Becca's Moments

Chapter FortyThree

Becca

I was comforting Grace in her room. She had called me over since she refused to leave the house. A couple days have passed and I could tell she was gradually breaking down. It would only be a matter of time before she suffered severe depression.

"Does anyone in your family know about this?" I asked as I rubbed her back. She shook her head solemnly. "Not even your mum?"

She sniffed and shook her head once more. "Too scared to tell her."

"Understandable. You know more than anyone how she’d react. But eventually she’ll realise your belly."

She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "I dunno what to do, Becc’s."

I remained silent. I had no expertise in this kind of field. It’s not every day your boyfriend decides to run out on you and disappear... Well it’s happened to me once before, but the only difference between mine and Grace’s situation is that I wasn’t pregnant.

The only thing I can do is console her.

"I wanna help you Grace," I muttered. "But I’m really stuck here. The most I can do is lend you some money-..."

"No," she said immediately. "I’m not charity, I can look after myself. I have enough savings."

I noticed her tone and remained silent. She was slowly going from upset to angry, and it was really frightening.

"Okay. I’ll try Chris’ number." I reached into my pocket for my phone but she quickly gripped my hand.

"No, don’t bother. His phone’s off so there’s no point." She sighed heavily and suddenly I saw the slight snarl on her face. "If he wants to act like a dickhead then I’ll treat him like one. He’s never seeing his child."

I paused and looked at her. "It’s too early to be making that kinda decision."

"He obviously doesn’t want anything to do with this baby in the first place."

"That’s not true, Grace."

"How do we know what’s true or not? He’s gone, Becc’s. I don’t even know if he’s coming back this time."

"He’ll come back."

She watched me silently and her glare grew darker. "How do you know?"

"Because I know Chris. He wouldn’t do that to you. He’s probably gone to clear his head."

"I’m the one carrying the fucking child. If anything my head needs clearing."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know."

"There’s no excuse, Becca. If he’s not back in a week then that’s it. If he really cared he would be here right now."

I nodded again. I wanted to tell her that she was wrong for making this decision while angry, but this had nothing to do with me. This was between Grace and Chris. I could give advice but at the end of the day her choice was what mattered; she’s the mother.

She suddenly stood up. "Gotta pee again," she grumbled before leaving the room.

I watched her leave with a sigh. Grace was usually the vibrant one of the group, she was hardly ever negative. I had never seen her so stressed out before, and it really wasn’t fair on her part.

I was routing for Chris. He has one week to prove himself.

I headed downstairs to the kitchen, passing her mum along the way who was on the phone. I grabbed a bowl and filled it with Walkers crisps then poured some juice for Grace. I then remembered the Cadbury’s bar I had left in the fridge and took that too before going back upstairs. If anything can cheer up Grace, it’s definitely chocolate.