What If It Was Like This

Chapter 14 - Elise

Elise stared straight ahead as she drove, focusing on the road without knowing where she was going. She couldn't believe that Mark had done that, after everything that had happened. He knew all of the fathers, and he decided to tell the child that would, and did, make the biggest deal out of it. 

Elise suddenly realized she had slowly been increasing the pressure on the pedal, causing her to go at least 20 mph over the speed limit. She quickly slowed down and took a deep breath, pulling over to the side of a road in front of some shop to reach over and grab her phone. She needed to make a call.

~

A little while later, Elise stepped out of her car, checking behind her phone one more time in case she received an important text. She groaned at the empty screen and walked up to the front door, taking out her key to unlock the door. She stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind her. Glancing into the living room she saw Mark still asleep on the couch, but no one else could be found in there. She sighed, walking into the kitchen to find Charles sitting at the dining room table, the light emitted from his laptop illuminating his concentrated look and a half-eaten sandwich next to him.

"Hun, what're you doing?" Elise yawned, setting her purse on the counter and walking over to the cabinets to grab a cup, filling it up with water.

"Research," Charles mumbled, scribbling notes into a notebook Elise hadn't noticed was with him.

"With?" she asked without a clue about what the subject could be.

"How to tell if someone is pregnant," Charles replied, still focused on the computer, "and how a pregnancy affects others."

"Well, first off, I could have told you about that," Elise rolled her eyes, sitting down next to her son, "and second, is this for a health project, or did you impregnate someone?"

Charles glared at her for a moment before scribbling more notes down. "Well, it started as a health project, but now I'm also curious about something."

"And what would that be?" Elise sighed, taking another sip of water.

"If Sheena and her boyfriend are sleeping together," Charles answered calmly. Quickly, he added, "Not that I actually want to know if they are, but if Sheena is pregnant."

"Well, if she is, I've no doubt she'd tell me, and she hasn't, so don't worry. Also, have more faith in your sister. She hasn't been proven to be a slut or something, has she?" Elise joked.

"No, she hasn't, but I accidentally walked in on Sheena and her boyfriend alone in her room, together in the bed, with the door closed, which leads me to some suspicions," Charles shrugged.

"You mean like cuddling? A couple thing?" Elise teased.

Charles rolled his eyes at his mother. "Fine, they very well may not have, but I'd rather be prepared."

Elise smiled and nodded. "Okay, okay, I understand. I'm gonna go to my room, but I doubt I'll sleep, so if you need anything just come talk to me, and do not stay up too late, K?"

Charles nodded, hyper-focused on his work again, leaving Elise to take her purse and walk to her room, shutting the door behind her. She sighed and set her phone down, still waiting for the text.

~

At about 3 in the morning, Elise lay awake in her bed, reading a book as she tried to pass time. Suddenly, in the midst of the silence, Elise's phone went off and she quickly grabbed it to check the message. 

About 20 minutes away. Don't you dare leave me at the airport. Thanks.

Elise stood up quickly, grabbing a shirt that she knew didn't look terrible and some joggers, throwing them on and grabbing her purse. She grabbed her phone, throwing it into her purse as she made her way out of the room and down the hall. She stopped at Sheena's room, opening the door quietly and walking to the side of the bed Sheena was on, wrapped in Francis's arms. After a  moment of contemplating whether or not to nicely wake up Sheena, she reached out and violently shook her, making Sheena wake up quickly in alarm and Francis to groan in annoyance.

"Don't worry, it's just me," Elise whispered quickly, glancing at the clock and realizing the few minutes she had already wasted. "I have to go and I'll probably be back before 5, but if I'm not, you're in charge of getting El ready for daycare, and making sure everyone, even you, get to where they need to go on time. Thanks Hun, I love you," she gushed, kissing Sheena's forehead and rushing out of the room before she got an answer.

Elise rushed out to her car as quietly as she could, starting it and driving quickly through all the neighborhoods to the city that was nearby to their small town, trying to get to the airport in time.

When Elise finally got there, parking was easy since it was barely 3:20 AM, meaning Elise could park near the front and run inside, not caring that her sneakers weren't even all the way on her feet.

Elise finally found a spot to sit and anxiously waited, nervous and suddenly very aware about how crappy she looked.

"Ellie?" She heard a voice from behind her. Carefully, she turned around, her breath hitched in her throat, and finally saw him. The father of one of her kids.