3.9 Part One: A Not So Joyful Bundle

   “Can I come in?” I burst into Liz Tarry's room, the Goth girl I'd befriended since we'd arrived.
   “What the hell?!” She exclaimed, sitting up in bed. “It's five am!”
   “I know. I just...I need...talk. I need to talk.” I gestured to the couch with my head. “Mind if I sit?”
   “Might as well.” She sighed, rolling her eyes, climbing out of bed. “What?” She snapped, crankily.

   “I brought you a frappe.” I tossed her the glass bottle. She popped off the lid and took a sip, a tiny smile forming at the edges of her lips. She never smiled. “Your welcome.”
   “Didn't say thank you.”
   “I know. You should have.”
   “Seriously, girl. What's up with you? And I saw the 'Enjoy, XOXO Peter' on it.”
   “Well...look...” I tossed her my GLITZ cover that had come out a month ago.
   “It's you in your underwear with your hair covering your boobs.” 

   “Flip to page six!”
   “It's sugary relationship crap about you and Peter. Why the hell would I want to read about your sex life when I'm constantly hearing it across the hall?"
   "Our sex life- you can't-"
   "You guys are bunnies. Everything you said is here. What's the big deal?" 
   "Read that." I pointed towards a sentence.  
   “Ehem. Let me get my reading voice. Dark tortured soul, stereotypical goth sugar.”
   "Hey, I'm kinda goth-y." I pointed at my outfit.
   "No, you're I shopped twenty minutes at some expensive version of Hot Topic."
   "Are you Goth or just really mean?" I mumbled.
   "Sorry. I have like three hours of sleep."
   "Eh." I shrugged.
   "'GM: You suddenly cancelled your tour and decided to hit the books. You also have a new relationship blooming with a college man. Are the two related? Are you thinking of a more serious relationship?'
   G: [Laughing] My relationship is something I'd prefer to keep quiet but I will say that he's going back to school- he isn't eighteen, he's actually older than I am. I cancelled my tour for [pauses] personal reasons...
   GM: Personal reasons?
   G: I had a complicated relationship that ended badly.
   GM: Are you confirming Scandal Weekly's article from two weeks ago, saying you where dating an inmate?
   G: My current boyfriend is not an inmate. I had to be a witness at a trial.
   GM: Ah. Are you and your current romance planning on anything beyond college?
   G: Beyond college? We haven't thought much about it. I am living with him, though. I'm eager to earn my degree and I'm so lucky that he's supporting me. I love the man to death.
   GM: But there currently aren't any plans of marriage? Or starting a family?
   G: I'm twenty, he's twenty-two. We're planning on waiting a little while before anything serious.
   GM: So you aren't pregnant?
   G: Wow, direct. Um...no. I'm not expecting at all.' Okay, why was I suppose to realize?"
   "I'm not pregnant in that picture."
   "I can tell...oh my...are you?"
   "I'm a month and a half pregnant. That magazine cam out  in October and I was two weeks. I...the first night I came to college..." I felt the tears well up in my eyes. "What do I do? I just....Peter. He needs this. Needs it. I haven't told him or anyone really. I don't know what to do."
    "Wow..." She took a breath. "This is...not surprising. Considering how much- it is, it's just. You're an adult. This is managable. Tell Peter. It is-"
    "Defiantly! I wouldn't cheat on him, ever."
    "You need to tell Peter. You love him, you said you did. Let him know. You could live in a mini home near campus while he completes his degree or, he could put everything on pause. G, he'd do that for you."
     "No..." Peter couldn't put everything on hold for me. He already was living with me and everything he'd done for me...he needed to be able to live.
     "G, you can't hide. You need Peter to know. If he was pregnant you would want to know."
     "He can't get-"

     "That's besides the point. Tell him. Okay? I love ya, girl, but seriously? You have a child. For a month and a half, you've had a child in your stomach and the daddy doesn't know. Things happen, but you have to tell."
     "Okay..." I lied, taking a breath. I'll tell. I'll do it. No, I can't. I will-won't- inner turmoil. "Thanks." I stood up, hurrying to my room. Peter had left a sticky note on the door. "Gone to class, see you in an hour. Love Peter." I read. I felt horrible. I needed to tell him. Now. I sat down on a couch and began testing him.

----

    "You're going to announce a pregnancy over text? Your PREGNANT?!"
    "Mom. You knew I would have to be, eventually. I mean, babies don't magically appear."
    "But over text? Even I was classy enough to wait until my wedding day."
    "Wedding day?"
    "The first one. Before Antoinette...I can't believe I waited so long..."

----

Gabrielle: Hey.
Peter: Hey, what's up?
Gabrielle: I....
Gabrielle: I need to tall
Gabrielle: Talk. Auto correct. Just after class, okay? ASAP.
Peter: Six pm? Are you okay?
Gabrielle: Yeah got to go. Class. Love y-
Peter: Gabrielle?
Peter: Gabrielle, all you alright?
[One missed call from PETER]

Peter's POV

   Gabrielle. She has to be okay. She has to be. What could be wrong? Nothing to bad, right? I'm her emergency contact. The school would call me. She's okay. Isn't she? She has to be. Please, please, let her be. She has to be. I couldn't live without her.

To Be Continued....