Resolution (Saviour #2)(83)
Gabe grabs me and pulls me away from Jake. “Dude, quit with the grinding, seriously.”
“You can come and grind me Gake. Jabe. Whatf*ckinever your names are?”
We all laugh at Lu, she really needs to go home; Shannon walks away from the flat screen shaking his head. “Taxi for Lorraine. Time to go I think darl.”
We say our goodbyes and listen to Lu’s complaints at being called Lorraine as Shannon manages to get her into a taxi fifteen minutes later.
From above us I hear Ava call from the balcony. “Dad, what about the song?”
“Shit.” I hear Gabe say under his breath from beside me, I turn around to face him, he’s had a fair bit to drink and I can smell it on his breath, his eyes are glassy and he’s smiling a lazy drunken smile. I hold him steady by his waist as he sways ever so slightly. “What song babe?”
“Aww, it’s something Ava wants me to do and I forgot.”
“Well if Ava wants you to do it, then you better get to it, you don’t want to be letting your daughter down.”
He rakes his hands through his hair, kisses my cheek and asks Jen if he can borrow her for a few minutes, the pair of them head inside where all the kids are now gathering, leaving the weather proof bean bags around the fire pit now free. Finally, I sit down and am quickly joined by everyone else.
“You got a drink Loz?” Jem asks, waving a bottle of Bailys at me, surely one won’t hurt, if I put lots of ice in it?
“Yes please, lots of ice though” I try to sound as casual as possible and instead my voice goes all children’s television presenter like. High and squeaky, squeaky reminds of the bitch from the ultrasound clinic, which reminds me that I’m pregnant, with twins. I swallow down the panic as it starts to unfurl in my stomach, I’m suddenly too hot and need to move away from the fire but Jemma is passing me a whisky tumbler full of ice, I take it from her and she concentrates hard on not spilling the thick caramel coloured drink as she pours it into my glass, as soon as the smell hits my nose I heave, Jemma stops, completely still and just stares wide eyed at me as I put my free hand over my mouth and heave again, I put the glass down as quickly as I can and jump up to head towards the bathroom but apparently I’ve moved too fast and as soon as I stand everything sways, I can feel sweat start to gather on my top lip and feel it run down my back, Jemma is suddenly at my side, holding me up and guiding me to the toilet, I just make it in time to empty the contents of my stomach in two giant heaves. As I quiet my retching, I can hear Jo banging on the bathroom door and telling us to open up, I nod for Jemma to let her in, she slides in the barely open door as I splash my face with water and put the seat down on the toilet so that I can sit on it.
“You better start talking Day and I do not want to hear any crap. Are you sick?”
There’s another knock on the door, this time it’s Sam with a bottle of water. I look up at all of them, looking down at me.
“We’re not leaving here till you tell us what’s going on Lauren.” Jemma folds her arms across her chest, just to make her point clear.
“I saw Zac cry when he was talking to you earlier Lauren, I know that something is wrong because he just changed the subject when I asked him what you were talking about. I will get it out of him so either you tell me or he will.”
I feel too sick to argue with them, what’s the point anyway, if there are any complications and we choose not to continue with this pregnancy, I am going to need my friends anyway but abortion is a highly emotive subject and I could lose their friendship with whatever choices I make in the end. I let out a deep breath and look each of them in the eye.
“I’m pregnant.”
“What?”
“No f*cking way.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m pregnant Jem, yes f*cking way Jo, absof*ckinlutely serious Sam, never more so.”
They all look down at me stunned. “Well that’s a first, I’ve shut you all up.”
“How pregnant are you?” Sam asks.
“About eight weeks.”
“You whorebag.” Jo and Jemma both say together and we all laugh.
“Yep. Whorebag, only been together ten weeks and I’m already eight weeks up the duff.”
“Well at least you know its Gabe’s and not the other f*ckers.” Jo states.
“Well yeah, that is a bonus I suppose.” Jemma says. I look over all three of them again.
“What? What else is there?” Trust Jo, she’s like a bloodhound when there’s a story to be sniffed out, I can’t help but smile now, mainly because I am actually happy about this fact, I look at Sam to see if she is working it out, she starts to shake her head.
“No way. Oh my god Lauren, is it what I think?”
I don’t know if its nerves or shock at the fact that I am telling them all but I start to giggle and can’t stop myself. “We’re having twins.”
“Fuck Loz. Four kids, your crutch is going to be like a bucket!” Is all I get from Jo, Jemma bursts into tears and Sam throws her arms around me and sobs. I spend the next ten minutes, telling them the facts and swearing them to secrecy; we emerge from the toilet giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls with a story all planned about how I’ve drunk too much and not eaten enough but nobody else seems to have noticed we were missing; we sit ourselves back down around the fire and Jemma removes all traces of Bailys from anywhere near me. I look up as everyone suddenly emerges from the house; Ava is beaming from ear to ear, she makes a big production of telling everyone to come and sit around the fire and she gets the blokes to bring over bar stools for her, Gabe and Jen, they all have guitars with them; Gabe sits in the middle of the girls and everyone falls silent.