The Debt of Guilt [BxB]

8: before

April
1989

"Open up, Jen!" Danny banged on the front door with both fists, brows knitted together in frustration.

"Maybe she's not in." Peter mused as he leant back against the doorframe, arms folded across his chest.

"She's in." Danny corrected her.

"How are you so-?"

"She hasn't been at school all week, and this is the third time we've come over!" Danny snapped, "She's ignoring us." He turned back to the door, and started banging again, "Jen!"

"If she doesn't wanna see us, she doesn't wanna-"

The door swung open, and Jenifer appeared, her frizzy ginger hair framing her flushed red cheeks, "Will you cut that out!" She demanded.

Danny leapt forward, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a tight hug, "Jen!" He exclaimed, this time in excitement.

She shoved him off, rolling her eyes, "Fucking hell." She muttered.

"Where have you been?" Peter pressed worriedly.

She tightened her cardigan around her stomach, attempting to conceal the baby bump which was becoming difficult to ignore, "I've been revising." She shrugged, "Don't need to come into school anymore. Exams are round the corner, and we've learnt everything they're gonna teach us."

"We've been worried about you." Danny told her earnestly.

She sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Can we come in?" He pressed.

She shook her head, "Best not to. My stepdad's been getting angry that you two keep showing up here."

"You should've answered the door the first time, then." Peter replied dryly.

She ran her fingers through her hair nervously, tugging at the messy locks, "I've been..." She hesitated. She hated being so vulnerable. "I was ashamed. I didn't want to see you guys. I know what you must think of me..."

"We're not judging you." Peter told her quickly, "We don't care who you sleep with."

"Yeah." Danny agreed, "You just should've told us-"

Peter stomped on Danny's foot to shut him up, and Danny let out a gasp of pain.

Jenifer smiled sadly, reaching behind her for her jacket, "Let's go on a walk." She suggested, grabbing her keys off the hook, and slipping them into her pocket.

Jenifer lived on the edge of town, between the cusp of countryside and civilisation. She was nestled between acres of meadows, forests, ponds, and hidden pathways through the greenery. She led the boys through a clearing in the forest where her Mother used to take her on hikes as a kid, telling her tales about the fairies and elves who hid in the trees above them.

"I'm gonna take them here." She said softly, after a minute of walking in silence. Her hands were circling her belly as she trudged across the leafy ground, "I'm gonna tell my kid the same stories my Mother told me. I'll tell them this place is full of magic." She smiled, "I'm almost sixteen and sometimes I still think there's magic here."

The boys exchanged a worried look. "So..." Peter cleared his throat awkwardly, "You're...uh...keeping it, then?"

She grazed her fingers across the bark of an old tree as she passed it, sighing softly, "Yeah." She stopped walking, turning to face them directly, "I know you're both gonna tell me I'm an idiot, and I probably am, but-"

"It's great!" Danny smiled at her manically. He wanted to scream at her for making such a stupid decision, but he couldn't. There was no changing her mind now - Jenifer was stubborn like that. "It's great, Jen."