Chapter 19
Dinner with the Biology teacher who you thought was dead and the boyfriend who you think got you pregnant or not. I fake smile at both of them and they both smile back at me. It goes back to silent as only the sound of forks hitting the plates fill the whole kitchen.
"Thanks for the salad and baked thick chicken." I say complimenting Jacob. "You're welcome, Lacie." He say grinning hard at me. I want to pop him in the eyes so much but Mr. Howard is here. "Thanks for returning my phone, Mr. Howard." I say looking at the black briefcase that's sitting by his feet. "You're welcome, Ms. Thorne." He say.
I nod going back to eating. Oh, I'm going to kill Jacob. You can't beat them, join them. I look at Jacob to start up a conversation. "So, how is Lacie as a student, Mr. Howard?" He asks Mr. Howard. He looks at me smile a little bit. I smile back before drinking my water. I wanted juice or soda but gotta be healthy for the baby. Mr. Howard grin a little bit.
"Not a very hard question to answer seeing how she attended my class two times before she stop coming." He say to me. Jacob fake choke a little bit on his food. "You attended class twice." He say hiding a smile. "I'm sure it was more than that, Jacob. Mr. Howard, you was out sick for almost two or three weeks. How would you know?" I ask turning my attention to him.
"Attendence sheet, Lacie." Jacob answer before Mr. Howard can speak. I look at Jacob to shut up. He grins at me going back to eating. "Mr. Howard, I didn't know you wear glasses. You did not wear them when I first met you." I say changing the subject. "I didn't have them on that day." "Right, sorry about skipping your class. By time things started off right, I just been getting hit and hit by personal problems. Did I miss anything?" I ask him.
Jacob looks at him. "Tests, Pop Quizzes, Writing Assignments. You're failing my class." He say. I nod in agreement with everything he says. I did stop going to class. It's been too hectic. "Sorry, about that. I'll try harder. Is there a way I can make it up?" I ask him. I'm pretty sure I straight failed. "Lacie, the semester is almost over. You'll probably have to repeat the class." Jacob say.
"Right, I don't know what happened but I tried. Your class is not the only one, Mr. Howard. I'm sure I failed the whole semester." I say taking a sip out of my water. "Is there a way she can make up for it?" Jacob asks Mr. Howard. "I'm sure we can find a way, Jacob." He say looking at Jacob. "Can you get me a another piece of chicken, Jacob?" I ask sliding my plate to him.
He grabs it standing up and walking towards the stove. Mr. Howard make eye contact with me. I guess he want me to speak first. "I'll try real hard to make up in class. Bella has not been in class lately?" I ask to see what he'll say. "No, she has not." I nod waiting on that plate of food from Jacob. "You two are friends?" He asks as Jacob sits the plate in front of me.
"Yeah, she kind of up and left. Italy. It kind of hurt my feelings. I never felt so betrayed in my life." I say picking up the fork. Jacob looks at me with pity. It goes back awkwardly silent. "I'm sure you didn't come to hear about Bella and Lacie, Mr. Howard." Jacob say rubbing on my back and giving me a hug. Explains while Mr. Howard ain't say anything or give me any comforting words.
"I didn't, Jacob. You gave a fake address on your school record." Mr. Howard say reaching for his briefcase. I move his plate out of the way to give him room for his briefcase as Jacob eyes me warily. I shake my head at him. You don't look at me. We both look at Mr. Howard pop open up his briefcase. "You sure?" I ask fake confused.
"I'm sure, Ms. Thorne. The phone number is fake too." He say taking a piece of paper and passing it to me. I take the paper and look at my school information with Jacob. "I see where the mistake is. It's 1524 and not 1525." I say making Jacob shake his head. "What is?" Mr. Howard asks me. "The address, Mr. Howard. Not the phone number." I explain looking at the address.
"This house is no where on that street." He say seriously. "Right, I know that. Who wants there parents to know you're a delinquent?" I ask putting the paper down. Jacob takes it out of my hand and looks at it. "Where are your parents?" Mr. Howard asks me. "They're traveling around. My parents works hard. They love to be in the air." I say seeing Jacob staring hard at my picture that's on the paper.
Mr. Howard takes out a pen and piece of paper. "I'm going to need your real phone number." He say looking me in the face. I pause for a second. "You okay?" Jacob asks putting the paper on the table. "I'm feeling a little bit sick. I'm going to the bathroom." I say scooting the chair back and getting up. Mr. Howard blue eyes make contact with my brown eyes.
"Excuse me." I say walking past him and towards the bathroom. I stop in the hallway and walk backwards to see both Mr. Howard and Jacob looking at me. "Do you want to go to the hospital?" Jacob asks concerned. "Is there something wrong with you?" Mr. Howard asks me. "Um. Not really." I say rubbing on my stomach then my thighs.
"Lacie." Jacob call standing up. "Jacob, can you give Mr. Howard my information? I'm going to bed early. I'm not feeling good." I say looking at Mr. Howard one more time before walking up the stairs and towards my bedroom. I hear the chair scooting in the kitchen. I walk into the bedroom and closes the door behind me. I sit on the bed. I never felt so nervous in my life.
I breathe out and the bedroom door opens up a couple of seconds later. I look at Jacob getting up and pace around the room. He closes the door behind him. "Are you okay?" He asks me. "It's something about that teacher that gets to me, Jacob." I say shaking my head. I never once acted that way to human. "He's a teacher, Lacie. That's all teachers." He say.
"No, it's something else. I can't put my finger on it now because he's downstairs but it's something about him. He has it out for me. I don't like that vibe he's giving off." I say getting serious. "You skipped his class, you gave him a fake phone number and address." He say. "It's something more, Jacob. He found me because of you." I angrily say. He grabs my arms and leads me to the bedroom window.
I just stay looking at him. He opens up the curtain and point to the houses. "He would've found you, Lacie. He would've asked Bella." He say. Right, we live on the same street. The houses sit in front of Bella's house. I nod letting it go for now. "He's still downstairs?" I asks. "Yeah, he's not going no where." He say. I nod leaving out of the bedroom to go back downstairs to where he is waiting.
I walk into the kitchen and Mr. Howard stares directly in my face. Jacob rubs on my shoulders. I take a seat back at the table watching Jacob take his seat too. "Ready to tell the truth?" Mr. Howard asks me. "Yeah." I say nodding and grabbing the pen that's on the piece of paper getting ready to right the real information. "I didn't want Jacob to tell me. He's not my student." Mr. Howard say smartly making me pause before going back to writing.
Keep your anger in check. I tense up a little bit biting my tongue from breaking the pen in front of him. Jacob rubs on my back to calm me down. "Right. Sorry, Mr. Howard. I never should've acted the way that I did. It's been so much going on and I don't know which direction to go. I'll work really hard to be make up for the failed assignments." I say finishing writing and passing him both the pen and paper.
"Can I walk you out?" I ask standing up. Jacob looks at him as he reading the paper and reaching into his pant's pocket and taking out his cellphone. I guess that's a no on walking you to the door. I take my plate up and walk towards the sink. It's silent. I guess it wasn't the right number. "That's not your phone number, Ms. Thorne." He say. "I know it's not. I'm not giving you my house number, Mr. Howard." I say not facing him.
"Thanks for the dinner, Jacob." He say and I hear the chairs scooting from the table. I turn around looking at Jacob while Mr. Howard puts on his black trench coat. "I'll walk you out." Jaacob say. "See you in class, Ms. Thorne." Mr. Howard say looking at me. "Right, Mr. Howard. Come Monday." I say nodding my head. He nods too grabbing his briefcase and exiting out of the kitchen with Jacob.
I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach letting out a small groan as I turn the water on letting the water feel up in the sink. I hear the front door opening up and closing a few seconds later. Jacob walk back into the kitchen and walk over towards me. "Are you okay?" He asks me. "I'm just feeling weird." I say letting him know as my hands sit in the water.
I feel my jaw tightening up like I'm about to throw up. "Do you want me to call 911?" Jacob asks as Mr. Howard walks back into the kitchen. I thought he left. "We heard you groan a little bit." Jacob say walking towards the house phone as Mr. Howard set his briefcase in one of the chairs and walk over towards me. "No." I say shaking my head at Jacob when he grabs the phone off the wall and call 911.
"Sarah, Lacie." He almost growls out at me. Right, the baby. "Who is Sarah?" Mr. Howard asks me. "Our daughter, Mr. Howard. I'm having a baby." I mutter out and he helps me sit at the table as Jacob gives operator the house address. "They're on their way." Jacob say walking over and kneeling in front of me. "It's been complications for the last couple of weeks." I explain not trying to make eye contact with Mr. Howard.
"Have you been to a doctor?" He asks concerned. "Yeah, it's not a health pregnancy but we're trying to make it as one." I say while Jacob rubs on my stomach. He looks up concerned. Mr. Howard looks me right in the face. "It's just stress from everything that's been happening. It's too much going on in my life. We think it's a girl. Her name is Sarah." I say grabbing Jacob hands as he put his head on my lap.
"Everything will be okay." Mr. Howard say rubbing on his back and rubbing on mine too. "I know it will. Jacob, call your friends." I say forcing my voice to crack and rubbing on his head. I hear the ambulance coming down the street. He doesn't move just laying his head on lap. I rub on his back. I think if he could cry, he'll be crying now. It's his daughter.
I'm waiting in one of the emergency rooms waiting on a doctor to come see me with my results while Jacob is in the hallway with his friends. It was late at night and I told them none of the girls had to come and see about me. I didn't want too mostly worry Leah. I told Mr. Howard he didn't have to come but one of his students is in the hospital possibly having a miscarriage. He won't going to leave me alone.
After all of this hard work just for me to miscarry the baby. I shake my head disbelief looking at the hospital door opening up to Sam. He holds the door open and Mr. Howard who's walks in holding two cups. I make eye contact with Sam but he just closes the door. Wow. "Thank you." I say taking the cup from Mr. Howard. "You're welcome." He say sitting down on the stool next to my bed.
I take a sip. "Mmn, nice cold water." I say drinking more. I hate water. "How are you feeling?" He asks looking at the heart monitors. "I'm feeling a little bit better. I'm thinking it might've been that nasty thick chicken. He might not baked it all of the way." I say nodding looking at the monitor too. I think the baby's heart beat is on the bottom. Mine on top. Thank god for the Powers that be.
Silence fills the room as he keeps staring at the heart monitor. Mr. Howard is very weird. "What do you think caused your stomach ache?" He asks me. Stomach Ache? All it was. "Probably that raw chicken. It wasn't cooked all of the way." "Or your honey tea." He say reminding me keeping his eyes on the monitor. "Right, I did have honey tea then also stress." I say nodding my head.
Silence again. "Do you have children?" I ask. "I have none, Ms. Thorne." He say lying making me chuckle. OKay, Mr. Howard. "Thanks again, Mr. Howard but you don't have to stay up here. Maybe you should go home to your wife." "She passed." He say. She passed? She did. Now I feel bad for how I was treating him. "Sorry for yo-" "Sarah?" He asks changing the subject.
"Yeah, Jacob wants to name her after his mother. I just want her out of me. He picked it out and I went along with it. He was so hurt and almost crying. It's been difficult for weeks. It can be a boy too but we're stuck on a girl." I say. He nods his head. I drink some of the water. He lost his wife. I grin a little bit as he glances at me. "I'm guessing you like children. Why you're still here or something, Mr. Howard?" I ask him.
"Just want to make sure my student and her baby is alright, Ms. Thorne." "I'm already alright, Mr. Howard. The baby's okay. It's just stress and nasty food and drink." I say sipping out of my cup again. I look at the door and someone knocks on the door and it opens up slightly. I glance at the back of Mr. Howard's head as we both look at the door opening seeing who's knocked on the door.
Save the day. Sam glances at me before closing the door. Thanks, Sam. I laugh a little bit. Mr. Howard turns back around looking exactly like Greg. I blink a couple of times. "Are you okay?" Mr. Howard asks me. His face going back to normal. "Yeah, I am. You must have questions for you to stick around. Is it about my parents?" I ask him.
"It's about something else." "I hope not Bella. We're not talking right now and I heard she's Italy. So, our phones can't reach each other. Long distance." I say putting the cup on the nightstand. He put his cup on the nightstand. "Did you attack me?" He seriously asks me. "No, I did not." I answer shaking my head and look into his eyes.
He look into mine. "From what the school was telling us, you had got sick and transferred. It was a surprise to me when I had seen you in the cafe." I say trying to change the subject. He doesn't buy it.
"I don't think now is the time to be questioning me. I have a high risk pregnancy. My Sarah, Mr. Howard." I say pleading with him. That or I'll call security. I can't be stressing out anymore. I don't want to miscarry baby Sarah.
"Right, Ms. Thorne." He say standing up. "Mr. Howard, call me Lacie. All of my friends does." I say looking at him walking towards the door. "I'm not your friend, Ms. Saint. I'm your teacher." He say reminding me of the respect he shall be given.
"Right, I apologize. You're my teacher not my friend and my behavior of how I acted at the cafe and at my house was uncalled for. Maybe I can ask you back again and I can cook a well cooked dinner this time and not raw chicken." I say.
Jacob, you didn't cook that chicken right. "Maybe and maybe your parents will attend too." He say opening the door. I look at Jacob who make eye contact with me. Sam leans over looking me in my face.
"Hopefully, see you in class and thank you for returning my phone again. Drive home safely." I say waving him out the door. He nods exiting the room and closing the door behind him.
I breathe out already feeling tired of everything that happened. I look at both cups that's sitting on the nightstand. I look at mine and his. I grab both and pour his water into mine.
I need to start drinking more water for the baby. Something is going on. Either Mr. Howard has a twin brother or i was tricked by the council. I'll figure it out later. I look at Mr. Howard cup one more time before placing it on the nightstand.
I'll ask questions tomorrow. I'm tired from today's event and I need to take it easy for the baby's sake. Its a miracle and I'm sure its a one in a lifetime moment. I can't take baby Sarah for granted.
I fought for her and can't lose her. I look at the water in the cup taking a deep breath before gulping the whole thing down my throat. I look at door. They're probably conversating about me.
I place my cup inside the other cup and think twice before using my powers to turn the lights off. Humans might be outside. I look at the two cups one last time before falling asleep.