It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

35. I'm gonna call him

The next morning, Joe is the first one to wake up. A tired smile appears on his face at the sight of his boyfriend lying cuddled up against him.
When Joe looks around the room, he grins at the pieces of clothing scattered around the bedroom, as they were ripped off their bodies the night before.
After a while of just admiring the still naked Ben, Joe notices that the boy is slowly waking up. "Hi there beautiful." Joe whispers as he starts placing some soft kisses on Ben's exposed stomach.
Slowly, a smile appears on Ben's face. "Goodmorning." He mumbles as he stretches out.
"I love you." Joe whispers as he starts tracing small figures on Ben's chest.
Ben smiles and tries to sit up a little. "I love you t-" He stops talking when he feels a stinging pain in his lower back. "Jezus my back hurts." He groans.
Joe gives him a quilty smile. "Sorry about that. I put some Ibuprofen on your nightstand." He says with a sweet smile.
Ben turns his head towards his nightstand and smiles when he sees the painkillers and a glass of water. "My savior." He gives Joe a kiss before flushing down one of the painkillers.
The two get startled by a noise, probably coming from the kitchen. They both put on some decent clothes, and walk towards the kitchen.

Their eyes widen when they see Mary standing in the kitchen, a pile of pancakes in front of her. "Morning." She says with a small smile.
"Mary, you didn't have to. I mean, we can just eat a cracker or something." Joe says with a chuckle.
His sister smiles and shrugs. "I know. But I couldn't sleep anyway, so I needed something to do. Basically it was for me, not for you." The girl says with a smirk.
Ben giggles softly. "Fair enough." He says as he sits down at the table.
For a moment a silence falls when Ben and Joe take their first bites of their pancakes.
"You know, you two were really loud last night." Mary says after a while, trying not to grin.
Both Joe and Ben look at her with wide eyes.
"Y-you heard? I... I thought you always listen to music while falling asleep?" Joe asks his sister.
Mary nods. "I do. I still heard..." She says with squinted eyes.
Joe looks aside, seeing that Ben's cheeks are redder than he's ever seen.
"Are those hickies or bruises?" Mary asks as she points at Ben's neck with a grin.
The blond immediately brings up his hands to his neck to cover the marks Joe left last night. "I er- hickies, I suppose." He stammers in embarrassment. He quickly takes another bite of his pancake to end this conversation.

After a while of eating their breakfast in silence, Joe notices that the colour of Mary's face is disappearing in a rapid tempo. But before the ginger can ask her if she's okay, the girl runs to the bathroom.
Joe looks at Ben with a worried looks.
The latter gives him a reassuring look. "Probably just morning sickness, don't worry." The blond says.
Joe nods at that, but still looks a bit worried.
Ben gets up, and gives his boyfriend a quick kiss on the lips. "Why don't you go see if she's okay, then I'll clean the kitchen in the meantime."
A small smile appears on Joe's face. "You're sweet." He whispers before getting up.
The ginger walks towards the bathroom, but stops in the doorway as soon as he sees his sister.
Mary is sitting on her knees in front of the toilet, slightly bent over.
Joe sees a tear sparkling on her cheek, probably from squeezing her eyes shut so tight.
She's gasping for breath.
"You okay?" The boy asks before walking over to his sister.
Mary takes a few deep breaths, and then nods. "Yeah. I guess." She gets up, and walks to the sink so she can brush her teeth.
In the mirror, Joe can see the exhausted look in her eyes. "Did you sleep at all?" He asks his little sister.
Mary doesn't answer the question and fills a cup with water to rinse her mouth. She walks past her brother towards her temporary room.
Joe immediately follows her. He sees his sister sitting on the bed, avoiding his gaze. After sitting down next to her, Joe puts his arm around her. "You know you don't have to act like you're okay around me and Ben, right?" He says softly.
Mary shrugs and puts her head on Joe's shoulder. "I don't want to be more of a burden than I already am. But I did sleep a few hours last night." She mumbles.
Joe raises his eyebrow. "A few hours? You need more than that sis, you know that. What kept you awake?" He asks. Then his cheeks heat up again. "Please don't tell me Ben and I kept you up."
That manages to bring a smile onto Mary's face. "No don't worry. I've just been thinking about stuff." She sighs. "Can I tell you a secret?"
Joe immediately nods. "Always, you know that sis." He smiles.
Mary looks down at her lap. "It was our first time. My first time ever and I get pregnant." She bites her lip.
Joe gives her a look of sympathy. "Can I tell you a secret as well?" He asks. He takes a deep breath when Mary nods. "Last night was my first time with Ben." He admits.
His sister looks up in surprise. "Really? I thought you two have been together for half a year already?"
Joe nods. "That's true. But he wasn't ready yet. I could see how nervous he would get every time he thought I wanted to make a move." He explains.
Mary smiles against Joe's chest. "I missed this. Sharing our secrets just like the old days."
Joe nods in agreement. "Me too."
Mary puts on a small smile. "Can I tell you one more secret? I think I wanna keep the baby." She says.
A big smile appears on Joe's face. "Really? So I'm gonna be an uncle then!" He says full of excitement.

Mary giggles and hugs her brother.
"Mary you're shaking all over. Are you cold?" Joe notices during the hug.
The girl shakes her head. "I'm just a bit nervous. I'm gonna call him." She says as she closes her eyes.
Joe doesn't get what his sister means and looks at her questioningly. "Who are you gonna call?" He asks.
Mary is about to say something, but shuts her mouth again when she sees Ben appearing in the doorway.
A small smile appears on the blond's face when he sees Mary cuddled up against her brother. "Hey, I'm heading off to work. It's just a short shift, I'll be back in two hours." He says to Joe.
The ginger nods, and mouths an 'I love you' to the boy. Ben smiles before leaving the room.
"I'm gonna call Dad. Tell him where I am, and why. And that I will leave for home tomorrow." Mary says.
Joe's eyes widen slightly, and he pulls the girl even closer. "You don't have to leave. I mean, you can stay here as long as you want." He says softly.
He can feel Mary's lips curl up into a smile against his chest.
"I know, and that's very sweet. But I can't keep running from it. Will you please stay with me when I call him?" She says.
Joe smiles and nods. "Of course. Maybe we should call him right away?" He carefully asks.
Mary nods.

As the phone rings, Joe can see his sister getting more and more nervous.
It doesn't take Mr Mazzello long to answer the phone. "Mary?!" He exclaims happily, relieved that his daughter is okay.
Mary shoots a small and quite nervous smile towards the camera. She and Joe both see the look on their father's face change.
The relieved look disappears and makes way for a quite angry one. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? Where are you?" The man says.
Joe swears that he sees the eyes of his father starting to water. He scoots closer to Mary so he too is on screen now. "I told you she is safe Dad." He says when Mary doesn't know what to say.
"Joe? Since when are you in New York?" Mr Mazzello immediately asks when he sees his son appear on the screen.
Joe shakes his head. "I'm not. Mary came to visit me." He says as calmly as possible, knowing that his dad is gonna freak out.
The eyes of Mr Mazzello widen. "You WHAT? Mary... why? I mean, what were you thinki-"
"Dad I'm pregnant, that's why I'm not home. And I'm having the baby, you can't change my mind." Mary says, interrupting her father. Her voice is trembling.
Joe grabs her hand when he sees his sister biting her lip to keep her from shedding a tear.

Their father's jaw drops, and he can't manage to say a word.
"Dad?" Joe says when his father doesn't say anything.
"M-Mary... how could you be so irresponsible?" Mr Mazzello says with the disbelieve in his eyes.
The girl can't stop the tears from flowing anymore, and a soft sob escapes her mouth.
That's when Joe takes over the phone from her. "Seriously Dad? If there's one person that isn't irresponsible it's Mary, and you know that. It's not like she picked one boy after another to sleep with. Her boyfriend is the father, with whom she has been together for two years. You know Mary, she always has a plan B ready. She had some bad luck, but things are what they are. Yelling at her won't change anything. And she'll be a great mom, with or without your approval." He says. When he looks at his sister, he sees her smiling gratefully at him through her tears.
She whispers a soft 'thank you' to her brother.
It stays silent for a moment. "I'm so sorry. Mary, your brother is right. I was just so worried about you. I've been beating myself up for being a bad father. I'm so glad you're okay. Will you come home soon?" Mr Mazzello says.
Mary wipes her tears and smiles after these sweet words of her father. "Thank you Dad. I'm flying home tomorrow morning. And you're not a bad father, you're amazing." She says.
Joe can't help but smile when he sees the happy look on his father's face.
"Well, like Joe said: You'll be a great mom. And of course I'll be there by your side, okay?" Their father says to Mary.
The girl nods with a grateful smile.
"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow then. I love you both. So much." Mr Mazzello says to his kids before ending the call.

____________________