Chapter 20
I was vaguely aware of an annoying beeping noise; my head was pounding and throbbing on one side. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to make the pain go.
"Angel?" Rey said from near my head.
I groaned and turned my head towards his voice. I felt terrible, like I was in some kind of bubble. I finally opened my eyes to see him leaning over me, looking gorgeous as always, except right now he looked stressed. He was frowning, his was jaw tight.
"Hey," I croaked, trying to smile and ignore the pain in my head.
"Thank God. You scared me." He bent his head and kissed my forehead softly, seeming to breathe a sigh of relief.
"OK. If I could just get in and have a look," a female voice said sternly.
I glanced around and had no idea where I was. I was on a little bed, all strapped in. This was a little room of some sort with shelves and cupboards all along the walls - except we were moving; I could feel the vibrations from the road.
Rey moved to the side and a lady in a green jumpsuit leaned over me. "Hi, Taani. How are you feeling?" she asked, shining a little light in my eyes.
I pushed her hand off of me, looking for Rey again. "Where am I?" I asked, panicking slightly. How the hell did I get here? I was in the kitchen, then I felt a little sick...
"You're in an ambulance, sweetie. You passed out and hit your head pretty hard on the kitchen counter," she explained, taking my hands and putting them down on my chest. "I just need to check you over. You've been unconscious for about twenty minutes." She flicked the light into my eyes again, nodding, seeming satisfied. "Does your head hurt?" she asked, touching behind my ear lightly. Pain shot through my head and I hissed through my teeth. "I think you'll need a couple of stitches here," she stated, nodding to the side of my head.
I reached out a hand to Rey. He immediately took it, and kissed my fingers, his eyes not leaving my face. He looked really stressed. After another couple of minutes we pulled into the hospital and they started to wheel me out on the little bed.
"I can walk," I protested, feeling stupid for being wheeled into the hospital on a bed.
"Sorry, sweetie, it's standard practice. You arrive with lights, you go in on a bed," she countered, winking at me. I smiled weakly and Rey laughed, but it wasn't his usual laugh, it was tight and humourless.
We were wheeled into a little cubical and left on our own. "What happened, Angel?" Rey asked, bending over me and brushing his hand over the side of my face softly.
I shrugged and then winced as the movement made my head hurt again. "I don't know. I just felt a little dizzy, then I woke up to you in the ambulance," I explained. That was all I could remember.
"You scared the shit out of me. Don't ever do that to me again. Promise me," he instructed, making me giggle at just how serious he was. He wanted me to promise him that I'd never pass out again?
"Rey, I can't promise something that I have no control over," I teased, still laughing. He sighed and bent forward, kissing me lightly, setting my body on fire. He pulled back when the curtain opened and a doctor walked in.
"Oops, sorry. Shall I come back later?" the doctor asked, grinning. I laughed, embarrassed to have been caught making out in a hospital.
"Yeah, could you give us five minutes?" Rey joked, making the guy laugh. He held my hand tightly as the Doctor looked in my eyes and checked my head, scribbling on his pad.
"So, you passed out, Taani, have you been feeling alright today? Have you taken anything that you shouldn't have?" he asked, watching me a little suspiciously.
"Like drugs or something?" I asked, shocked. Did I look like a damn drug addict? He nodded, looking at me expectantly. "No, I haven't taken anything. I've been feeling a little off today, a bit queasy," I admitted.
He scribbled again. "Have you eaten?"
I thought about it - had I eaten? I had some toast for breakfast, but I didn't eat lunch because I felt sick. "Um, not really. I felt sick at lunch."
"Hmm, that's probably your problem right there. Are you under any sort of stress or anything at the moment? Doing exams, that kind of thing?" he asked, scribbling again.
Stress. Wow, that's an understatement. My abusive father moved back to town, bringing with him a whole new family. A week ago I saw him again for the first time since he tried to force himself on me. I found out just now that he's been abusing his new family and they're now moving in with us for a while. Actually, how long were they staying with us? Did someone mention that? I'd have to get Rahul in with Swayam, and Ruby and Rohan can share my mom's room, then when my mom comes home I could...
"Taani?" the doctor said, snapping me out of my own little world.
"Oh right. Um, yeah, life's been kind of stressful lately," I stated, biting my lip at just how much of an understatement that really was.
"Well, stress can do funny things to you. You really need to eat properly. I'm going to run some bloods to make sure there's nothing else going on. I'll get someone to come in and stitch your head and I'll keep you in for a couple of hours just to check everything's alright after that bump," he stated, smiling kindly.
He went to the cupboard and pulled out a needle. I looked at Rey with wide eyes. I hated needles. When the doctor came over to me, Rey bent his head and kissed me.
I closed my eyes and melted my lips against his. Jeez, he tasted so damn good!
"OK, all done. I'll get these sent up they should be back in an hour or so," the doctor announced, throwing the needle in the trash and writing on a little vial. I glanced down at my arm to see a little piece of white tape holding a cotton wool ball to the inside of my elbow.
"Did you do it?" I asked, shocked. Wow, I didn't even feel it!
The doctor and Rey laughed. "Yep, all done. Ah, the power of distraction," the doctor mused, grinning. I smiled at Rey; I'd have to take him with me for every shot I ever get from now on.
"OK, so a nurse will be in to stitch your head in a few minutes. You'll probably be here for two or three hours," he said, heading over to the curtain.
I nodded. "Can my boyfriend stay with me?" I asked hopefully as I clung to Rey's hand. I didn't want to be in this sterile little place on my own.
"Sure, that's fine. Just one visitor though, so you might want to tell the crowd asking about you, to go home," he suggested, chuckling as he left and pulled the curtain back around.
Crowd, what's that about? I looked at Rey, he smiled. "They all came. I literally had to push Swayam out of the ambulance when they said only one person could ride with you," he said, looking a little guilty about it.
I smiled and squeezed his hand. "Well I'm glad I woke up to you instead of Swayam. So thanks."
He bent his head and kissed me lightly. "I'm glad too." He sighed. "I'd better go and tell them you're fine, and that they should go home," he said, standing up.
"Hurry up though, OK?" I asked, giving him my begging face.
He smiled. "I'll be as quick as I can," he promised, kissing my forehead and leaving quickly. I closed my eyes and listened to the noisy ward and waited for him to come back.
Rey was back within five minutes with a pre-packed sandwich and a drink. "Hey, I'm not sure if you're allowed these yet, so you'll have to wait until the nurse comes to stitch your head. I didn't miss that, did I?" he asked worriedly.
"No, you didn't miss it." I smiled at how thoughtful he was all the time.
He sat down on the little chair and held my hand. The nurse came in a few minutes later and stitched up my head, apparently, I needed six stitches. I made Rey distract me the whole time, he was actually the best painkiller known to man. Maybe I should try to bottle him somehow, and then sell it. I'd be rich!
Finally, after an hour and a half, the doctor came back. "Hey, so I've got your blood test results back and it appears it wasn't the lack of food that made you pass out," he said, looking at me seriously. Rey tensed next to me, squeezing my hand, leaning so far forward in his chair that it wouldn't surprise me if he fell off any second.
"OK, so what was it?" I asked curiously. It couldn't be anything bad. I was only sixteen for goodness sake, I didn't smoke, didn't drink very much, I wasn't overweight, I exercised regularly. I mean, I shouldn't be able to get ill, should I?
"You're pregnant," he stated.
I burst out laughing. Damn, that was funny, he almost had me there. I shook my head, still chuckling. "Seriously, what was it?"
He looked from me to Rey. "You're pregnant," he repeated.
I stopped laughing immediately. I couldn't be pregnant. No, this was a mistake. "I can't be, I'm on the pill. I've taken it every day; I've not missed a single one. I take them at exactly eight o'clock every morning," I protested, shaking my head, it had to be something else. I looked at Rey; he was looking at the doctor, his mouth hanging open.
"Well, when was your last period?" the doctor asked.
I looked at Rey again. "Two weeks ago. I'm on the pill where you stop taking it for a week, so it was definitely two weeks ago. I'm due to have my next one the week after next," I said positively.
"And your period, what was it like? As heavy as normal?" the doctor asked, scribbling on his pad again.
As heavy as normal? I thought about it. Actually, it was really light, but that was because I was on the pill, Purvi said it made your periods lighter. "It was light but I definitely had one, two weeks ago. I can't be pregnant," I said sternly.
"Sometimes you can still have very light periods through pregnancy. It's called spotting. How long have you been on the pill?" he asked curiously.
"Six weeks," I replied, quietly.
This couldn't be right. Please tell me this is some kind of huge mistake, or even one of those hidden camera shows and people are going to jump out and shout Gotcha' any minute.
"And when you started taking it, did you take it on the first day of your period?" he asked.
I shook my head. "It was a couple of weeks after my period. What difference does that make?" I asked, starting to get nervous.
"Right, well, when you start taking the pill you need to start on the first day of your period and then it will be effective straight away. If you take it within five days, it will be effective after two weeks, but if you start on any other day then you need to start your second packet before it takes effect," he explained softly.
So that means it didn't even start to work until two weeks ago when I started my second pack and we had been having unprotected sex the whole time! Rey was still staring at him. He hadn't said anything at all, I wasn't even sure if he was breathing. He was sitting so still that it was like he was a statue.
"I'm going to get a portable ultrasound machine and we'll have a little look, OK?" the doctor suggested, smiling kindly as he disappeared out of the curtain.
"Rey?" I whispered. He was honestly scaring me a little, I'd never seen anyone be so still in my life, it wasn't natural. He didn't answer. The doctor came back and I watched as he squirted some gel on my stomach and pressed a little thing that looked like a small microphone to my stomach, rolling it around.
Oh crap, please let this be a mistake.
He stopped, holding it still and nodded. "Yep, definitely pregnant. I'd say from the sizes here, you're about four, maybe five weeks. You want to see?" he offered, holding the little handset out to me.
"No," I refused, pushing it away quickly.
I didn't want to see because then I wouldn't be able to do what needed to be done. I couldn't have a baby, we were too young, it would ruin everything. We'd only just got together; there was too much going on. Rey would be leaving me for college soon, we couldn't have a baby. I wouldn't ruin Rey's dreams, he'd always wanted to play hockey and I wouldn't take that away from him. I couldn't look at the little handset; I couldn't see the little baby in there because I needed to stay strong.
"You don't want to see?" the doctor asked, looking a little confused.
I shook my head. "No. I want an abortion," I said sternly.
Rey moved. Oh thank God, finally!
"An abortion? What? Why?" he cried, shocked.
I looked at him; he was looking at me, horrified, as if I'd just suggested clubbing a seal or something. "Because it needs to be done," I said, looking away from his intense stare. I turned to the doctor. "Can I get it done today? What do I need to do?" I asked, nervously.
"Well, there's two ways; a medical abortion, which is a pill today and tomorrow, which would basically bring on a period. Or there's a surgical one which would need to be done under general anaesthetic and we would basically remove everything," he explained in his business like tone.
I cringed. I hated the sound of both of those, but I needed to do this. I couldn't think of it as a baby, a tiny little Rey, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to get rid of it.
"Can you give us a minute?" Rey requested. The doctor nodded and walked out quickly. "Angel, what the hell are you doing?" Rey asked once we were alone. He took my hands, looking at me like I had lost my mind or something.
"Rey, we can't have a baby! I'm sixteen. You're going to college. We can't," I explained, shaking my head.
He shook his head. "Angel, think about this, please? I love you, you love me. I want us to have kids one day. I mean, shit, this is A LOT sooner than I thought." He blew out a big breath, running a hand through his hair, nervously.
"Rey, we can't. You're going to college in Boston for goodness sake; I can't raise a baby on my own. Don't be ridiculous!" I cried, shaking my head. He wasn't thinking this though properly.
He climbed onto the bed, laying next to me. "Angel, just hear me out, OK?" he pleaded. I nodded and looked at him, unable to see what he could say to make this right. There was nothing he could suggest, there was no other way. "I love you more than anything in the world. Before this happened I was going to reject my scholarship and go to a college here instead," he started. I opened my mouth to tell him he was being stupid, but he covered my mouth, looking at me pleadingly. "I wanted to ask you to come with me to Boston. But I can't ask you to move away from your home and Swayam and your friends, so I decided to stay here with you instead," he said, shrugging.
Jeez, he is so damn adorable and sweet and thoughtful. But how the hell does any of this relate to us having a baby, meaning that he probably wouldn't get to go to college anyway as he'd have to drop out and get a job? I'd have to drop out of school without even graduating.
He smiled as he continued to try and convince me. "We could make this work; I know my mom would help out. I'll go to college and get a job in the evenings and weekends to earn some money. You'd have to either finish school by correspondence, or we could get a childminder so you could go to school. Or maybe even my mom would do it," he suggested, looking at me hopefully. "That's our first baby in there, Angel. That's a baby that we made together. Can you just think about it, please? It'll be hard for a little while, but once I get signed by a team, I'll be able to give you anything you want. Both of you," he cooed, rubbing his hand over my stomach lightly.
"Rey, I don't want to ruin your future," I whispered.
He smiled and kissed me lightly. "Angel, you're my future," he countered, slipping his hand under my top, and placing his hand on my stomach.
I looked at his gorgeous face; his blue eyes were sparkling with love as he stroked his hand across my stomach. "I didn't do this to trap you," I said nervously.
He laughed and rolled his eyes. "You trapped me when you were four years old. You were wearing a dark blue dress with a bow on the back, and little white socks. The first time I saw you I was trapped. This," he drew a little pattern on my stomach with one finger, "this is a bonus. Sure, I wasn't expecting it for about five or six years, but still... it's a bonus," he said, grinning.
Could we really do that? He would stay here with me? "Would you really stay with me here and give up your scholarship?" I asked a little shocked. He worked so damn hard for that scholarship, it was such an awesome opportunity, and he would give it up for me and a baby?
He smiled. "Angel, if you want to get rid of the baby because you don't want it, then I could understand, but don't do this for me. I want to stay here with you. If you weren't pregnant I'd still be turning down the offer," he vowed, scooting closer to me on the bed, wrapping his arms around me.
I buried my face into his chest and closed my eyes; I wanted to have kids with him one day too. I could see myself holding a little baby that had Rey's blue eyes and messy hair. Granted, when I pictured it I was a lot older than I am now, but I could still see it, and I liked it. Maybe we could make this work. The baby wouldn't be short on love, and once people got over the shock of it, they'd understand. I had no doubt in my mind that Rey's mom would help out too. And Swayam, once he got over the initial anger of everything, he'd be a great Uncle.
Rey pulled away from me slightly. "I swear I'd be the best dad in the world," he promised.
I smiled; I didn't doubt that for a second. I kissed his lips, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. I loved him so much, more than anything. I knew we could make it work, a little family. He pulled out of the kiss to look at me with a hopeful expression on his face.
"OK," I agreed.
He grinned and kissed me again, moving so he was half on top of me. I noticed he put none of his weight on my stomach, he was being super gentle. He kissed down my neck, getting lower and lower. He hitched my top and kissed all over my stomach before pulling up to smile at me.
"I love you," he whispered.
I pulled him closer to me. "I love you too, baby daddy," I teased, making him laugh.
He wrapped his arms around me, laying close to my side. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heart beat flying as I slipped one hand down my body, resting it on my tummy, rubbing my fingertips over it lightly.
I kissed Rey's chest. How the hell could such an adorable, gorgeous, sweet, kind, funny, talented and responsible boy, want me? How could he love me as much as I can see he does? I couldn't help but smile. Laying in Rey's arms, I actually felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I got to have a baby with the man I love.
After a couple of hours I was discharged. Apparently, Rey was to wake me up every hour to make sure I didn't have concussion or anything. We'd agreed not to tell anyone about the baby yet. It was so early and we were only just getting our heads around it - we didn't need any interference from anyone else.
"Shall we call a cab or something?" I asked as Rey walked me out of the hospital, holding me tightly to his side.
He grinned. He'd been doing that a lot for the last couple of hours; I actually think he was really excited about being a dad which I had never seen on an eighteen year old before.
"No. Swayam left us his car. He went home with Rahul and gave me his keys," he explained, guiding me to the parking lot. He helped me into the car, even putting on my seatbelt for me. His hand lingered over my stomach as he pulled it away.
My head was pounding; the painkillers they gave me were starting to wear off. I rested my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. It was going to be hard lying to Swayam. I hated lying and was actually really terrible at it, but it needed to be done for a few weeks. We just needed to let the whole abusive father thing settle down first, that would give us a chance to sort out everything in our own heads. I still had the money from the bet, I hadn't spent any of it yet so that would help with all of the things we needed to buy for having a baby.
When we pulled up at my house, I didn't even get out of the car before Swayam attacked me into a hug. "Shit, you scared the hell out of everyone, Taani!" he scolded.
I smiled and hugged him back. "Sorry, Swayam. I didn't exactly plan to pass out in front of everyone and bang my head, did I?" I replied sarcastically as I rolled my eyes. Why the hell is he mad at me for getting sick?
He sighed and pulled back. "So, what did they say? Why did you pass out in the first place?" he asked, looking concerned.
Oh crap, what do I say?
"Stress apparently. That, and she hadn't eaten all day," Rey interjected, coming round to my side. I silently thanked God that Rey was better liar than I was.
Swayam looked at me, clearly annoyed again. "Why the hell didn't you eat all day?" he asked accusingly.
I smiled and let Rey lead me in to the house. "Let's just get her in and let her sit down, Swayam, then you can shout at her all you like," Rey suggested, shaking his head with a small smile.
Swayam followed us in and sat next to me on the sofa, Rahul and Ruby came and sat down too. Everyone was looking at me worriedly. "Stop worrying, guys. It was lack of food, apparently. Sugar low or something. I'm fine now, honestly," I assured them, nodding, trying not to look too guilty. I just hoped that Swayam didn't go too crazy when he found out, and that he didn't beat the crap out of Rey or something. Maybe I would tell him on my own, calm him down a little before he saw Rey.
"The bang to her head needed stitches. I need to wake her up every hour to make sure she's OK, so I'll be staying over tonight," Rey stated, more for Ruby's benefit than anyone else's, Swayam already knew he'd be there anyway.
I yawned. It was almost nine now and I just wanted to go to bed, it had been a long stressful day. "I'm going to bed, guys. Oh, and Ruby, it really is nice to meet you again. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you properly earlier," I said, smiling apologetically.
She chuckled slightly. "We'll talk tomorrow, honey, don't worry. If you need anything in the night then let me know. Swayam said I could sleep in your mom's room, just so you know where I am, alright?" she asked kindly.
Wow, she really is nice!
"OK. G'night, guys. And you, lover boy, go get your stuff if you're staying here," I instructed, smiling at Rey.
He stood up quickly. "OK. I'll be back in a bit then." He kissed my forehead gently before heading for the front door to tell his parents he was officially' staying over.
I went to my bedroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess, I had a plaster thing stuck behind my ear over the stitches, I looked tired but I couldn't help but smile. I didn't bother with pyjamas as I slipped into the bed; I wanted to feel Rey's skin against mine. After about fifteen minutes he came in, looking so handsome that it made me want to cry. I rubbed my hand over my stomach lightly under the sheets. I hoped I had a little boy in there, and he would be just like his daddy.
Rey stripped down to his boxers and climbed in the bed with me. He gasped suddenly and pulled back to look at me. "Are you naked?" he asked, a little shocked.
I smiled. "Yep. I thought you should make the most of me before I get all fat and ugly," I teased.
He grinned and rolled on top of me, hovering above me, barely touching me. "Angel, you will never be ugly," he whispered, looking at me adoringly. "And the bigger you get, just means I have more of you to love," he added, slipping his hand down to my stomach. I smiled as I pulled his mouth down to mine.
Having Rahul, Rohan and Ruby stay with us was actually awesome. Ruby made pancakes on Saturday morning, and I spent the day chatting to her and playing with my gorgeous little brother. She was planning on staying in town because Rahul didn't want to change schools again.
Purvi came over in the afternoon, and Rahul finally asked her to be exclusive - which she obviously jumped at. They were so sweet, being all cuddly and flirty. Purvi would say stuff that would make Rahul blush. He was just too innocent - but knowing Purvi he wouldn't be that way for too long if she had her way. Rey kept shooting me little knowing smiles and would touch my belly at every single opportunity.
On Sunday, Ruby, Rahul, Purvi and Rohan went to the zoo for the day. They wanted to get out and do something to take Ruby's mind off of the fact that my father was due home from his business trip today. He would come home to find the note that she left him, and that all of their stuff was gone from his house. She had gotten rid of their phone numbers and bought new sim cards for their cellphones so he had no way of contacting them or knowing where they were. But sitting around worrying about it wasn't helping anyone, so they wanted to do something to keep them occupied.
I was sat on the sofa, reading, with my legs on Rey's lap while he played PlayStation with Swayam, when the phone rang. I moved to get it but Swayam got there first. As he answered it his whole body tensed up. "What the hell do you want?" he growled, jumping off of the sofa. I sat up so fast that it almost made my head spin. "Are you f**king drunk?" he almost screamed down the phone. I watched him, feeling sick, knowing that my father was on the phone. "Yeah, so what? What are you gonna do about it, old man?" Swayam spat, going red with anger. "We don't want to see you, so f**k off. No. She doesn't want to see you. I swear, if you come near her again I'll kill you," he growled, turning his back to me. "Actually, you know what, screw it, come over, come over right now. We're home, come on over and let's talk about it," Swayam suggested.
What the hell is he doing? "Swayam?" I cried, scared.
"Sure. You remember where the house is, right? Absolutely. See you in a bit," Swayam said, hanging up and throwing the phone across the room. Luckily it landed with a thump on the other sofa and didn't break. Did he just tell him to come over?
"Swayam, he's not..." I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Swayam turned back to look at me, his face hard. "Yeah. Go next door," he instructed.
I looked at Rey for help. He was looking at Swayam; he had the same hard expression on his face. "Rey, tell him this is stupid!" I whispered, with tears falling down my face. Rey didn't look at me; Swayam and him were locked in some sort of silent exchange with their eyes. I jumped off of the sofa and grabbed the phone planning on calling him back to cancel it. I couldn't let him come here, not with those two looking like that.
Swayam pulled the phone out of my hands. "He's not going to stop harassing you, Taani. He wants to see you. He's also really angry that Ruby's left him. He knows that I helped them; a neighbour saw my car in the drive. He's seriously pissed at me, so I just need to tell him to back the f**k off," he said, pulling me into a hug.
I shook my head, that wasn't what he was planning at all, they weren't going to tell him anything, Swayam and Rey were going to beat him senseless and show him to back the f**k off.
"Please don't, you'll get in trouble. Please?" I whispered. My insides were squirming with dread.
"Not if he starts something first," Swayam replied, fighting a smile.
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