Kidnapping Me

I always knew my fear of the dark was a rational one...

"He did what?!" I whisper in disgust to Penny.

In the background my footsteps echo off the pavement, boucing in the frigid air around me. I pulled my coat tighter around me, trying to block the freezing air from my goose-bumped skin. After storming out of the party, I found myself trugding, bare-foot, along the street. I was so mad at the time, that I just kept walking, occasionally breaking into a run to warm up. By the time I stopped and looked around, I'd walked about Ten K's and it was after midnight.

The shrill scream of my phone going off had alerted me about five minutes later, causing me to jump 600 ft in the air. I snatched it out of the folds of my dress, ready to chuck it into the nearby pond, when I noticed the caller ID belonged to Penny, not Dad, like I'd expected.

"I'm sorry, Gracie." She mumbled, sniffing like she was holding back tears. "Do you want to hear the rest?"

I ran my hand down my face in frustration. "Oh, I want to hear the rest alright! How dare he?!" I spat, stamping my foot on the ground like a petulant child.

My foot stung from the action, the cold nipping at my blue-ish coloured toes. Yep, I was officially an idiot for not wearing shoes. But seriously, what was I supposed to do? I'd taken them off under the table, and after I'd stormed out, making a scene, it would have been pretty stupid to walk back in and grab them.

What would I have said? "Oops, sorry for interrupting again, but can I just nip back over and get my shoes? Thanks."

Hell no.

"So, after you left, Greyson excused himself to go to the bathroom an-,"

"Penny, why on earth would I need to know that?" I asked flatly, interrupting her.

"I- I don't.. I don't know. I- I thought..." She stumbled and I knew she'd be biting her lip, like she always does. "Anyway, he closed the doors, which you left open by the way and returned to his seat. Then he told Gloria to bring out the mains and carried on as if you hadn't left."

I ground my teeth together and started walking faster in the direction of home. Dad was so going to get it. "I sense an AND coming after that?"

She sighed. "You know me too well." She chuckled lightly. I stayed quiet- this was not the time for being stupid. "Then, just before dessert came, he made another annoucment." She gulped on the other line.

My breath was heavy by now. It might have been because of how fast I was walking, but given how fit I was, it was probably from anger. "And?" I snapped at Penny when she didn't continue.

"Oh, Grace." She cried on the other end. "Sarah's pregnant!" She wailed and I heard her blow her nose.

"SHE"S WHAT?!" I screamed, not caring who I woke up or who I pissed off. Penny sobbed again on the other end. Both of us completely lost for words.

Was she kidding me?  Was Sarah actually fucking pregnant? "Well," I mumbled, unamuesed. "What does that rack up the list of children to be?"

Penny gave a feeble giggle. "Fourteen." She sniffed again.

"Fou- Are you kidding me?"

Penny laughed then. "Who knows, Grace? I lost count years ago."

I let out a huff, not realising how much this knowledge hurt me. Dad was fourty-two, he was the third richest self-employed man in the world, had a tiny bald patch the shape of england on the crown of his head, and he had eleven illegitatimt children and two ligitimate ones. All girls, much to his dislike, I'm sure.

"How far along is she?" I asked, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

"Six months."

"What?" I snapped. "He wasn't even married to Julia for six-freaking-months!"