Red

Chapter Twenty One

Veronica POV:
Chandler won't allow me to move from my bed. No strenuous activity clearly means no moving until school tomorrow morning, and I'm pretty sure she's debating letting me go to school at all.

I called my mother and apologized for not coming home but told her that I slept over with Macnamara. If she knew I had 'slept over' with Chandler, she would definitely jump to the conclusion that we had sex (which we definitely did, but that's beside the point). She was mad at first for scaring her (if only she knew what had really happened), but she ended up being fine with it. I told her that I was sleeping over again with Mac and that I'd be home after school tomorrow.

"Chandler-" I say, attempting to get her to stop caring for me as though I've lost an arm.

"Stay," Chandler replies, staring me down before walking out of the room. I sigh, leaning back against the pillows. She probably wouldn't be like this except that I'd almost fallen in the way into the house. I'm dizzy, which the nurse said was totally normal, but it made Chandler freak out. Now I'm laying in her bed in the guest house, and she's left the room to get me water.

"I can get my own water, y'know," I call to her, and she reappears in the doorway, holding a glass of water for me.

"That's nice, dear," she says, walking over and handing me the glass. I sigh, taking a sip.

"Thanks," I say.

"You're welcome," she replies, sitting down next to me on the bed.

She watches intently as I take another sip, and I look over at her. "I'm fine," I tell her. "Seriously. Perfectly and totally fine."

She looks at me for a good three seconds before rapid-firing questions at me. "Does your head hurt?"

"A bit."

"Are you dizzy?"

"I'm sitting down."

"Do you feel like you're going to throw up? Because if so, I'd really rather you go into the bathroom, and I don't think that Mac's mom would like it much if-"

"Chandler," I say, putting my hands on her shoulders. This seems to pull her back to reality a little bit. "I swear to God, I'm fine." As I watch her, I realize something. Something's bothering her. Something that isn't me or her mom. "Are you?"

"I'm okay," she replies.

"I don't believe you," I tell her, leaning back against the headboard. "What is it? You can tell me. Just because I got hurt doesn't mean that whatever's going on with you is any less important."

"I'm fairly fucking sure it does," she retorts, but I raise an eyebrow at her, crossing my arms. She sighs, looking down at her lap. "Fine. It's... it's this pregnancy thing. I don't know what the hell I should do. My mom had so many problems with me. It probably runs in the family. I don't know if I can get through this." She looks upset, and I reach out to touch her arm, wanting to comfort her. 

"If you don't want to go through with this... I mean, you don't have to," I reply. "I know it seems daunting, but... abortion is an option."

"Yeah, it is," she replies, and she seems to take it into consideration. 

"Think over it," I tell her. "You don't want to do something you'll regret. It is an option, though, and I'll support you with whatever you do.

"Thanks, Sawyer," she says, still not looking back up at me. 

I take her face in my hands, tilting her head up gently so that she's looking at me. I plant a kiss on her forehead. "You're welcome. I've got you, okay? No matter what."

***

ONE WEEK LATER...

Veronica POV:

She's made her decision. She made an appointment at Planned Parenthood for two o'clock.

She was nervous this morning, and I asked her if she wanted me to go with her. She said she didn't. I respected her wishes. Now, I'm sitting in Fleming's class, waiting for a text from her. She said she'd tell me when she was done so that I could come pick her up once school gets out. It's nearly the end of class now, anyway, and I've been anxiously waiting for the past ten minutes or so. 

My eyes start to wander around the room. That's when I see him again. It's that kid from the 7-11. JD. Did he switch to this class, or have I just never seen him before? He looks up as I look over at him, and I immediately avert my eyes. He makes me sort of uncomfortable the way he smiles at me all the time. 

Something lands on the ground beneath my desk, hitting my foot. I look over at him and see that he's looking at me still. He nods to the crumpled up piece of paper. Checking to see that Fleming isn't looking, I lean down and pick up the paper.

If you ever get bored of the mythic bitch, you should come over to my place. I can assure you, you won't be disappointed. 

Holy shit. He thinks I'll cheat on Chandler for him.

Not interested, I scribble back, and I toss the paper back over.

He picks up the paper, watching for Fleming before reading it. I assume he'll look disappointed, but he just looks amused. He writes something down, and then he tosses the paper back at me again. I lean down and pick it up, reading it.

That's not a wise choice. You have no idea what I can do.

What the hell? I look over at him, but he's not looking at me anymore. He looks ahead at Fleming. Should I be concerned? I did watch him beat up Kurt and Ram in the cafeteria. I don't think he has much past his fists. Still, I can't help but feel worried. 

I'm pulled out of my thoughts as my phone buzzes in my bag. It's a phone call. It must be Chandler. I'm about to ask to be excused when the bell rings, and I answer the call as I'm packing my books into my bag. 

"Hey," I say gently. "Do you want me to come get you?"

"Yes," she replies, and her voice is shaking ever-so-slightly. "Please. Soon."

"Okay, yeah, I'll be right there," I tell her, concerned for her. This was a hard decision for her to make. "Did everything... Did everything go okay?" I ask her.

"I couldn't do it, Sawyer," she replies, and I hear her voice breaking. "I-I couldn't..." Her voice trails off, and I know she's trying not to cry.

"I'm coming, Chandler," I say, my heart breaking for my girlfriend. "Hang tight."

With that, I'm out of the building and headed towards my car in the parking lot. I feel awful for her, but I can't push away the thoughts that linger in the back of my mind: is that JD kid going to pull through on his threats? More importantly, is he threatening me? Or is he threatening Chandler?

***

A/N:

Hey, guys! I know I brought JD in sort of randomly before (and sort of randomly now, too), but I hope you enjoyed the chapter nonetheless! It's never-ending drama with these poor high school kids. Honestly. As aforementioned, I am on vacation, but I will try to update you all daily as I usually do! I will have my phone with me, so I might resort to using it if I can't get wifi at the motels along the road. I hope you're all doing well, and don't forget to leave a vote and a comment (should you feel so inclined)! 

Thanks for reading!

-LittleMissBlitz