The Sloan's Daughter

birthday party part 2

Sunday, October 22nd.
          Today was Clara's seventeenth birthday. Her birthdays had always been emotional for her, but nothing like this one. She had cried five times at least. She had been exhausted the past week. She had been blaming it on the midterms coming up. However, with the exhaustion plus the weight gain; this was more than midterm stress. She had a horrible nose bleed on Thursday, too. But alas, in perfect Clara fashion, she didn't think much into it.
        Clara was woken up from her nap on the couch by her brother sitting on top of her. He had just gotten home from college for the day. He was in his second year of medical school, and he decided to get a dorm and stay on campus. His parents certainly had the money for it. "Happy birthday, Tweety." He teased. She had acquired that nickname at the age of eight. She used to have a super high pitched voice, and the sweetest face. And since she hated it, it stuck.
        Clara grunted and pushed him off of herself. "Thanks, Samuel." She mumbled teasingly. She knew he didn't like being called Samuel; it was always just Sam. She rubbed her eyes and stood up. Lexie and Mark were busy making Clara's annual birthday brunch in the kitchen. The smell almost made her throw up. She clenched her jaw and held her breath as she walked upstairs. Oh my god. I'm pregnant- no you're not, dumbass. There's no way. You're just sick. It's the stomach flu. She tried to tell herself. Every time a new symptom arose, she pushed the thought down. Deep, deep down. She couldn't be pregnant, could she?
        She started to pull possible outfits for tonight's party out of her closet when the nausea crept up her throat. She dropped the dress she was holding and, as softly as she could, ran to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her before bending over the toilet. She held her own hair back. She pressed her foot against the door when she heard footsteps passing the bathroom. She couldn't let her family know she was sick. They would just worry and ask questions, and she did not need that. She was already worrying and asking too many questions herself.
         After freshening herself up, she walked out. She walked back to her room and started going through her clothes. She eventually picked out a loose mock neck sweater tucked into a pair of light wash jeans cuffed at the end. She took a deep breath, sucking in as she zipped them up. On the third try she finally got it. She looped a brown leather belt through them. With every passing second of her jeans pressure around her, worry grew. She sat down on her bed, tears pricking at her eyes. She rubbed them, sniffling. No. Stop crying. You're fine. She grabbed her pillow and held it to her chest as she quietly cried to herself. She always knew how to get herself out of a situation. She was a smart girl. However, with this it felt like there was no way out.
         She dried her face and covered her splotchy red face with concealer, blush, highlighter, mascara, eyeshadow, and eyeliner. She checked herself in the mirror before going downstairs to eat brunch with her family. By the time brunch was over, Clara was desperate to get out of these jeans. She changed into a red dress with a shirred bodice and straps that tied on her shoulder. The end fell just above her knees.
         After a few hours of waiting, the guests arrived. First was Ellis and her family, then Jo and Alex and their son Cayden, then it was Arizona, Callie, and Sofia. Clara greeted each of them with a hug.
        Clara started talking to all of her cousins in the living room while the parents socialized and cooked in the kitchen. "Do you want to play a game?" Zola proposed, to which she got a few sures and a few yeses. She pulled the game out of the Sloan's cupboard and dealt the cards. After a round they ate dinner and Clara opened gifts.
        Clara snuck upstairs to go 'to the bathroom'. She walked into her parents bathroom and scoured for a pregnancy test. She tried not to take one until everyone was gone, but she couldn't take another minute of uncertainty. With just her luck, she found one. She held the box in her shaky hands. She never thought she would be doing this so soon. She made sure the door was locked before taking it.
        She sat on the edge of the tub with the test face down in her hands. It had been five minutes (which felt like twenty), which made it that much harder to look. She took a deep breath and mumbled, "There's no way." to herself before turning it over. Her heart sank when she saw the faint second line. She covered her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her entire body was trembling as she sobbed. She put the test on her thighs and held her head in her heads. She couldn't stop crying. "You fucked up so bad.." She whispered multiple times. She put her hand on her stomach, but quickly drew it back. She didn't know what she was going to do. And to make matters worse, she had a room full of people waiting on her. She realized now, this was the worst time to take find out. "Happy birthday to me." She muttered under her breath.
         She cleared her throat, wiped her eyes, and pushed the pregnancy test to the bottom of the trash can. She touched up her makeup slightly. Nothing was going to help her puffy eyes and red nose. She had to face the music, or make a really good excuse. She pulled out her phone and texted her mom.
      C: I feel so sick. Can you guys do cake without me? I'm going to go to sleep.
      L: You sure? What me to bring you meds?
      C: Yes, and no. I'm okay. Enjoy the cake :) Love you, momma.
      L: Love you too. Happy birthday, Clarebear.
      Clara collapsed on her bed. She curled up in her blankets and cried into them. She felt horrible. She disappointed so many people in her life. She had a pit of nausea in her stomach, and it wasn't morning sickness. She held the pillows closer as she sobbed harder.