i love you, but.. // lierra

23

Fallin' All In You - Shawn Mendes

The next morning Sierra wakes up at almost six in the morning, all so that she could call Crystal. The timezones are crazy, but the two of them are very close therefore these weekly Sunday calls are mandatory. They have lots of things to catch up on, and Sierra also needs some advice on the renovation. Her alarm is very quiet so to not wake up Luke, and she sneaks out of the bedroom without making a sound.

"I can definitely send you the builder's and designer's contact," Crystal says on the other end of the line, "and I think I can talk to them about a discount for you."

Sierra smiles shyly, sitting with her legs crossed on the couch. "That's generous, but I think we'll do everything ourselves. I just wanted your advice on some colours and furniture."

"We? As in..?"

"Luke and me." she replies quietly, looking at her bedroom door.

"It's great that he's helping you." Crystal is basically the elder sister Sierra's never had. She's supportive, she gives her advice when needed or just spends some quality time with her - even if it's over the phone.

"Not really helping, uh, he's gonna live there too." Her speech is slow because of how early it is and because of how scared she is to tell Crystal this. "We're moving in together."

"Oh my goodness, this is huge!" her excited voice makes Sierra blush. It feels so right to do this, and her best friend approves of it. "So why don't you talk to him about colours and stuff?"

"Yeah, right, like he's gonna have any say in this." she laughs. "I'm kidding of course, but I know how indecisive he is, he'll just agree to whatever I'm offering. I'm gonna ask him on the spot, so he has only a couple of options to choose from."

"That's smart."

Crystal goes on to explaining all the do's and don't's in renovation. Sierra has her notebook on her lap and writes down everything carefully.

"So what's up with you?" Sierra asks after she's written out 3 pages.

"Not much, been staying in bed mostly when I'm not nauseous."

"Did you eat something bad?"

"Oh wait, no, I didn't." she says quickly. "I'm not nauseous. Forget I told you that."

"Crystal? What's wrong? Are you sick?" a picture of Crystal going through chemotherapy pops up in her mind - it's always cancer, and Sierra is terrified of it.

"No, no, I'm alright." Sierra sighs in relief. "It's just that you're not really supposed to know that." Crystal says carefully before adding, "Yet."

"So I will find out anyway. Tell me."

Crystal pauses for several seconds, "But promise not to tell anyone. Well, maybe only Luke." she adds, smiling. "But no one else. Please."

"Tell me what's going on." Sierra giggles because she can hear in Crystal's voice it's good news.

"Only Mike and our parents know, and we wanna hide it for as long as we can, but um, I'm pregnant."

"Holy fuck!" she screams out. "Crystal! This is huge news. Oh my god, I'm so so happy for you!"

"Yeah, we've really wanted to be parents for so long." Crystal lets out a happy sigh.

The reality sets in as Sierra starts thinking about what this news actually means. "Does that mean you'll stay in the states? Like forever?"

"We haven't actually decided yet." They can decide what passport their kid is going to have by just giving birth to it in either of their native countries, and it is a huge decision. "But we will see each other again, for sure."