to do, she failed. But her thoughts lingered less on the possibilities of motherhood and more on what would happen with Lincoln. Worst case scenario, tomorrow would be the last time they ever saw or talked to each other. When she thought of that, she knew that pain in her gut wasn't from her biggest problem
Sid dropped by after school. She cringed when Ronnie Anne laid out how badly the day had gone, but she tried to stay optimistic for her friend. It distracted her thoughts, but Ronnie Anne was really too tense for a pep talk. Her friend eventually picked up on it and left her to cool down on her own.
Her mom was gone for the rest of the day, probably talking with her dad. If she was, that had to be the most time the two had ever spent together in years. She did make sure before she left, though, that the rest of the family knew Ronnie Anne was grounded, but not why. Carl decided he was going to be super annoying and stood outside the teen's door to loudly speculate what she'd done. Ronnie Anne strongly resisted the urge to go out there, deck him, and then blame it on the hormones. No, she kept her cool, ate dinner without talking to anyone, and went back to her room to fail at blocking off any serious thinking. She thought she'd have trouble falling asleep again, but it was a surprisingly easy task.
Morning brought a mix of anxiety, dread, and morning sickness. This time, her mother joined her while she was huddled over the toilet. Ronnie Anne didn't want the company, but the bathroom door had never had a lock-something that always annoyed her-and she was in no physical or mental shape to argue with her mom. Compared to yesterday, her mother came off this morning as much more concerned, asking her about her symptoms and how she was handling them. The anger and shock had passed, and she was back to being a mother overly concerned about her children's health, even if her voice sounded a little tense. Ronnie Anne did enjoy her mom not being hostile, but she really didn't want to be seen like this and she really didn't want to answer a bunch of awkward questions that threatened to make her seem frail.
Her mother did make use of that time to lay out the plan for the day. They were going to dad's house at 10 and finishing the talk they'd started yesterday. And, unless that dragged out, they'd leave for Royal Woods at noon. If everything went according to plan, they'd be in Royal Woods and she'd be seeing Lincoln in only eight agonizing hours.
As long as she could keep her temper during that talk, she figured she had nothing to worry about.
She was still grounded as far as anyone knew, so no one paid her any mind at the breakfast table, which suited her just fine, since this was a morning she didn't want to talk.
"Mija, you should be dressed for school!" Her grandmother eventually noticed she was the only kid at the table still in their pajamas. Since her mom was usually out of the apartment by this point, Rosa was always the one to see the teen off.
"She's sick again." Maria interjected. "I'm taking her to a doctor." She lied.
"Aha!" The old woman pointed her fork in the air. "I thought she got better too quickly. I'll have to whip up some remedies."
"That won't be needed, mom." Maria contested, ignoring how offended the old woman seemed at her dismissal of traditional medicine.
"Lucky…" Ronnie Anne heard Carl mutter down the table and glared at him. She wished she could've gone to school today; it would have been a hell of a lot more fun then what she was actually going to do.
After breakfast, she went back into her room to change, and spotted Sid outside her window on the fire escape, looking out into the city. She went over and opened the window. "Sid!" Her best friend spun around. Ronnie Anne stood back while her friend swung in.
"You don't have to look so glum." Her friend told her. Did she? She wasn't aware, and she didn't really have the energy to try and change it. "You should be excited!"
"I tried." Ronnie Anne bent down and got some clothes from the drawers underneath her bed. "But I still don't know what's going to happen." She made a spinning motion with her hand, and Sid turned around while she changed. "I'm nervous. And even after today, I still have to decide what I'm going to do!"
"You got this!" Sid stayed motivational. "You're tough!" She beat a fist in her palm. Tough wasn't going to get Ronnie Anne out of this though. Or through it. And that was a problem, since being tough was the only fallback she had for any difficulty. "You're still looking forward to it, aren't you?"
Yesterday, she'd been had. Today, she thought she was having doubts. She didn't know how exactly Lincoln was going to react. He always had this endearing kind of childish dopiness around about him, but he was a really pragmatic person at the same time. Always a dork though. She smirked to herself. Ronnie Anne still thought she was going to decide for herself. But was would anything he was going to say affect her decision? How scared was she going to have to make him?
And, above all else, how was this going to affect things between them in the long term?
She had a sudden epiphany right there. There really was no necessary reason for her to tell Lincoln. This could all be handled here in Great Lakes City and he would never know. But then, she' would always know, and she'd always remember every time she saw or talked to him. And she knew it would affect her and how she acted with him.
Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. There was no way this wasn't going to affect things between them.
Gah! 99% effective my ass! Bobby should really cancel that supply contract.
"Yeah. He better be glad to see me."
"I'm sure he will. I mean, you don't talk about him that much." Sid commented, which was true. "But if you trusted him enough to…" Sid did a suggestive whistle. "Then he must be a good guy. Did you think of what you're going to say?"
"I'll figure it out when I see him." Ronnie Anne wasn't going to give herself anxiety fretting over a script she'd probably abandon under pressure. "I'm done." She wasn't dressed to impress, since any fashion was the same as far as Lincoln was concerned; just a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. Sid turned around.
"Do you want any help?"
"I got this." It wasn't said with confidence, but it was said with conviction. "You shouldn't miss school."
"What time are you getting back?" Sid asked. Her friend had to mull on over the answer for a second.
"Late." Was all she could answer. They'd get there at three, and it'd take three hours to get back, so six in the evening was the absolute earliest. But they'd probably be there for an hour at least. Sid promised to be at her window to check on her later, and urged her to call if her parents gave her phone back. Ronnie Anne didn't think they would, but she promised to. Her friend was so insistent on staying and giving motivational advice, Ronnie Anne had to practically push her butt back out the window so her friend wouldn't miss her train.
Her cousins went to school. Her aunt and uncle went to work. Her abuelo fell asleep in the his chair minutes after breakfast was over. Even Rosa left to do some business with Mr. Scully. All Ronnie Anne could do was sit in her room and wait. And wait. And wait. It was excruciating, but, at the same time, every bit moment less of time there was lost here wasn't one until they left that felt like a march to something horrible.
Close to ten, her mom knocked on her door and asked if she was ready. Ronnie Anne had been lying on her bed at that moment and she jumped up. "Yeah." She grabbed one of her hoodies off the wall and opened the door.
"We're going from your father's straight to Royal Woods, so bring anything you might need." Her mom warned when she opened the door before turning back for her room. The teen stopped to think. She'd already tucked the tests in her pocket ages ago. Was there anything else she needed to grab or do while she was here? Then it hit her.
"Hey mom." She called down the hallway, and the woman paused in her doorway. "Can I go talk to Bobby before we leave?" She asked. "I heard dad say he was upset yesterday." Her mom nodded.
"I'll wait in the car." And while her mother went to grab her things, Ronnie Anne exited the apartment and headed downstairs to the Mercado. She unconsciously threw her hood up on her way out the door. There were a few customers already there when she stepped inside-apartment tenants or people grabbing a last bite or drink before getting to work. Bobby didn't even look over the counter to see a potential new customer arriving. When she got to the counter, her older brother was slumped behind it, elbow on the counter and the side of his head resting in his hand. He straightened up when he saw it was her.
"Hey Nini." He tried to smile.
"Hey…" She said. Neither said nothing anything for a moment. Ronnie Anne went around to the back of the counter. "Thanks, about yesterday. Mom and dad are taking me to Royal Woods later." She said quietly.
"Yeah, they told me." He put a hand on her shoulder. "See? Thanks for holding up your end of the deal." His little sister blew her cheeks out in annoyance.
"I was an idiot." She admitted.
"Nah." Bobby waved her statement away.
"Just shut up and listen." She insisted abrasively. Bobby took no offense. "I appreciate that you took time to help me. I know you have your own life now." Yeah, it'd been a few years since Bobby actually moved out, but it didn't really feel that long. "I'm sorry I messed it up."
"You didn't." Bobby insisted.
"Just please let me deal with this. It's my life, my problem, something that only I'm responsible for." Bobby smiled, but and shook his head.
"It isn't that simple. You gotta know that." A customer had come up to the counter, so Bobby rung them up while continuing the conversation in Spanish for discretion. "The whole family is going to be in on this." Ronnie Anne shuddered. "I already told you, you can't do this on your own."
"Mom and Dad have it covered." The customer took his items and left, so she switched back to English. "I don't need that much help."
"No, you will." Bobby didn't entertain a second's doubt. "You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm the first one you told."
"Dios Mio." She muttered. This might be the one instance she didn't want an aggressively helpful older sibling. "Okay, just do one thing for me?" She noticed a customer coming up to the counter, and she didn't want to keep her mom waiting forever, so she pulled Bobby away so they could finish their hushed conversation. "This is my fault." She pointed at herself. "All mine. Don't take the blame for me. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just don't." Her tone got more commanding at the end.
"You don't have to be scared of your own family." To her, Bobby's words came out of no where.
"I'm not scared!" She forgot to use a hushed voice for a moment. "This is personal." She muttered.
"Still too big a deal, Nini." He told her. "Listen, you just do what you need to do today, and we'll talk about it later, okay? I have to get back to work." He was intentionally turning her words against her, she was sure.
"Fine." She gave him a one armed hug. "Thanks again." She leaned against him, and he gave her a reaffirming pat on the shoulder.
"Tell Lincoln I said hi." Were the words Bobby left her with. They sounded so genuine; she wasn't sure what to make of them.
Back outside, Ronnie Anne slunk down the street with her head bowed, looking for her mom's car. Ever since they'd moved here, Maria didn't use her car much. The public transport system in the city was pretty good and cheap enough that she saved more money paying for parking and rarely using it. Ronnie Anne found it parked just a little way down the street from the apartment and climbed into the passenger seat, buckling herself in without a word to her mother.
"He wouldn't talk to me about it." Maria mentioned. "You better not have snapped at him for making you tell us." She warned.
"No. I was mad, but I didn't snap at him."
"He took time off his job-that he needs to provide for his family-" Her mother added to make her daughter sulk, "-to help you with your own mistake." Ronnie Anne grimaced. "The only thing you should be is grateful."
"I am!" She insisted. Her mother sighed.
"Do you have everything you need?"
"Yeah." She nodded. Her mom nodded back in acknowledgment and started the car.
"We're going to have a long discussion." As they pulled into traffic, her mother laid out their plan for the day again. "We'll get something to eat together, and then we'll leave. You'll get to see Lincoln, but don't think for a second it will be alone."
"I just want to talk to him, Mom." She kept her tone respectful. Was them trying to keep them apart going to be a big thing now? It was a moot point, wasn't it? "About something private."
"About something you two shouldn't be talking about." Her mother challenged. Ronnie Anne kept her mouth shut, even though she really wanted to argue. Maria sighed, and she sounded a lot wearier as she went on. "We'll talk about it more when we get to Arturo's." They had merciful silence to keep things from getting even more tense. Ronnie Anne tried to fight off concerns and pre-emptive separation anxiety. She had no idea what her mom was thinking.
When Dad had moved in to Great Lakes City for good, Ronnie Anne loved coming here with Bobby to spend the night with their dad. After Bobby and Lori had gotten their own place, she'd kept doing it alone. It wasn't the same, but she still enjoyed coming here. Not today though.
He answered the door already dressed and holding a bottle of water. The words he exchanged with Maria were short and functional. He greeted his daughter much more warmly, with a hug, making up for yesterday just as his ex had that this morning.
But it wasn't going to last. Her mom had brought her here for a reason. And, just a few minutes later, Ronnie Anne was seated on the couch in her dad's small living room, both her parents standing above her. They were picking up where they left off yesterday.
"What happened on your birthday?" Her mother started.
"We went around the city and hung out." That was 100% true.
"And?" But, obviously, that wasn't the part they wanted to hear about.
"And…" Ronnie Anne sighed and broke eye contact. "We went down to mine and Sid's hangout before coming back to the apartment." They'd been heading back here, just down the street actually. She had, casually, suggested going downstairs before going back to the apartment. Nothing had been decided at that moment, but it was the start.
"The basement?!" Her mother's voice rose a few pitches.
"Our hangout in the basement." She looked back up. Sid and her had transformed that place. It looked pretty cool nowadays, not dark and dingy like they were probably thinking. While her mother accepted that information, her father took over the interrogation.
"Whose idea was it? Did you feel pressured at all?" Ronnie Anne ducked her head again, partially out of embarrassment, and partially to hide an inappropriate snicker. Lincoln wasn't a complete doormat, but he wasn't that kind of assertive. He hadn't brought it up the whole day. By how quickly he went with it after she did, it was obvious he was hoping she would. But he waited on her, and she appreciated it.
But she realized she had to answer those questions, and the good feelings faded. "It was all my idea."
"All yours? Are you absolutely sure?" Her dad pressed. She actually had to stop and think about her next words carefully. That evening specifically was her idea, but the two of them had been discussing it for a while by then, mutually. If she told them that, then she realized her chances at getting her computer back and the daily video calls with Lincoln were slim to none. But, making this all out to be her doing would just make her sound promiscuous, which might be worse.
"It was my birthday. I did it." She hadn't placed any blame yet and she wasn't going to start now. She'd told Lincoln to buy the condoms. She'd been the one to suggest they go somewhere alone. She'd been the one giving him orders… She laid those first two out to her parents, but kept the last one to herself.
"And did you use them properly?" Arturo asked without flinching.
"It LOOKED right." She mumbled in embarrassment. She hadn't exactly been staring. "Nothing felt wrong…"
"And how would you know that?" Maria crossed her arms. "How long have you been doing this?" So, they did think she was promiscuous. Or could be.
"It was the first time!" Ronnie Anne raised her own voice. "I'm not a slut!" Her outburst took them aback.
"We never said that." Arturo put his hands up. Calmate." He urged her. "But he is the only boy you've eh…'been with'?"
"One and only." The teen answered through slightly gritted teeth. "One time." Her mother closed her eyes for a moment.
"What about those video calls?" She interrogated. "Have you been doing anything during those? I know you do them every day."
Mierda. She groaned internally. "No, I swear." She answered honestly. Some people were comfortable enough in front of computers to do stuff like that. Not them. "We…talked about stuff…like that. If we ever saw each other." She mumbled.
"You planned this?" Her mother asked.
"No. I had no idea Bobby was going to bring him here on my birthday. He was here, we already agreed, so…" She trailed off as her mother made another sigh.
"You are both too young to even be talking about this stuff!" She scolded. "How long were you and Lincoln doing this?"
"Yes." Arturo was nodding. "Let's talk about him now." This was dangerous ground, she had to tread carefully. What they could do still worried her.
"A few months." She answered her mom, then she got a little bold. "I hit puberty a long time ago." Ronnie Anne felt she was owed some degree of maturity. Being open minded medical professionals, she didn't expect her parents to hold any delusions about her being a little girl, but she felt like establishing it anyway. Her parents picked up on it, but they weren't impressed.
"Yes, well, this goes beyond healthy behavior." Her dad coughed.
"There's a line, Ronnie Anne." Her mother told her. "You did the only thing that wasn't okay." Would they really be this upset if the protection had worked? She really wanted to throw it out there, but she realized it wasn't as powerful a weapon as she needed. So, she let them continue to grill her. They wanted to know why it was Lincoln, and she had to struggle to explain.
Lincoln had been the first real friend she had in Royal Woods, when her reputation kept her otherwise lonely. There was just something about him that drew her in. There were plenty of dorks at that school, and ones that were cuter than Lincoln. But he radiated a kind of kindness and confidence that just reeled her in.
And it embarrassed her all to hell to admit this, but back when she was 11 and more innocent, she had entertained the idea of him as a boyfriend. But the teasing of their peers had seen those ambitions go up in smoke, and they settled on the best friends thing. But they still talked all the time and they hung out. Again, the only real friend she had in Royal Woods.
Then after she moved, they kept in contact. Ronnie Anne made plenty of new friends, and there were other boys around, but she never stopped talking to Lincoln. And she never felt a connection to another boy (hell, even a girl) as strong as the familiarity she'd gotten with Lincoln. For whatever reason, they still did the 'not boyfriend and girlfriend' thing even if it was obvious to even them they were more than just friends now. The long distance didn't help. But it kind of became this unspoken agreement between them they had something special going on, something they considered unique to them that was like boyfriend and girlfriend in all but name.
She tried to explain that mainly to her dad, and didn't do that good a job at it. Her mom pitched in when necessary. Her dad was clearly trying to understand, but not getting it. He kept gravitating towards things like 'love' or 'dating', which she stubbornly refuted.
"You are not intimate with someone unless you feel a close bond to them." Was a point her father eventually got to. "Some girls are like that, but I know you aren't, mi vida. You have strong feelings for this boy, I understand that. But are they strong enough for this? For 18 years or more?"
18 years. That made her shudder. That was a terrifying number. That was longer than she'd been alive. She couldn't imagine a time frame that long. So she didn't answer.
"And can you be sure his feelings are as strong as yours? You seem certain he will console you. But can you really be certain?" He pressed. Oh, Ronnie Anne was sure. Lincoln had a damn complex for helping people. He'd try to help her, even if he was freaking out himself. But this was a big problem, and she wondered if Lincoln was really as capable as she made him out to be.
"What do you think he's going to do when he finds out about this? Ronnie Anne?" Her mother wasn't going to let her use that as an excuse not carry on the conversation.
"I don't know." She gasped out. Her stomach and chest were tingling, and she really wasn't sure if she was about to throw up or not. She kept her mouth shut and tried to force it back down.
"You're going to have to consider that. You have three options to deal with this." Her mother told her. And she could immediately deduce what they were: keep the baby (which may or may not involve Lincoln), 'get rid' of it, or have it and then put it up for adoption. "We're not going to force you to pick one." She went on, and her father nodded in agreement. "You're the only one who can decide. You did this. You will have to choose for yourself. But you need to realize that what you do won't just affect you." Bobby's words to her earlier that morning popped back into her head.
She could've used this opportunity to tell them that she had already chosen to exclude one of those options, at least right now. But she was still afraid of throwing up all over her dad's floor if she opened her mouth.
"We don't want you to choose right now." Her father told her, and now both her parents were moving to sit on either side of her on the couch. "We just want you to understand it's something you have to do." They put a hand on each of her shoulders. She nodded to show she did.
"We're telling you what we have to." Maria told her. "And we're asking you what we need to know. We're not trying to be against you on this."
"We are upset, of course." Arturo reinforced that. "But we know that the best thing we can do for you right now is talk about it and not be too over controlling."
"Within reason." His ex interjected.
"Right, within reason. We want you to trust us and be honest with us." Their daughter finally managed to swallow the bile eroding the lower part of the throat. "What we want right now is for you to just talk to us and tell us how you feel. If there's anything you need to know to help you decide."
"Can I swear?" She asked.
"Well…" Arturo glanced at Maria, who offered no resistance. "Just for this conversation."
"I'm fucking terrified." She admitted.
"We'd be more worried if you weren't." Was her mother's input.
"I don't want my life to change. I don't want things with Lincoln to change. And every time I think about, I start to panic and can't think." She was spilling her guts. "I know it's a big deal, but thinking about it freaks me out." Her mother's hand stretched over to her other shoulder and pulled her over for a hug. No words, just a gesture of comfort to for her distressed child.
"We're here to help however we can." Her dad assured. "That's why we're making this drive." They transitioned to what Ronnie Anne hoped was the last part of this talk. "I guess I'll understand if you don't want to answer, but can you at least try to explain a little better why you want to see this boy so badly before you think about this?" Ronnie Anne sat back up. She knew, deep down, part of the reason was just to be a distraction. But the ice had been broken earlier in the conversation, so she tried.
"He's an easy person to talk to."
"He gives you advice." Her mom stated.
"Yeah." Ronnie Anne thought she knew where this was going. "But I'm going to decide this myself."
"But you're going to consider what he says when you decide. I know you will." Her mother stared her down. "You need to decide based on what is best for you, not what makes other people happy." Ronnie Anne did made a small nod. "Even if..." Her mother stopped, seemingly considered the words she was about to say, then shook his her head. "I'll save it for later."
"Is there anything else? Anything at all, we're here for you." Her father encouraged her to keep speaking her mind. It was a good opportunity again to tell them she'd partially made her decision. It was an opportunity she decided not to take. And yeah, she did have a lot of questions or thoughts she wanted to run by them. But not now. She was sticking to the plan.
"Maybe tomorrow." She answered, which was a more polite way to say, 'after the visit'. She wondered if there was anything else they were going to insist on knowing, or if she'd given enough to satisfy them. Apparently so, because they decided to shift the conversation, however awkward, to lunch. That was it. The outrage and grilling was were over. Part of Ronnie Anne realized it wasn't as bad as she'd played it up in her mind, but it was still an experience she'd rather have not had. But, it was over. Lunch and the car ride weren't significant. The next thing that was going to happen was she was going to see Lincoln.
The fact it was the first lunch she'd had with her parents together in literal years flew over her head. The trip that followed had to have been the longest and most awkward car ride of her entire life. Misery loves company though, and she imagined her parents were just as uncomfortable being together this long either. Of course, Ronnie Anne was the reason for that... Still, quiet nothingness wasn't as stressful as any conversation would be. But about halfway to Royal Woods, while they were at a rest stop, her mother pulled her away briefly, towards the picnic area, for a one-on-one conversation. She made it clear she didn't have to answer, but she did want her to listen.
"I know I'm coming across as short with you." Even now, her mother's tone was tense. "Before we moved here, I was always worried about what would happen when you got older. I would still be working long hours and Bobby would be gone by then, so you'd be alone so much. I thought I didn't have to worry after we moved here."
"C'mon Mom, I wasn't that bad of a kid." She'd had some disciplinary issues in elementary school, but that was it. Did her mom really think she was going to end up as some kind of delinquent? Especially in a town as dull as Royal Woods?
"I'm a mom. I'm supposed to worry. And seeing something come true after I thought I didn't have to worry about it is just a really bad shock." Ronnie Anne thought that would be the worst guilt trip of this conversation, but she was wrong. "And you not wanting to talk to us first hurts." That was enough to make her daughter flinch. "I can't promise I'm not going to get an attitude, but I want you to understand no matter how I sound-"
"I get it, mom." Ronnie Anne swore. Her mom didn't even have to finish for her to understand. "I know you guys are there. And I'm sorry I didn't want to come to you first. It's a really hard time for me."
"I know. I'm not going to judge you for how you handled finding out. I just want to see you be smart and mature about this going forward. For once, you need to be." She should've taken offence at that, but she didn't.
"I will." And feeling the conversation was at it's end, Ronnie Anne stood up. Her mom stood up too, and grabbed her arm to stop her.
"You're going to need to decide to do what's best for your life." She restated what she'd said had earlier. "I know Lincoln was the first real friend you had in Royal Woods. But your whole life is in front you to meet new people. And sometimes, you lose connection with the people you're closest to with." Ronnie Anne, unnecessarily forcefully, shook her arm out of her mother's grasp. She said nothing, and spun around and started walking back to the car where her dad was. She only barely made it though; a few times, she was almost certain she was going to have to run for the bathroom and puke.
Over an hour later, the three of them arrived in Royal Woods, and Ronnie Anne spent her time looking out the window thinking how nothing had changed. It'd only been a few years since she moved, and those minus one since she visited, but she'd grown used to the city, where things changed in months or evens weeks to look completely different. But this place might as well have been in stasis. Her parents had changed at the town limits, so her mom was driving and since she knew the streets. She knew where the Loud family lived.
"We're a little early." Her mother commented before they even got there. It's was just around 2:50. Royal Woods High would only be dismissing the students in 20 minutes, and then they'd have to get home.
"Should we wait?" Arturo asked.
"No." Maria shot him down. "We can talk about other things. I don't want this visit to only be bad news."
"Can I talk to Lincoln alone?" Ronnie Anne asked from the back seat. Her mom had never given her an answer on that, and she guessed they'd forgotten to bring it up earlier. By the way she watched her parents' faces in the rearview mirror, it wasn't an idea they really liked.
"Fine." Her mother relented. "But we're going to explain it to his mom. And then both of you are going to come downstairs together to talk."
"Thank you." She didn't begrudge those arrangements. She didn't want to tell anyone what she was, let alone the mother of the boy who'd made her that way.
A few more streets and a few more turns, and then they arrived. That giant tree was still there and there were still toys littered around the yard and the roof. Lincoln talked about how things at the house had changed a lot, but to her, it didn't look very different from when she'd passed by here when she was still eleven. She was last out of the car after her parents, having no reason to rush. It was second nature to her now to flip her hoody up whenever she was out in the open, and she walked up to the porch behind her dad where she'd be the most hidden. Her mom knocked on the door, while Ronnie Anne look around to see if anyone was out. At this time of day, there was no one.
The door opened and Rita Loud appeared. She'd never say this out loud, and worrying about hurting Lincoln's feelings, but Ronnie Anne wondered how the hell a woman could have 11 kids and still look as good as she did, inexplicably blond and pretty. "Hi!" She greeted the two other adults, shaking both their hands.
"Hello, Rita." Maybe it was the long hours she usually worked, but Ronnie Anne didn't think her mom could match the same tone as the other woman even if she tried, but she could still do friendly. "Our daughter came along with us." The Loud matriarch leaned forward to catch sight of the teen behind her dad.
"Hey." Ronnie Anne raised a hand.
"Hi. Lincoln isn't home from school yet, but he'll be here soon." And that was it. She didn't pick up anything odd about the girl's behavior or even that she should've been in school too. By Lincoln's own accounts, his parents only noticed the most obvious of disasters. It wasn't in a way to make them sound incompetent, but with so much to look out for in a household as big as theirs, his parents were very 'hands off' as Lincoln described it. From how much him and his sisters could get away with, Ronnie Anne thought hands off was an understatement.
She wondered if this whole fiasco would make things change for all of Lincoln's siblings, cause this sure as hell was grades above any disaster they'd brought made.
She invited the three of them in, and they quickly noticed there was one other person in the house at this hour. From the stairs, Lily looked down at them curiously, recognizing only Ronnie Anne. "Hi!" She waved at her.
"Hey, Lily." Ronnie Anne waved back, a small smirk on her face for, if nothing else, the endearing energy the little girl always gave off.
"She's the girl on Lincoln's computer." Lily told her mom, making Ronnie Anne blush a little, even though she was sure that was common knowledge.
"Really?" Rita humored her with a smile.
"Yeah!" Lily nodded. "Lincoln's not here." She turned back to Ronnie Anne.
"She knows." Rita told her youngest. "Everyone will be home soon. Is upstairs clean?." Lily paused for a moment, then turned and hurried to the second floor.
"She's adorable." Maria was polite.
"She's a handful." Rita smiled. She invited them to sit on the couch and asked if they wanted anything. But Ronnie Anne had started to tune out the moment she sat down on the couch. Even while her mom and dad talked with Lincoln's mom about Lori, Bobby, and their kids, she kept her head turned to the side. She wasn't sure for how long, but when the door knob start to turn, she almost hopped out of her seat. Even her parents stopped and turned towards the door.
It wasn't Lincoln. It was some of his younger sisters: Lola, Lana, and Lucy. They didn't even notice there were guests in the house. The twins were arguing about something, being loud and in each other's' faces.
"Girls! We have company!" Rita raised her voice enough to be heard, but somehow without losing its pleasant tone. The arguing sisters stopped, smiled in embarrassment, and gave a polite hello before they went upstairs to continue their verbal scuffle. In those couple of seconds, Lucy had mysteriously vanished from the living room too, even though Ronnie Anne swore she'd been looking at her the whole time. None of them had any interest in her being here, which was fine by her.
She did try and pay attention to what the adults were discussing, but she just couldn't manage. She was tuned in long enough to realize that even her parents' façade was starting to crack, and they were having trouble maintaining the conversation. If Lincoln's mom noticed, she probably assumed there was a reason and didn't bring it up.
The front door opened again, and this time it was Lincoln that stepped in. All by himself too. He stopped in the doorway and let the cold waft in, surprised to see Ronnie Anne and her parents in his living room. Before anyone could say anything, Ronnie Anne jumped up and ran over to him. "C'mon." She said under her breath, grabbing his arm and pulling him in and upstairs. She'd been here before, and she knew the layout.
She dragged him into the upstairs hallway, ignoring his sisters as they stopped whatever they were doing to look at them. The door to his room was open, so she pushed him in and closed the it when she followed him in. They were by themselves now.
Lincoln set his backpack down and turned around, looking very confused. Ronnie Anne was leaning against his door, arms stretched like she was trying to barricade it against anything outside. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were boring into him with an unsettling intensity under her hood. Lincoln knew something was up, but he didn't know what.
"When did you-" She lunged forward and hugged him, squeezing tightly. REALLY tightly. Lincoln took it like a man, even as he felt all the air leave his body.
"Hug me back, Lame-O." She instructed him. He had the upper part of his arms pinned, but he could still bend his elbows enough to rest his hands in the small of her back.
The strength of her hug started to ease, but she was still keeping him in a firm embrace. Her grip eased even more as she let about a long, shuddering breath, and Lincoln finally felt like he could breath again. He inhaled a great breath of air, and she finally let go and stepped back, reaching up to pull her hoody off.
"When did you get here?" He asked the question he'd been cut off on earlier.
"Like ten minutes ago. My parents brought me." She spoke fast and breathlessly.
"Oh, that was nice of them." He commented, still concerned but not grasping the gravity of the situation. He opened his mouth again, but she cut him off.
"They brought me to see you. I needed to talk to you. And they need to talk to both of us. We got a problem." Ronnie Anne threw her hands out.
"Okay…what's the problem?" Lincoln asked. Ronnie Anne shoved her hand down her pocket and grabbed the tests. When she lifted them out, she cocked her arm back like she was going to hurl them at his face. Lincoln even tensed and acted like he was going to try and catch whatever she knew. But she resisted the habit and lowered her arm.
"Just look." She leaned forward to yank his arm up and forcefully palmed them into his hand. Lincoln looked back up at her face for a second then looked town at the tests. She watched him flip them over in his hand, waiting for him to realize and react. It took only about 10 seconds. Lincoln flinched and sucked in a lot of air that got hitched in his throat. Then he made a little high-pitched noise and flailed his arm, dropping them to the floor. He stumbled back a step and hit the wall; he didn't have a lot of room to react in here. And when he finally looked back up at Ronnie Anne, his face was already starting to lose color.
"You're pregnant?!"
"Yeah, for over a month now." She confirmed. "I just found out, and I had to come tell you."
Lincoln was still backed against his wall; his chest started to rise and fall faster and faster and his eyes seemed to go unfocused. The shock was still settling. She knew how that had felt-pacing around her room, tightness in the chest, all that. She waited for him to get a hold of himself.
With a shake of his head, he brought himself back to reality and to her. "We used protection." He sounded confused and disbelieving.
"Yeah." Ronnie Anne shrugged.
"Did I mess up?" Lincoln asked.
"I don't know." She threw out her arms and let them fall to her side. The two teens just stood there and stared at each other for a moment, the tests still laying on the floor between them. Lincoln was the first to move, taking just a step to the side so he could sit down on his bed. Ronnie Anne went to sit beside him. Lincoln was still mute, but he looked over at her. After a moment, she realized his eyes were angled downwards, on her stomach. Heat rushed into her face, and she turned her body away while lashing out her arm to smack him in the shoulder.
"Ow." He recoiled, and she realized she had no idea why she did that.
"Sorry! It's just..." This was what she wanted. Lincoln was right in front of her, which was way better than a computer screen. She could be honest. "Lincoln, I'm seriously freaking out right now. I wanted to tell you."
"O-ok." He said nervously. He scooted over a little bit to be closer to her, and it became apparent to Ronnie Anne he was trembling. Then she looked at her hand and realized hell, she was trembling too. "Uh...were you trying to tell me the other night?" He asked.
"Yeah. But I thought you should hear it in person." She answered. Lincoln nodded.
"You were acting a little weird." He told her, giving her an urge to slap herself. She'd been trying to keep her cool that whole time. "I kind of thought it might be that, but there was no way." He swallowed nervously. "I guess it was." Ronnie Anne sighed.
"I've spent this last month being an idiot. There were signs for over a month, but I just ignored them because I swore there was no way either. Nothing went wrong! Did you see anything wrong?" Lincoln stared off into space for a minute, then shook his head.
"No." He turned to her, looked thoughtful for a minute, then stood up to go across to the other side of his tiny room to rummage in his drawers. Lo and behold, he produced the same box of condoms from that night, not bent or battered or anything. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the fact he'd taken such care stirred a weird almost pleasant tingle, but she couldn't pay attention to it. He walked over to the bed holding the package up to his face to scrutinize the package. "They aren't expired." He showed her the little print.
"They're shit." She took them from his hands and tossed them to the trash bin he kept in the corner. "I know we didn't do anything wrong." She looked over at Lincoln. He still looked like he was in shock. And she really hated that she was doing that to him, but it was out of necessity. "Lincoln, my parents are telling your mom what happened. They're going to want an explanation." That made the boy lurch.
"I have to tell my mom?" He looked absolutely terrified.
"I already had to explain to my parents, and it sucked. Lincoln, listen," She leaned in close to his face. "They already took my computer. They're thinking about keeping us apart for good. I don't want that."
"I don't want that either!" Lincoln frowned, but a little bit of determination had crept into his voice.
"Let's just try not to make them mad." How long was it going to take her parents to tell Lincoln's mom the full story? Probably not a lot. If they were going to plan something to say, they needed to do it now and fast. "When they ask, say it was my idea. I already admitted it."
"Your fault?" Lincoln sounded unsure.
"Yes, mine." She said impatiently. "I don't want them thinking you forced me or anything." Lincoln looked alarmed. "So just...act like a doormat. Just this once. It'll help both of us." She hoped to God it would.
There was suddenly a knock at the door, and both of them jumped up; it was easy to forget there were other people in the house when they were so focused on each other. "Uhhhh…." Lincoln looked around the room to see if there was anything incriminating. There wasn't, since they'd only been talking, but it'd be a lie to say either of them weren't extremely jumpy right now. "Yeah?" He called out. He should've just answered it, but his arms and legs were trembling too hard.
Ronnie Anne expected it to be one of his sisters come to bother him about something mundane, as they usually did. But it wasn't.
"Oh, hey mom…" Lincoln said nervously. The woman had only opened the door a crack and leaned her head in. And it was obvious to see something was wrong-her expression was different. Muted and very blank compared to the smile she'd had before. Her eyes swept the room, looking for who knew what. They lingered when they reached Ronnie Anne. There was nothing the Latina could discern from them, but she didn't like being stared at. She resisted the urge to take a step back and pull her hoody back up. "Mom?" Lincoln asked.
Her eyes shot to her son, and then her face did express something. Her lips started to tremble and her eyes got a little glassy. "You two need to come downstairs when you're ready." Her voice was low. "I already told everyone else to stay in their rooms." And then she left, closing the door behind her but still leaving the impression their little bubble here at been burst.
Lincoln sat back down on his bed, or more accurate slumped back and was lucky enough he hadn't moved too far from it. He'd looked scared and shook up before, but now he looked even more miserable. He looked guilty, and he was kneading his hands nervously. Ronnie Anne sat back down next to him.
"I'm sorry, Lincoln. I thought this would be better than your parents telling you. I know it's a lot to take in."
"Heh." He tried to sound casual, but the pitch was too high. He grabbed her hand and squeezed, and she squeezed back. It was neck and neck for as far as who had the most sweaty palm and terrified death grip. "Is that all they want to know?" He asked.
"I guess? I don't know what else they want us to tell them?"
"Uh..." Lincoln looked away awkwardly. "What we're going to do?" We.
"It doesn't work like that." She took him aback. She had to decide. But she wasn't blind to how screwed up it was. Lincoln must've realized it too.
"Right. Of course." Lincoln nodded quickly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to...uh...Did you decide already?" He asked meekly, and he held his breath, looking terrified.
"No." She shook her head, and he blew out a sigh of relief even though is was just a delay instead of a resolution. "I wanted to see you before I decided anything."
"Al...right." Lincoln said unsurely and waited expectantly for her to continue. And she really did, but where to even begin? And she didn't feel safe here, in an unfamiliar house, and while she knew the adults were downstairs waiting for them.
"How long do you think your sisters are going to stay in their rooms?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"I don't think they will." Fresh concern crossed Lincoln's face.
"We should go talk to our parents and get it over with." Ronnie Anne suggested. "We can talk later." She wasn't making excuses to delay the inevitable, but it still left an ugly feeling in her chest.
"Y-yeah." Lincoln agreed, although it was obvious that the prospect terrified him. They both sat there without saying anything, knowing what they had to do but not having the bravery to do it. Ronnie Anne thought she was the one who was going to have to do it, and was psyching her self up. But it was Lincoln who stood up first, turning around to grab her other hand and pull her to her feet as well-straight into a hug. His audacity surprised her, after the clear freak-out he'd just had. "Just in case this really is the last time we see each other." She squirmed out of his embrace and gave him a light shove.
"Don't talk crazy." She scowled. "Just follow my lead, like I said." She took a deep breath. "You ready?"
"No." Lincoln's voice cracked slightly. "But I'll try." He reached for his door and opened it. Confrontation awaited downstairs.