We Just Need Us (Second Generation Book 5)

Chapter 4

CLEMMY
16 YEARS OLD

Morning sickness sucks. Mostly because it isn’t morning sickness. It is all morning, afternoon, and evening sickness. What is even worst is that I still haven’t told anybody that I’m pregnant and trying to hide my adverse reaction to 75% of foods is really difficult. I think that my sister might be catching onto something, but she hasn’t said anything yet. We share a Jack and Jill bathroom, so I know she has heard me, even though she doesn’t say anything.

Thankfully, it is still summertime and I’m able to spend most of my days outside of the house. Sometimes that is just hanging around the lake or spending time in Grandma’s garden, but today I decided to head into town and see if anywhere was hiring. My dad would have an aneurysm if he knew I was looking for a job. He doesn’t spoil Prue and me, but he wants us to really focus on school and not getting a job. He says that we have our entire lives to work and be adults. Little does he know that the adult part is going to come sooner than later.

After driving around to a handful of places and getting applications, I find myself traveling aimlessly. I can’t help but to think about the shitty situation that I am in and I know that eventually, I’m going to have to tell somebody, everybody. My dad included.

My driving landed me in front of my cousin Miles’s place. I have no idea why, the odds of him being here are slim to none because I don’t see his car, but maybe that isn’t a bad idea. His fiance Ember would be home and for some reason, I had a gut feeling that I needed to tell her. I could trust her and she could be somebody that would have my back.

I park my car in front of their house and make my way up to their cute little suburban home. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and then ring the doorbell. It doesn’t take long for Ember to swing the door open. I can tell that she’s surprised to see me and she’s already trying to read me to see what is going on.

“Hi, Ember. I’m sorry, but are you busy?” My hands are shaking, but I’m trying to hide it by clasping them together.

“Don’t be sorry, come on in, hon.” she stepped aside and I walked inside and put my stuff down on the front table. She motioned for me to go to the living room and I walked that way but stopped to face her before sitting down.

“Is Miles here?”

She shakes her head. “No, he left for dinner at your Grandma’s already. Are you okay? Did you need him?”

“I don’t know what I need. I was in town and I didn’t know where else to go and I thought maybe it would be okay if I came here.”

“Of course. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll grab you a bottle of water?”

I nod and take a seat on the couch. Ember heads into their kitchen and I spent the entire time she’s gone second-guessing even being here. The thought crosses my mind to get up and leave, but just then she comes back into the room with a plate of small sandwiches and a bottle of water for both of us.

“Thank you,” I say through a small sniffle, trying to hold back the tears burning behind my eyes. She takes a seat next to me, but she doesn’t say anything. We kind of just sit in silence for some time. I can tell that she is waiting for me to make the first comment, but I don’t even know what to say. I reach down and grab one of the sandwiches, taking a small bite. Something tastes off, so I put the plate down. “What’s in this?”

“It is ham salad, so minced up ham, mayo, relish….” she was in the middle of listing the ingredients, but I didn’t hear a word past mayo. I stood up and bolted down the hallway and into the bathroom. I closed the bathroom door and started throwing up. Mayo was one of those foods that I just couldn’t handle. Perhaps it was psychological, but just hearing the word sent my stomach into a state of revolt.