two can play at this game | cg

24

exposed
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[carl's pov]

It had been a few months since Dominique revealed her pregnancy and, despite not being in contact with Vanessa anymore, everything was running smoothly. Most days, I'd go over to Dom's, where we'd cuddle and talk about baby names or wall colours, like we'd being doing tonight. My head rested against her stomach as she ran her fingers through my hair, gossiping about people from school.

All of a sudden, Dom got up and grabbed a towel from her desk chair, swinging it over her shoulder. "I'm gonna have a quick shower. Can you drop some clothes from my dresser outside the bathroom door?" She asked before disappearing into the hallway. I sighed and opened the first drawer, rummaging around for some underwear. My hands pulled at the second to reveal some t-shirts and an Ikea divider containing some strange tan bumps. I frowned as my fingers lingered over the labels '12 weeks', '32 weeks' and '40 weeks', eventually pulling one out and observing it. There was a large strap around the back, stitched onto a piece of fabric-covered foam that resembled a small bump.

My eyes widened as the realisation hit me. No wonder Dom never let me go to ultrasounds or shower with her. Even her Dad was supposedly 'okay' with the pregnancy, despite going psycho when he found out about the fake one. I stumbled backwards and sunk into the mattress, putting my head in my hands as a mix of shame, anger and disbelief took over. "Baby, where are my clothes?" Dominique whined from the open bathroom door but I didn't reply. Footsteps got louder as she appeared in the doorway, wrapped in a towel and I looked up, watching her face drop as she spotted what I was holding.

"Please tell me you're actually pregnant. Please tell me my son is really under that towel and you've not been lying to me this whole time." I croaked, standing up from the bed and walking towards her as she tried backing away. "Le-lemme explain." Her hands gripped at her towel as she tried to come up with an excuse but I didn't want to hear it so I snapped "Save it Dom! I risked everything to make this work but it was all for nothing." I started collecting my stuff from the floor but, as I was about to walk out, she pulled me back, revealing the tears that were spilling from her eyes.

"Please don't leave." She begged, her nails digging into my skin. "I missed you, I needed you. Nobody can compare to you, Carl. I wanted to be your special girl and this just seemed like the only option." I yanked my arm away and stared down at her. "Special girl? How can you be my 'special girl' when I'm constantly getting hurt by your lies and schemes?" She winced slightly as my voice echoed throughout the house. "That's it Dom, I'm done playing your fucking mind games. Don't even think about coming near me or Vanessa again because I swear to god you'll regret it. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some business to attend to." And with that, I stormed out of the room, leaving her in a crying heap on the wooden floor.

[vanessa's pov]

*TAP TAP TAP*

I looked up from my over-due homework and furrowed my brows, watching as a rock bounced off my windowpane. My hands fumbled with the lock before lifting the window above my head, peering out at my yard. "Oh god.." I groaned as Carl stood below me, holding a handful of stones that he had been using to catch my attention. Just as I turned to go back to my work, he yelled "Wait! You were right..", trailing off at the end of his sentence.

"What a shocker." My tone was full of sarcasm as I rested my head on my palm, waiting for some kind of apology. "I know V, I really fucked up. Again. But it's okay now, Dom's out of the picture so everything can go back to normal." He shrugged with a sheepish grin on his face but I just rolled my eyes, pretending to yawn at his response. "Wow Gallagher, you're just as ignorant as I remember. What makes you think everything's going back to the way it was? I'm done with letting people in only for them to drop me so goodbye."

"Vanessa just hear-" His voice became muffled as I shut my window, finally allowing me to slump back into my desk chair. To completely block out his moaning, I plugged in my earphones and blasted Jorja Smith, returning to my Algebra.

[end of chapter]

i'm honestly so sad,, i have 3 weeks left of summer before i go into my final year of secondary school, which means stress, work and exams that 'define my future'. also, i'm having crush problems so that kinda sucks but oh well..