Fragments Of Yesterday, chapter 30
The next couple of months flew by, and in those two months, the bliss that Katie and Joey had felt only increased. They had started school again, this time as Freshmen, and they didn't care one bit when Claire started her shit up again. In fact, they didn't care about the comments that they received all around. It was menial compared to what they really cared about, and that was each other. Of course, that's what Katie had been telling herself. In reality, the happiness was a sort of bubble for her right now.
She was late.
She was a month and a half late.
Katie knew that she needed to get a pregnancy test, just to make sure. She and Joey had only been physical once, but once was all it took. And now, Katie was on the verge of a near panic attack. There was no way that she could be fifteen and pregnant... no way at all. In fact, she was praying for it to be anything but that.
And yet somehow, Katie managed to keep Joey under the impression that everything was great. She felt bad for not telling him her suspicion right away, but she didn't want him to be in that panicky state that she was in. Besides, if it turned out not to be true, then why even go through the motions of getting him worried in the first place? At least, this is how she rationalized with herself.
Joey had know that something was bothering Katie for about two weeks now. She always tended to avoid him a lot when she was bothered about something, and whatever it was, this was no exception. He gave her her distance for a while, hoping that she could solve whatever it was on her own first. Then, if she didn't, he would try to help. This always seemed to work for the most part, and so he held true to this tactic. So when the last week came up, he knew that he would have to interlope to some degree. He hated having to do this, and he wished that Katie was more open to what she was feeling, but he knew that she of all people had the right to be this way.
"Hey," he said, leaning in her doorway one day after school. Katie looked up from her bag, quickly stuffing whatever it was she had been about to pull out back in. This went relatively unnoticed by Joey, who was more intent on finding out what was wrong.
"Hey," Katie replied, pulling her hair out of her face. She sat back against her bed, her stomach turning into one giant knot. She looked away from Joey, finding that the knot only tightened when she held his gaze.
"What's wrong?" he asked straightforwardly but with caution. Katie just bit her lip in thought and shook her head in a nonchalant way.
"Nothing to my knowledge," Katie replied, momentarily proud of the way that she had answered that. She wasn't really lying when she had said it. Joey walked into the room slowly, taking a seat on the bed and looking down at her.
"I know something's wrong," he persisted, running a hand through her hair, "and I just want to know if it's something I did."
It's something we both did, Katie thought. "No," she said looking up at him. "You didn't do anything."
Joey cleared his throat slightly, nodding before picking at the hem of his shirt. "Okay. Because, I just wanted to point out, that when you live with someone and you're trying to avoid them, it becomes obvious." Katie's mouth fell slightly open as she looked away, damning him for being smart.
"I--I'm not trying to..."
"Oh come on!" Joey said, barely raising his voice but the exasperation augmented. "You aren't even looking at me right now." He breathed before looking back down at her. He noticed that her face was lined with panic and a little bit of hesitation. Okay, a lot of hesitation. "Look, I'm sorry if I did anything..."
"It's not that," Katie answered, this time in a low voice that was trying hard not to freak out. "It's more something that we--" Katie turned to face him. "I think I'm pregnant." There was a moment in which Joey thought for sure that he was going to pass out. His head reeled as did the room, and meanwhile his mouth fell wide open.
Adrienne, who was about to come in with some clean laundry, almost passed out on the spot.
***
"Didn't think that I'd see you around here for a long time," the man in the bar said, looking over at a man that he had known for about the past five years of his life. He looked worse for wear, he could tell that much, not to mention he had vendetta written all over his face. He sipped at his whiskey, his face pinching slightly at the potency.
"Here I am, Lou," the man responded shortly. He tapped on the bar with his fingers, wanting so badly to get up and get his revenge right at that second. "Here I am," he repeated, almost as a faraway afterthought.
"You okay?" Lou asked, patting the man lightly on the shoulder. The man stared up at him through drunken and half-lidded eyes, barely seeing him.
"I just got out of prison," the man said, standing up. "What the fuck do you think?"
"Easy," Lou chuckled, holding up his hands in defense. "I just figured that a newly freed man would be a little happier to see the daylight," he responded.
The man glared at him for a long moment before letting out a grin that almost made Lou shudder. "I will be," the man answered. He picked up his whiskey and downed the last of the shot. "Just give it time." The man stood and grabbed his ratty jean jacket and flung it on hastily. "See you around, Lou."
"Yeah," Lou said, still haunted by his words. "You too, Jake."
***
"YOU THINK YOU'RE WHAT?" Adrienne gasped, the basket of laundry abandoned on the floor. Katie's normally pale complexion went to almost transparent from the loss of color in her face. Joey swallowed hard but still managed to keep a hand on Katie's arm. He as trying to be comforting, but he was just as scared shitless right now as she was.
"Pre--" Katie couldn't even choke out the word, and what she had said was barely a mumble. She looked feebly at Joey before looking at the floor altogether.
Adrienne grabbed a hold of Katie's dresser for support, trying to breathe and calm herself. Finally, she looked up, her gaze setting on her son. "You got her pregnant?" Adrienne said in a very soft voice that was almost a whisper. Joey's head whipped up at his mother, confusion gathering on his face.
"You mean, you knew that we..." Joey trailed off.
"Give me some credit, Joseph," Adrienne snapped. "I'm not stupid. Other people live here, too, you know." Her hands settled on her hips, head bent in thought. Again, she looked back up. "Pregnant?" she questioned, a pained look on her face.
"Yes," Katie answered lightly, still not looking up.
"But you don't know for sure?"
"No."
Adrienne sighed and walked over to Katie, grabbing her arm softly and pulling her out of the room. Katie only looked up at her, wondering what the older woman was thinking. Joey was left behind all alone in Katie's room for the moment as Adrienne pulled Katie into her own bedroom. She motioned for Katie to sit down on the bed, and Katie was grateful that she did so; she didn't think that her legs would have held out much longer.
"You didn't even use protection?" Adrienne asked, almost grotesquely struck funny by the look that passed Katie's face.
"No," Katie mumbled. And almost as if to explicate: "We were sorta caught up in the--"
"Spare me," Adrienne said, holding up a hand. "Please." She ran her hand down her face. "I'm going to call and get you a doctor's appointment, and until then, no one knows a thing." Katie nodded.
"You're...you're not going to tell Billie are you?" Kaite asked shakily.
"Oh dear God no," Adrienne answered in horror. "At least, not until we know if you're pregnant. Do you realize how much of a heart attack he would have?" Katie only felt even worse at this and wanted to slink away to another planet.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. Adrienne's heart could have melted, for she had seen how the two had been around each other. It wasn't that sort of teenage love that comes and goes as the years do, but the kind that lasts. She knew that Katie and Joey were serious about each other, and not once had Katie or Joey tried to deny anything to her.
"I know how you're feeling, Katie," Adrienne said, sitting down beside Katie and taking her hands. "And I know you and Joey have been seeing each other for a while. I just never thought that it would lead to this road."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Kaite asked, looking Adrienne in the face for the first time. "Or try to stop it?"
"Because," Adrienne replied, "I know that your feelings are genuine and sincere. It would be wrong to stop those kinds of feelings." Adrienne smiled a little, almost wryly. "Besides, I know that it runs in the Armstrong blood to be extremely charming." Katie snorted but smiled all the same.
"I'm sorry, Adie," Katie said. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you." Adrienne just nodded and kissed Katie on the top of her head.
***
"I'm her guardian," Adrienne said, twisting the cord of the phone around in her fingers. Her stomach knotted instantly at the sound of the doctor's voice, and it felt like she couldn't breathe. "Uh-huh... yes," Adrienne listened, and as she did her heart sank significantly. "Thank you. See you then." She hung up the phone, sitting heavily upon one of the kitchen stools.
"Well?" Katie asked in a small voice, although she was one-hundred percent certain she already knew that answer. Adrienne's brown eyes met hers, and confirmation was silently communicated. "Oh God," Katie said, feeling faint and sitting down on the stool next to Adrienne. Adrienne gave Katie's hand a comforting squeeze.
"It'll be okay," Adrienne urged. "We'll all be right here with you when it happens." Katie glanced fleetingly at the stairs, knowing that she was going to have to tell the news to Joey. "Go ahead." Katie smiled faintly and walked up the stairs and into Joey's room.
"Joey," Katie said, making him look up from the homework that he had been doing. He smiled at her and set down his pencil. Katie opened her mouth the speak, but nothing came out. Instead, her eyes welled up in even more panic than what she had felt before. "The doctor called. I am pregnant," she choked. Joey's face became a blur through the tears that were clouding her vision. She didn't even see him as he got up and enveloped her in his arms.
"It's okay," Joey said, his voice equally as shaky and uncertain. They just held each other there, two scared teenagers on the verge of parenthood. It was true that they loved each other, but they both knew that they weren't ready for this. Joey was barely sixteen and Katie wasn't even there yet, and neither of them knew shit about parenting. Joey pulled Katie's face up so that her eyes met his own. "It'll be fine," he said softly, wiping the tears with his thumb. "I love you," he added, bending down and kissing her sweetly on the lips.
Adrienne waited patiently for the kids to come back downstairs. Outside she was remaining calm for the both of them, but on the inside she was in turmoil. Billie was away on tour, and she had no idea how he would take something like this. She knew that if she told him while he was on tour that it would be a huge distraction, but if she waited until he got home he might get upset. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the soft footsteps of Katie and Joey entering the kitchen.
"You okay?" Adrienne asked. Katie nodded, wiping at the tears on her face and clinging to Joey. "I know this will be hard, and I know you aren't ready for it, but you know I'll help you in any way that I can."
"I'm sorry, Mom," Joey said, looking down. Adrienne shook her head.
"Don't be sorry for loving each other," she amended. "There's nothing wrong with that. Just be sorry you weren't more careful." Joey looked up at his mom and considered her for a moment.
"Why are you being so calm?" he asked.
"Because," Adrienne said, an anxious look passing over her face, "I have no idea how your dad is going to take this. And at least one of us has to be calm."
She was late.
She was a month and a half late.
Katie knew that she needed to get a pregnancy test, just to make sure. She and Joey had only been physical once, but once was all it took. And now, Katie was on the verge of a near panic attack. There was no way that she could be fifteen and pregnant... no way at all. In fact, she was praying for it to be anything but that.
And yet somehow, Katie managed to keep Joey under the impression that everything was great. She felt bad for not telling him her suspicion right away, but she didn't want him to be in that panicky state that she was in. Besides, if it turned out not to be true, then why even go through the motions of getting him worried in the first place? At least, this is how she rationalized with herself.
Joey had know that something was bothering Katie for about two weeks now. She always tended to avoid him a lot when she was bothered about something, and whatever it was, this was no exception. He gave her her distance for a while, hoping that she could solve whatever it was on her own first. Then, if she didn't, he would try to help. This always seemed to work for the most part, and so he held true to this tactic. So when the last week came up, he knew that he would have to interlope to some degree. He hated having to do this, and he wished that Katie was more open to what she was feeling, but he knew that she of all people had the right to be this way.
"Hey," he said, leaning in her doorway one day after school. Katie looked up from her bag, quickly stuffing whatever it was she had been about to pull out back in. This went relatively unnoticed by Joey, who was more intent on finding out what was wrong.
"Hey," Katie replied, pulling her hair out of her face. She sat back against her bed, her stomach turning into one giant knot. She looked away from Joey, finding that the knot only tightened when she held his gaze.
"What's wrong?" he asked straightforwardly but with caution. Katie just bit her lip in thought and shook her head in a nonchalant way.
"Nothing to my knowledge," Katie replied, momentarily proud of the way that she had answered that. She wasn't really lying when she had said it. Joey walked into the room slowly, taking a seat on the bed and looking down at her.
"I know something's wrong," he persisted, running a hand through her hair, "and I just want to know if it's something I did."
It's something we both did, Katie thought. "No," she said looking up at him. "You didn't do anything."
Joey cleared his throat slightly, nodding before picking at the hem of his shirt. "Okay. Because, I just wanted to point out, that when you live with someone and you're trying to avoid them, it becomes obvious." Katie's mouth fell slightly open as she looked away, damning him for being smart.
"I--I'm not trying to..."
"Oh come on!" Joey said, barely raising his voice but the exasperation augmented. "You aren't even looking at me right now." He breathed before looking back down at her. He noticed that her face was lined with panic and a little bit of hesitation. Okay, a lot of hesitation. "Look, I'm sorry if I did anything..."
"It's not that," Katie answered, this time in a low voice that was trying hard not to freak out. "It's more something that we--" Katie turned to face him. "I think I'm pregnant." There was a moment in which Joey thought for sure that he was going to pass out. His head reeled as did the room, and meanwhile his mouth fell wide open.
Adrienne, who was about to come in with some clean laundry, almost passed out on the spot.
***
"Didn't think that I'd see you around here for a long time," the man in the bar said, looking over at a man that he had known for about the past five years of his life. He looked worse for wear, he could tell that much, not to mention he had vendetta written all over his face. He sipped at his whiskey, his face pinching slightly at the potency.
"Here I am, Lou," the man responded shortly. He tapped on the bar with his fingers, wanting so badly to get up and get his revenge right at that second. "Here I am," he repeated, almost as a faraway afterthought.
"You okay?" Lou asked, patting the man lightly on the shoulder. The man stared up at him through drunken and half-lidded eyes, barely seeing him.
"I just got out of prison," the man said, standing up. "What the fuck do you think?"
"Easy," Lou chuckled, holding up his hands in defense. "I just figured that a newly freed man would be a little happier to see the daylight," he responded.
The man glared at him for a long moment before letting out a grin that almost made Lou shudder. "I will be," the man answered. He picked up his whiskey and downed the last of the shot. "Just give it time." The man stood and grabbed his ratty jean jacket and flung it on hastily. "See you around, Lou."
"Yeah," Lou said, still haunted by his words. "You too, Jake."
***
"YOU THINK YOU'RE WHAT?" Adrienne gasped, the basket of laundry abandoned on the floor. Katie's normally pale complexion went to almost transparent from the loss of color in her face. Joey swallowed hard but still managed to keep a hand on Katie's arm. He as trying to be comforting, but he was just as scared shitless right now as she was.
"Pre--" Katie couldn't even choke out the word, and what she had said was barely a mumble. She looked feebly at Joey before looking at the floor altogether.
Adrienne grabbed a hold of Katie's dresser for support, trying to breathe and calm herself. Finally, she looked up, her gaze setting on her son. "You got her pregnant?" Adrienne said in a very soft voice that was almost a whisper. Joey's head whipped up at his mother, confusion gathering on his face.
"You mean, you knew that we..." Joey trailed off.
"Give me some credit, Joseph," Adrienne snapped. "I'm not stupid. Other people live here, too, you know." Her hands settled on her hips, head bent in thought. Again, she looked back up. "Pregnant?" she questioned, a pained look on her face.
"Yes," Katie answered lightly, still not looking up.
"But you don't know for sure?"
"No."
Adrienne sighed and walked over to Katie, grabbing her arm softly and pulling her out of the room. Katie only looked up at her, wondering what the older woman was thinking. Joey was left behind all alone in Katie's room for the moment as Adrienne pulled Katie into her own bedroom. She motioned for Katie to sit down on the bed, and Katie was grateful that she did so; she didn't think that her legs would have held out much longer.
"You didn't even use protection?" Adrienne asked, almost grotesquely struck funny by the look that passed Katie's face.
"No," Katie mumbled. And almost as if to explicate: "We were sorta caught up in the--"
"Spare me," Adrienne said, holding up a hand. "Please." She ran her hand down her face. "I'm going to call and get you a doctor's appointment, and until then, no one knows a thing." Katie nodded.
"You're...you're not going to tell Billie are you?" Kaite asked shakily.
"Oh dear God no," Adrienne answered in horror. "At least, not until we know if you're pregnant. Do you realize how much of a heart attack he would have?" Katie only felt even worse at this and wanted to slink away to another planet.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. Adrienne's heart could have melted, for she had seen how the two had been around each other. It wasn't that sort of teenage love that comes and goes as the years do, but the kind that lasts. She knew that Katie and Joey were serious about each other, and not once had Katie or Joey tried to deny anything to her.
"I know how you're feeling, Katie," Adrienne said, sitting down beside Katie and taking her hands. "And I know you and Joey have been seeing each other for a while. I just never thought that it would lead to this road."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Kaite asked, looking Adrienne in the face for the first time. "Or try to stop it?"
"Because," Adrienne replied, "I know that your feelings are genuine and sincere. It would be wrong to stop those kinds of feelings." Adrienne smiled a little, almost wryly. "Besides, I know that it runs in the Armstrong blood to be extremely charming." Katie snorted but smiled all the same.
"I'm sorry, Adie," Katie said. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you." Adrienne just nodded and kissed Katie on the top of her head.
***
"I'm her guardian," Adrienne said, twisting the cord of the phone around in her fingers. Her stomach knotted instantly at the sound of the doctor's voice, and it felt like she couldn't breathe. "Uh-huh... yes," Adrienne listened, and as she did her heart sank significantly. "Thank you. See you then." She hung up the phone, sitting heavily upon one of the kitchen stools.
"Well?" Katie asked in a small voice, although she was one-hundred percent certain she already knew that answer. Adrienne's brown eyes met hers, and confirmation was silently communicated. "Oh God," Katie said, feeling faint and sitting down on the stool next to Adrienne. Adrienne gave Katie's hand a comforting squeeze.
"It'll be okay," Adrienne urged. "We'll all be right here with you when it happens." Katie glanced fleetingly at the stairs, knowing that she was going to have to tell the news to Joey. "Go ahead." Katie smiled faintly and walked up the stairs and into Joey's room.
"Joey," Katie said, making him look up from the homework that he had been doing. He smiled at her and set down his pencil. Katie opened her mouth the speak, but nothing came out. Instead, her eyes welled up in even more panic than what she had felt before. "The doctor called. I am pregnant," she choked. Joey's face became a blur through the tears that were clouding her vision. She didn't even see him as he got up and enveloped her in his arms.
"It's okay," Joey said, his voice equally as shaky and uncertain. They just held each other there, two scared teenagers on the verge of parenthood. It was true that they loved each other, but they both knew that they weren't ready for this. Joey was barely sixteen and Katie wasn't even there yet, and neither of them knew shit about parenting. Joey pulled Katie's face up so that her eyes met his own. "It'll be fine," he said softly, wiping the tears with his thumb. "I love you," he added, bending down and kissing her sweetly on the lips.
Adrienne waited patiently for the kids to come back downstairs. Outside she was remaining calm for the both of them, but on the inside she was in turmoil. Billie was away on tour, and she had no idea how he would take something like this. She knew that if she told him while he was on tour that it would be a huge distraction, but if she waited until he got home he might get upset. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the soft footsteps of Katie and Joey entering the kitchen.
"You okay?" Adrienne asked. Katie nodded, wiping at the tears on her face and clinging to Joey. "I know this will be hard, and I know you aren't ready for it, but you know I'll help you in any way that I can."
"I'm sorry, Mom," Joey said, looking down. Adrienne shook her head.
"Don't be sorry for loving each other," she amended. "There's nothing wrong with that. Just be sorry you weren't more careful." Joey looked up at his mom and considered her for a moment.
"Why are you being so calm?" he asked.
"Because," Adrienne said, an anxious look passing over her face, "I have no idea how your dad is going to take this. And at least one of us has to be calm."
