Freckles and Constellations

Chapter 6

It's a nice feeling waking up on your own accord on a weekend, however, when your friend decides to call you at ha;f 6 in the morning, that feeling fades. Despite it not being an alarm, it sure wakes you up enough that you just cannot go back to sleep.  

After the rude awakening, I trudge downstairs in my dressing gown and turn on the coffee maker. Time for a latte. I lean against the side of the counter as I stare at an un-opened box of pop-tarts. A sudden sinking feeling fills my stomach and drags it to the ground and I tell my self off for even wanting food. How crazy. I turn back around and stop the machine before it over fills my glass. I take it into the front room and take a seat on the couch. I flick through the countless channels before deciding to watch re-runs of 'friends'. I snuggle down into the couch and sip my latte. It's going to be a good day. 

Its an hour or so later when I hear footsteps coming downstairs. I peep into the kitchen and see my father, sitting at the island and got his head in the newspaper. 

"Dad, would you like a coffee?" I smile and pull a mug out of the cupboard. 

"No, ZoZo, a tea would suit me fine." He smiles. I reply with a smile and flick the switch on the kettle. I turn to him as i plop a tea bag into the cup. 

 "Where's Les? She's usually up before me?" I ask as I pour the boiling water into his cup. 

"I heard her phone someone, I don't think she has work today. Why don't you be a sweet and give my tea to her? I think she's feeling a little down. A pop tart couldn't go a miss either." He smiles and I nod as i put a pop tart into the toaster for a few seconds. As it pops, I take the mug and a small plate for the pop tart and carry it upstairs. 

Except, when I reach the top of the stairs, I'm extremely lightheaded and feel the need to be sick. The feeling soon passes so I ignore it and walk to Lesley's room. 

"Knock knock?" I mutter.

"Zo? Come in." Her voice sounds muffled and sad so i push the door open with my shoulder and go sit on the end of her bed.

"I brought you some breakfast and a tea. Are you okay?" I ask, quietly. She stirs under the duvet and sits up. Immediately, I see her eyes are all puffy and red but she's trying so hard to hide it so I don't point it out and instead hand her the food which she puts on the bedside table after taking a bite out of it and takes a sip of the tea. 

"Zo, I have a problem." She looks at me with sad eyes.

"What's happened?" I ask a little worried. 

"Well you know Mickey? My ex?" She asks.

"Yeah, the one with the bright socks." I smile.

"Well, you know how I said I was going to meet up with Ollie the other morning??" She says, I get a little more suspicious now but i urge her to carry on.

"Yes?"

"Well, Uh. How do I say this?" She asks herself.

"Take your time." I smile.

"Well, I wasn't feeling good so I went to the chemist and brought a pregnancy test because I wasn't very sure..." She looks at me and fumbles under her pillow.

"And?..." 

She pulls out a pregnancy test from under her pillow and shows it to me. 

It's positive. 

"Lesley! This is wonderful! We have to go to the doctors!" I exclaim.

"Zo, you don't understand. Mickey left me and he's the dad and I lied about going out with Ollie. Oh what am I going to do? Dad can't know because he will get mad because Mickey left me and I can't bring up a baby alone, how will I work and Zoe, I can't do this. I can't. I tried telling Mickey but he just said get it aborted and I just cannot do that. I can't. I refuse to kill him or her. Please |Zoe, I need your help. Tell me what to do!" Tears slowly fall onto her cheeks and I lean in to hug her. 

"Listen, you are the strongest woman I know. You're a high ranked lawyer and everyone wants you on their side. You have to breathe and just understand the situation." I pull away from her.

"You really think I should keep it?" She asks with wide eyes.

"I know you should." I smile widely and she pulls me into another embrace. 

"Can you help me tell dad?" She asks when she pulls away. 

"Of course, let's do it now, he's in a very good mood." I smile and take her hand but when I stand up my head starts spinning and suddenly everything is fading. I blink until the light comes back into focus and I'm sitting on Lesley's bed again. 

"You okay?" She asks whilst staring down at me. 

"Uh yeh, I just got dizzy, stood up a tad too fast." I giggle. But inside I start feeling panicky. What's happening? I ignore it and again take Lesley's hand and lead her downstairs.

When we reach the living room, Lesley stops me and gives me a worried look. 

"It's okay, Les, you can do this. I'm here with you. Every step." I smile and she nods so we walk into the front room and both take a seat by our dad. 

"Dad, I have some news." Lesley mutters. Her green eyes again filling with tears.

"What's up, sweet?" He asks and turns the TV off and looks directly at her. 

"Well..." She begins to tell the story she told me but my head hurts and my hands are shaking. I blink ferociously trying to get it to stop but it's getting harder to shake. By the time it does stop, Lesley has told dad the news and he's pulled her into a tight hug and it isn't long until I'm engulfed in the mess of tears and laughter. 

"My baby is having a baby. i'll help you raise it since that no good little scum bag left you. You can do this, Les." 

Everyone's smiling and crying when I realise it's about time I got ready for my little coffee date with Efie.