Unplanned

Three

Demi

I was abruptly woken at 4am by my stomach doing flips. I prayed I didn't wake anyone as I vomited up everything in my stomach. Every dry heave burnt my chest. The bathroom is directly connected to Dallas' bedroom so I wasn't really surprised when she stepped into the bathroom, a look of worry on her face as she rubbed her eyes.

"Fuck, you okay, D?" I shook my head, tears forcing their way forward. "Let me grab you some water" I sunk back against the wall as I brought my knees into my chest. Dallas reappeared a moment later with a glass of water. "Here you are, Baby" I took it from her, taking a sip as she took a seat beside me. A silence settled around us until I broke it.

"I'm pregnant" I kept my eyes on the wall, the silence around us was deafening. I didn't dare look at her.

"When-When did you find that out?"

"Yesterday" my voice was no louder than a whisper, it sort of burnt my throat to talk. "I-I took the test when I woke at 6. My period was supposed to start on Monday."

"Does Nick know?" my eyes instantly welled up with tears as I turned to meet her gaze. I never planned to tell her so soon. I never really planned to tell anyone so soon.

"He told me to get rid of it" her eyes flashed with anger. "But I can't do that, Dallas. I can't get rid of them. I've thought about it and I can't do it" she shook her head, twirling a strand of my hair around her finger.

"You don't have to, Dem. Nobody should ever tell you to do something like that. He's an ass, I've always told you that" I nibbled on my lip as I glanced down at my hands. "I'm gonna be an aunt, that's pretty cool" my eyes glanced up at her.

"You-You don't hate me? You're not like disappointed in me? You don't think-think I've ruined my life?"

"Why the fuck would I hate you? Yeah, you might only be 17 and yeah, maybe there's a tiny part of me that's disappointed" my heart sunk slightly into my stomach. "But you're my little sister, D. I protect my little sisters and I support them. And the whole ruined your life thing is a load of shit" my lips twitched into a light smile as I glanced down at my hands. "I wanna know if Nick says anything to you" I wrapped my arms around her and softly began to cry into her neck, clutching onto the back of her shirt. "You'll be okay, Baby" she began to lightly caress my spine as her grip remained tight around me.

"I'm scared to tell Mom" I sniffled. "And Eddie" I pulled away from her. "I'm really scared to tell Eddie" I nuzzled my face into my hands. "I don't want him to leave like Dad did" Dallas wrapped her arms back around me, continuing to stroke her hand along my back. My birth father walked out on us when I was just 6. He was an alcoholic and a drug addict who never really thought about anyone but himself. Eddie came into my life when I was 10 and he took on those fatherly duties. I've always been fearful of disappointing him because I don't want him to leave. I couldn't handle another Dad leaving me. "I-I don't..." I was beginning to find it difficult to catch my breath, it was starting to burn my chest.

"Dem, you gotta breathe, Baby."

"I-I don't want him to leave" I forced out, choking instantly on a sob. "I don't want them angry at me, Dallas " she combed her fingers gently through the ends of my hair.

"They may be angry at first, Dem, but that doesn't mean they won't support you" I kept myself cuddled into her chest. "I'll be there when you wanna tell them, okay? You don't have to tell them until you're ready" I nodded, pulling myself away from her. "Does anyone else know?"

"I-I told Odell yesterday. He's supportive, he's just pissed at Nick" I shrugged as I glanced down at my hands.

"I think we're all gonna be pissed at Nick, D. He doesn't have a right to tell you what to do with your own body, nobody does. This baby is yours, Dem. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise" I lightly smiled. "You finished throwing up?"

"I-I think so" she pushed herself to stand, flushed the toilet and then helped me to stand. She took the empty glass off me as I walked towards the sink. I brushed my teeth and rinsed out my mouth, thankfully able to remove the taste of vomit. "Thank you, Dallas" she shook her head with a light smile.

"You don't need to thank me, D. I support you, okay?" she wrapped her arm around me in a brief hug.

I settled back down in bed, able to fall back to sleep pretty quickly but I woke to my alarm blaring out at 6am. I felt worse than I did earlier. My head was pounding and it hurt to even open my eyes. Even the tiny amount of sun filtering into my room from the gap in my curtains was too much. I grumbled, pulling my comforter over my head. The darkness helped a little to ease the pain. I was just about to drop off when there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in" my voice was weak and scratchy.

"You okay, D?" I removed my head from under the comforter at Dallas' soft voice. I forced my eyes open as I shook my head. "You don't look so good, Honey" she took a seat on the bed and lightly ran her fingers through my hair.

"My head's pounding. It hurts to even open my eyes."

"I'll grab you some Tylenol, okay?"

"Is-Is that safe? I don't-I don't wanna hurt the baby" her lips twitched ever so slightly at the corners.

"I'll have a look but I think it's safe, D" I nodded, rubbing at my eyes as I curled into my pillow.

"I don't wanna go school."

"Honey, you're not going to school" her fingers gently caressed my back. "I'll get you a glass of water and a Tylenol. I'll tell Mom that you've got a stomach bug" I nodded into my pillow. "Just get some rest, D" she lightly kissed the back of my head and then left my bedroom. I very quickly dozed off, waking to fingers combing gently through my hair. I squinted, rolling onto my back and glancing at Mom who stood beside my bed. She flashed me a light smile as I rubbed at my eyes.

"Dallas says you're not feeling too good."

"My stomach's doing flips and my head is pounding" she leant to softly kiss my forehead. "D-Dallas said she was gonna get me some Tylenol."

"It's here, Baby" I winced as I sat up, rubbing at my eyes and then reaching for the glass of water as I relaxed back against my pillows. Mom passed me the Tylenol which I popped onto my tongue and then swallowed with some water. "Get some more sleep, Honey. I'll let school know that you won't be in" I nodded as she softly played with a strand of my hair. We sat in silence for a moment, it would have been a good time to tell her about the baby but I couldn't even force the words out of my mouth. "I'll let you get some sleep, Demi" she leant to kiss my forehead and then pushed herself to stand. I watched her leave and then sunk myself down in bed. I slid my hand along my stomach, softly smiling as tears welled up in my eyes.

"I'm gonna protect you. You'll always have me, no matter what anyone else thinks. I love you already and it's stupid of me to even think that I don't" I kept my hand on my stomach, staring up at the ceiling until the Tylenol eased my headache and I managed to drop back to sleep.

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