Unexpected Returns

Making a Decision

(Present day)

    My face burned remembering all the things that happened that night, all the things we said to each other. 

    "God damn it, I still can't get over the fact that you didn't tell us until now,'' Lilly whined. Charlie looked really confused. 

"Why is Lilly complaining and who even is the guy?" Charlie questioned. Before I could answer, Lilly and Leila said it at the same time. "It's Alex Turner!"

    "No way! Stop, because, if you're messing with me, I'll kick your ass," I shook my head to say no. 

"I'm being honest," I replied. But she looked very confused again. "Wait, why are you even telling us?" She asked. I took a deep breath.

    "I was telling Leila and Lilly how we met because I'm pregnant with his baby," I announced.

    "You're lying," She looked over at Leila and Lilly who both shook their heads.

I pulled out the ultrasound pictures. She pulled me into a bear hug. I hugged her back instantly then I felt Lilly and Leila join the hug too. I couldn't help but let a few tears fall down. I let go of the hug realizing I had a decision to make but I didn't want to ruin the moment. 

    "I feel like this deserves a celebration!" Leila announced. "How about I drive all of us to go eat, and you guys pay?" 

    We all chuckled and nodded in agreement. We all rushed to the car getting into our usual spots. Charlie next to Leila, then me and Lilly in the back. 

After 10 minutes we arrived at Chi Spacca. We all walked in, ordered our food, and we all got a different kind of pasta. As we waited for our food, we talked more about Alex, and Lilly was telling me about the Arctic Monkeys albums, while Leila talked about The Last Shadow Puppets. I replied to everything they said, but I got lost in thought. Should I really keep the baby? Should I try looking for him? But even if I found him, since he's so famous, what if he wouldn't want to be a part of the baby's life? My thoughts were interrupted by the waiter coming to our table with the food. Lilly looked at me very worried. 

    "Valerie, are you okay babes?" She asked.

I nodded in response, faking a smile. I picked up a fork eating my food in peace while still making sure to be involved in the conversation but I kept slipping in and out of my thoughts. It felt overwhelming. I felt tears start to well up in my eye but I quickly blinked them away. I didn't say anything about what I was feeling. After dinner we walked around the block for a while then Charlie turned to me. 

    "Val, I have a question cause I've been wondering about it the entire time we were eating," She said. 

"I'm listening," I replied.

"Are you going to keep the baby? I mean as you mentioned the father is Alex, he's a very famous guy. How do you plan on telling him?" She asked. I stood silent for a moment as those thoughts started to cloud my head once again. 

    "That's the problem. I can't tell him I don't have his number and he doesn't have mine. Plus I don't know if he lives here in LA. That night we went to his hotel room," As I said, I saw both Charlie and Leila's expressions change. 

    "Oh, shit," Leila blurted and Lilly nudged her arm. 

I felt my cheeks burn again, but it was from embarrassment this time. Once again the emotions were getting to me, then I felt the tears. 

"I think it's best that we talk about this at home," Lilly started to move us to the direction of the car. I walked silently and I felt her arm wrapped around my shoulder. 

"Don't worry babes, relax, we'll get home, then all together we will talk about this and you'll make the decision because it's your baby," She kissed my forehead. 

The ride home was silent. My eyes fogged up with tears. I was overwhelmed, scared, nervous and even ashamed. Lilly grabbed my hand placing a tissue in it. Even if, by chance, I was able to find Alex again, would he want to be in the baby's life? If he did, how would we make it work? When we arrived home, Lilly helped me out of the car and, without saying a word, just took me upstairs to my bedroom, sitting me down with Charlie and Leila right behind her. 

    "Okay. Now that we're home, let's talk about this. But first, Vally, remember we are your friends whatever happens, and whatever you decide, we will help you and support you all the way," Lilly reassured me. 

    "So I feel like keeping the baby, but, at the same time, I feel like it would be wrong to keep the baby and not tell Alex because he has a right to know. But even if I did find him. How could we make it work since he's so famous? If I decide to not keep it, I just feel like it would be so wrong to get rid of it without telling him," I ranted. 

    "Damn, it seems like you got yourself into a mess," Leila blurted out following Charlie smacking her. 

"If you really feel like keeping the baby, then keep it. It's all up to you, and the thing with Alex is that you can always try to contact him somehow, and, if you want, we can go out walking around LA to see if we can find him, or even go to the bar where you met him. I hope that you guys will meet again, and if you do keep it, you can tell him. But don't worry, babes, just like I said, we will support you with whatever you decide. We can give you time to decide for yourself," She said calmly. 

"Thank you so much and I think it's best that I take a few days to think about it,"
That night I couldn't sleep. My head was filled with too many thoughts. My anxiety just kept getting worse. I knew I wouldn't be able to get sleep and I also had work tomorrow, so there was no way in hell I would be able to work. It was at this point I could feel myself getting sick. I got up to use the bathroom, throwing up a few times. I went back to bed, but the thoughts were there again. I stared up at the ceiling imagining everything going downhill. I was drowning in my own thoughts. Anytime I was close enough to be asleep, my imagination ran wild. I eventually fell asleep around 5 am, and then at 7 am, my alarm clock started ringing to get up for work, but I just turned it off, not wanting to go. I just closed my eyes again, going back to sleep. Around 12 pm, I was woken up by a loud knocking on my door. I got up, opened it, and immediately laid back down.
    "Wake up! It's almost 1 pm. Shouldn't you be at work?" Leila yelled. I just groaned.
    "I couldn't sleep until, like, 5 am so, I decided not to go. I'll get out of bed and just go to work," I groaned.
She rolled her eyes and walked out. I checked my phone to see lots of texts from my boss asking why I wasn't at work today. I told her I had a medical problem to deal with. I got up from bed a little too fast and I felt unbalanced. For at least 2 weeks that's been happening constantly. I headed down stairs to do my normal routine. I made myself breakfast. After that, I sat on the couch, getting lost in my thoughts. I was leaning more towards keeping the baby. I've always wanted kids. I have to think about how this would affect my life. For someone who's 25, I feel like I'm in a good place. Also, would everyone be okay with having a baby in the house? I sat on the couch for about 5 hours, then Lilly and Charlie came home.

"Babes, are you okay? You look so tired," she said worriedly. I didn't know how to reply. She immediately pulled me into a hug. 

"It's that I just don't know what to decide. Gosh, why couldn't my dumb ass just leave my number for him the morning I left?" 

"In this situation you need to listen to both your heart and your head, and make sure you make a decision you are 100% sure that you want for yourself. I will help you throughout anything you decide. We will go to your appointments, and help you take care of the baby. Also, destiny will find a way for you to meet again," Lilly reassured me. 

"We will support you no matter what happens. We'll always be here for you," Charlie added. I thought about it again. I will have support from all three of them, and I'm in a good place to have a kid. 

"I want to keep the baby," I announced. 

"Then it's settled. No matter what happens during this time, we will help you, support you," Charlie said. They both hugged me tightly, and I felt stress lift off my shoulders. "I'll go tell Leila your decision," Charlie said, then went to her room. Then, as she said, it was settled, I'm gonna keep the baby.