In your arms

Chapter 24: falling deeper

Emily's POV:

I drive me and Piper over to James and Riley's house. It's fairly silent most of the time apart from when piper asks me the odd questions about the plan and what it involves. I answer as briefly as I can and we soon reach the driveway. I jump out of the car and walk to the door with piper close behind me. I don't know what's wrong with James but it seemed to be pretty serious because with James it's very hard to stress him out. He's known as the 'don't even worry bout it' kid for as long as I know so hearing the panic and pain in his voice must mean something bad has happened.

I knock on the door and at first there isn't an answer but the second time James opens the door. His eyes are blood red and he has tear stains on his checks. I look down at his hand which is holding onto the door handle and his hands seem just as red. I throw him a sympathetic look before he goes and gives piper a hug. When I walk in the house seems ok until I enter the living room.

"James? What happened?" I ask while looking around the room. The pillows from the sofa are scattered around the room and there's broken glass around the little coffee table which used to have a vase with bright red roses in. Some books seem to be misplaced and some missing entirely. I turn to the wall beside me and see a small dent which seems to be made by the tv remote that lays close by on the floor. The tv is still playing on the same channel it nearly always is. I was expecting something big but this whole room is a complete mess.

"the room isn't the issue right now Em..." he sighs while walking into the room. He sits down on the sofa while moving one pillow from the floor to behind his back. Piper follows us inside and doesn't seemed shocked at the mess. I bet this probably isn't the first time James has messed up an entire room. We all sit down on the sofa and stare at the tv while James search around trying to find what made him so upset. He soon succeeds and we watch the clip of the latest news reports from earlier today.

"And some news just came in about the princess, after the incident yesterday that was caught on live tv she was sent into the hospital... her tests came back ok apart from one, which soon lead to the news leaking that she's pregnant..." James then pauses the tv and I see the tears build back up in his eyes. He's fists are clenched together and his nails are digging in his palm. Piper looks equally as shocked and hurt by this.

"What! How could she do that!" She cries out. Tears streaming down her face as she jolts up off the sofa. Piper starts ranting on about how she thought that Riley loved James and why was she so selfish to let this happen. I try calm her down while also trying to stop James from punching anything and everything.

"Guys calm down..." i try and soothe them both. These two are definitely related. They both look at me as a look of confused slowly takes over and I contemplate telling them. I was told not to but I think it may be necessary.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you this but I will anyway" I start off as they take a seat again. I turn over the tv so the image isn't still in the background and continue me statement.

"The baby isn't Alfies..." I blurt out. Piper seems to calm down just a little but James doesn't. If anything it makes him seem more angry. He stands up and clenches his fists again and try's to leave the room but I hold him at arms length to stop him.

"James calm down-"

"How am I suppose to calm down Emily! If the baby's not his then what happened? She could of cheated on me! So go on Em tell me. Who's is it?" He folds his arms and his face turns bright red from the anger. Pipers sat on the sofa not really wanting to get involved but I can see that she still curious as to who's it is. I tell James to take a deep breath in and I sigh as I reassure him.

"She didn't cheat on you. She loves you James, even though you can be an idiot at times, she would never do that" his anger fades slightly as it gets taken over by other emotions which seem to make him numb. "Then who's is it Em?" He repeats as he wipes a stray tear of his face. I try force a small smile which makes him seem even more confused.

"It's yours..."

His tears start to fall but for once I think there full of joy and relief. A smile creeps onto his face as he pulls me in for a quick hug. He's then quick to pull away and give piper a hug to who's know stood up beside us. They both look extremely happy and I let them enjoy the moment.

"I'm gonna be a dad" James says in disbelief. I nod at him while smiling. I'm sad that I had to tell them because I knew that Riley wanted to tell him but I couldn't let him beat hisself up over it. "And I'm going to be a auntie!" Piper squeals as she tightly hugs her brother. I step back a little just to watch them both smile. I haven't seen this much joy for a while ever since we found out where Riley had gone.

After a few more minutes of celebration, which I get dragged into, James' mood decides to switch again. "Wait! What's gonna happen if Alfie finds out it's not his" he starts to panic all over again but this time I can't help. Even I start to question it. If he finds out Riley's carrying James's child what is he gonna do. Steph told me that Riley was hurt pretty badly and if he finds out it could get worse. I don't want to jinx anything or upset James further but maybe if he finds out there may be no baby coming home.

"I'm sure he isn't smart enough to figure it out James. And also if our plan goes ahead it won't be long and if he does she may already be back in Toronto" I try to reassure them both the best I can. They both still look shook but i get through to them eventually. I mean someone in this situation has to be calm enough to calm the others done. So I guess thats going to be my job for now. I just hope I can push back my thoughts and tears while I try reassure them. I just hope I can do it.

Sorry if this is getting dragged slightly. From here on the whole storylines gonna pick up it's just i wanted to add this in to show how the characters are reacting to each part.