The Rabbit Hole

Chapter 3

Six o’clock, in the evening, I still haven’t returned home and Mom has been calling endlessly for the past two hours, the sound of the phone going on and on got on my last nerve so I turned it off and threw it deeper into my hand bag. Casey is still with me, I filled her in on my diagnosis and she’s just as shocked as I am. We wound up sitting in the park, staring into the lake in silence, no words came. We remained like that for almost fifteen minutes, the first time in our lives we’ve set beside one another for this long and never spoken a word. Even while watching a movie we always had things to say, even after a fight, the longest we’ve never spoken to each other was five minutes the least, this just goes to show how much of a jaw-dropper this news was to both of us. “Do you have any idea who the father is?” she asks regretfully, breaking the longest streak of silence we’ve ever had. Her question jerks me back, I’m sitting and wondering how am I going to tell my parents about this and never wondered who might be the father of this baby. “I...don’t know.” I reply to her.
“Heather, what do you mean you don’t know? Don’t you remember the last person you slept with?”
“I do but it’s not as simple as that.” She raises her eyebrows and looks at me. “The doctor said that I am three weeks pregnant. From what I recall, I slept with two guys three weeks ago.”
“Simultaneously!?” she asks sounding repulsed.
“No! Off course not, I’m not a slut. It was on separate occasions.” I explain.
“But the same week?”
“Yes. My parents are so going to kill me.” I say, with my face in my hands.
“Let’s figure this out first. Three weeks ago what happened?”
“I hooked up with Scott Rimely on his birthday.”
“With protection, right?”
“Yeah, off course.”
“Then it must be the second guy you hooked up with. Who was it?”
I hold it in for a moment but give in after staring at Casey’s curious glare long enough, “Matthew Hainford,” I regretfully admit the fact.
“Your ex!?” she hollers.
“Jeez, let the whole world know will ya?”
“Oh my God, Heather, you’re pregnant with his baby?”
“like I said, it’s not that simple. We also used protection.”
“What?”
“Exactly, I can’t say for sure who’s baby I’m carrying.” At a moment of complete loss, I hang my head low and hold onto the back of my neck. Casey’s phone starts ringing, I couldn’t see her but I could tell she answered without looking at the caller I.D, otherwise she wouldn’t have answered the phone. “Hello?” she says to the person on the other end of the call, “Oh hey Mrs. Brooks,” my Mom is on the other end of that call. “Heather? Oh she’s...” She stalls for confirmation from me, I nod at her to tell her she’s with me, “she’s right here next to me. Oh, okay,” she hands over the phone to me. “Hi, Mom.”
“Jesus, Heather you had me worried. I’ve been calling your cell and kept getting your voicemail. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, Mom, everything is okay. My cell battery died that’s all.”
“Oh, did you go to the doctor? What did he say?” she asks the dreaded question, making me wish I could just die right here and now. “Oh nothing. He said it was just a stomach bug. Said that most of his patients have been suffering from the same thing.”
“Oh. I guess it must be going around.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“He gave you pills for it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay then sweetheart, hurry on home. It’ll be dark soon.”
“On my way right now. See you soon.” I hated lying to my mother just now but I just felt like I had no choice at that moment.
“That lie won’t hold for long. What are you going to tell them when you’re six months in? That you’re gaining weight?” Casey sarcastically asks but means to pry an answer out of me, to which I can’t provide. “Casey. I need you to promise that you won’t say anything about this to anyone.”
“Heather, of course. You don’t need to—”
“I’m serious, Casey. Not a soul. Not your little brother, your mother, no one.” I state.
“Like I was saying, you don’t need to ask me to keep this a secret for you. It goes without asking.” She says to me.
“Yeah, but it’ll make me feel better hearing you say you promise.”
“That goes without asking too but—I promise, Heather. I won’t tell a soul.” She assures me.

Nightfall, I’m back home and in my room. The second I walked through the door Mom had already set the plates for dinner –usually setting up the table is my job but I kind of already have a lot on my plate right now. We set down at the dinner table, had our meal –spaghetti and meatballs—and then Mom and I went off to try on my prom dress. A while before that she lectured me about the budget, I didn’t tell her that Casey loaned me some cash and helped me get this dress, because she would have gave me a double lecture about also taking money from people. When it comes to finance, Mom really sets some boundaries, so she’s better off not knowing the full story of how I got the dress. Full story, shit, If I were to tell her about the pregnancy I’d be dead. I still haven’t figured out how to tell them. Hell, I still don’t know whether I should keep it or not. My phone rings on my nightstand, I try to reach for it but it vibrates away from my reach, drumming ever closer to the edge of the nightstand. I manage to grab it before it takes a dive to the ground. “Hello?” I say to the person on the other end of the call and a happy summer voice replies, “Hello, Heather. It’s Norma Bridgewater.” She says, in a happy-go-lucky tone.
“Hi, Mrs. Bridgewater. What can I do for you?”
“I was just calling to see if you’re still on to housesit for me when my husband and I leave this coming Friday.” In that moment it hits me. I forgot that I accepted the job to housesit for the Bridgewater’s, they are leaving for a second honeymoon on Friday. This news of my pregnancy has completely taken over seventy percent of my brain, I can hardly keep track of my thoughts with it being a constant in my mind, let alone remember my previous appointments. “Oh yes, Mrs. Bridgewater, I’m still able to housesit for you.”
“That’s great news.”
“At what time should I be arriving?”
“We’ll be leaving the house a little after noon, so 12:00 pm should be just fine.”
“Okay.”
“It’s not too much of a bother, is it? I know that you mostly do babysitting jobs.”
“No, Mrs. Bridgewater, it certainly is not a bother at all. Your house is only a few blocks from my home. I’m happy to do it.”
“Thanks again for doing this, dear. Have yourself a good night.” She humbly says over the phone and hangs up. The only problem about that job is the cat, I very much dislike cats, but I do need the money so it can’t be helped.