My Other Half...

Chapter 51: I Told You So

~Taylor~
Tessa was going to be home any minute now. I was so excited to see her. I missed her so much and I just wanted to see her and hug her and kiss her again. Zac and I had just finished up dinner and we were washing dishes. Then the front door opened.
"Heyyy, I'm home!" I heard Tessa.
"Tessa!!!" I rushed over to the door and greeted her. I took her into my arms and kissed her head a million times.
"Hi, angel! I missed you so so much!" I said near her ear while trying not to cry.
"I missed you so so much, too!" She said back. I stood back and gently grabbed her face in my hands and looked at her.
"You're okay, right? Nothing broken?" I asked her.
"Yes, I'm okay. Nothing broken, I'm all in one piece," she chuckled looking at me back.
"Hey sweetie, I'll catch you once my hands are dry," Zac said to her as he put another dish on the counter for me to dry. I finished saying hello to her and then went back to the dishes.
"So how was it?" I asked her drying the dish.
"It was really fun, but..." she started.
"But what?" I asked her.
"I have to tell you something..." she said quietly.
I looked at Zac and said, "I told you so."
We both turned to her and set down our dishes.
"Well...I—actually, could I just talk to mom about this right now?" She asked us.
I looked at Zac and he looked disappointed but he agreed calmly.
He left the room and then we moved into the living room and sat on the couch.
"So, what's wrong?" I asked her.
"Well, nothing's wrong...at least I don't think anything is yet, but..." she started.
"It's okay, you can tell me," I said softly to her.
"So, when we got to the hotel there was wine in our room...and instead of taking it back, we drank it and finished the whole bottle. We were drunk and then we kinda...y'know..had sex..." she said holding back tears.
"You do realize you're 19, right? Not 21?" I asked her.
"Yes, and I feel really guilty about it."
"Please tell me you used protection at least..." I said hopefully.
"I'm really sorry..." I interrupted her.
"Tessa."
"We were really drunk and we weren't thinking. Please don't hate me..." she said sadly. I could tell she felt really bad so I couldn't stay mad at her.
"I don't hate you, I'm just really really disappointed."
"I know, and I feel really guilty and I'm really sorry..." she said.
"I really hope you don't get pregnant..." I said seriously. "You're too young."
"I know. Me, too," she said in the same tone.
After we finished talking Zac came back in and just looked at me. I gave him the, "I'll tell you later" look and he just smiled at Tessa and hugged her.
"I'm glad you're back," he said.
"Thanks, me, too," she said back and hugged him.
~Later That Night~ (Zac)
I was really happy to see Tessa back, but I knew something happened and I just wanted to know already. I was waiting in bed for Taylor and she finally came in.
"Everyone's asleep," she said as she crawled into bed with me.
"Good, so can you tell me what Tessa told you, please?" I asked her.
She looked at me and then exhaled. "Do you really wanna know?" She asked.
"She's my daughter, of course, I wanna know," I said.
"Okay, well. She had wine, a whole bottle with Finn and she had unprotected sex," she said bluntly.
"What?!" I said raising my voice.
"Shh, please keep your voice down," she said quietly.
"Well, what the fuck?! For one thing, she's only 19 and I thought she was smarter than that!"
"I know, it was a mistake but she feels really guilty and is really sorry," she said trying to soothe me.
"That doesn't change the fact that it happened..." I said.
"I know, I'm sorry..."
"Why are you sorry?" I asked her.
"Because I just am, I dunno..."
"Well it's fine, can we just sleep?" I asked her as I laid down.
"Yes, I think that's a good idea," she said as she curled up into me and I wrapped her up.
"I love you, goodnight," she said to me as she closed her eyes.
"I love you, too, goodnight."
~1 Month Later~(Tessa)
I was back at home now for summer. It was May and I was done with school for the year thankfully. I woke up around 7:30 am with a horrible stomach ache. I sat up and immediately felt dizzy and sick to my stomach. I rushed to the bathroom and then puked. I groaned a little and then flushed the toilet. When I tried to stand up, it was difficult. I felt really light headed. I knew what was happening but I didn't know how to react so I just stayed as calm as I could. I went downstairs and tried to eat something. I just ate a banana and had a glass of milk since that was all I could keep down. I decided to go to the store and get a pregnancy test since no one was up. I got in my car and drove there. When I walked into the store I went to the back where the pharmacy was and bought a pregnancy test then went home to take it.
I went into the bathroom and locked the door then took it. I waited till I heard the beep. It took about 15 minutes and finally, it beeped. Two lines meant I was pregnant and one line meant I wasn't. I closed my eyes and picked up the pregnancy test. It had two lines. I just broke down and cried. I was pregnant. I just cried for a while then got myself together and threw away the pregnancy test. I made sure to stuff it down the trash far enough so no one could see it. Then I crumpled up a bunch of toilet paper and put it on top of everything in the trash. I walked out of the bathroom just as I mom was walking down the hallway.
"Hey! Good morning, you're up early," she smiled at me.
"Good morning, yeah, I don't know why I'm up..." I evaded.
"Why don't you try going back to sleep?" She asked me.
"I dunno, I just don't feel good," I said to her. She felt my forehead.
"You do feel a little hot, what's going on?" I tried so hard not to cry but the tears managed to escape.
"What's wrong?" She frowned and put her hand on my cheek.
"Mommy...." I closed my eyes.
"What is it?" She asked softly.
"I'm pregnant," I said as I began to cry.
She stood there for a second and took it in.
"You're 19..." She said sadly.
"I know, that's why I'm gonna get rid of it," I said to her seriously.
"Uhm, excuse me? No, you're not. Absolutely not. You're not going to kill an innocent life just because you made a stupid decision," she said roughly but she wasn't yelling.
"I can't do this though! I have no money, no house to live in! I have no job and I can't raise a child at 19, mom!" I raised my voice.
"You can stay here, and I'll help you financially and when you get a job, I can watch the baby for you until you're home. I've done it 4 times," she said.
"No! I can't burden you with that! I won't!" I cried.
That's when my dad came out.
"What's going on?" He asked tiredly.
"Nothing! Nothing's wrong, everything's fucking fantastic!" I said as I stormed down the hallway to my room and slammed my door shut behind me. I fell onto my bed and just cried and cried.
"She's pregnant." I could hear my mom tell him from outside my door then it was silent.
~Taylor~
"Seriously?" Zac asked.
"Yeah...seriously," I said to him.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to deal with it..." he said.
"Are you sure?" I asked him.
"We don't have a choice, Taylor," he said.
"True, but you...you don't have to stay..."
"What? I'm not leaving if that's what you're suggesting," he said offendedly.
I just started crying. That's all I could do right now.
He opened his arms and I slowly walked into them.
"I'm so afraid for her..." I said as I cried.
"I know me, too," he said back. He rubbed my back and stroked my hair to try and calm me. And it worked a little bit. He could do that. Just calm me down in a matter of seconds.
~Tessa~
I decided to call Finn and tell him. I mean I had to at some point. I was so afraid he'd be mad and leave me. Even though he told me he wouldn't, I was still so worried.
It rang a few times then he answered.
"Hey, what's up?" He asked happily.
"Finn..." I cried.
"Hey...what's wrong?" He asked worried now.
"I'm so sorry..." I said.
"What for? Please talk to me..." he said.
"It's my fault."
"What's your fault, Tess?" He asked me.
"I'm pregnant and if you don't wanna stay with me you don't have to cause I wouldn't blame you cause I was stupid and we made a mistake and I'm so so sorry, Finn," I said all in one breath.
"Okay, shhh, just breathe for a second." He gave me a minute to collect myself. I calmed down and then said, "Okay, I'm calm..."
"Okay, so first of all, do you know for sure that you're pregnant?" He asked me.
"Yes, I took a pregnancy test this morning."
"Okay...second of all, I'm not gonna leave you, sweetheart. I told you that I thought this might happen and that I'd stay with you through everything, I promise," he said, and I believed him.
"Are you sure you wanna throw your life away like this?" I asked him knowing that it would change both of our lives forever.
"Yes, and it wouldn't be throwing it away, it would be adding to it and if it's with you, that's all that matters to me."
"I love you so much...please can you come over?" I asked him wanting to see him in person.
"Yeah, of course. I'll be over in like 20 minutes," he said. "I love you so much, too by the way."
"I'll see you soon, bye," I said and hung up.
~20 Minutes Later~ (Tessa)
The doorbell rang while I was lying on the couch on my phone. I put my phone on the coffee table and then went over to the door. I opened it and Finn came in and immediately wrapped me up in his arms and kissed my head.
I just cried into his neck.
"Shhh, it's okay. It's gonna be okay," he whispered. Then my dad came down. It was about to get intense.
"You..." My dad came towards us.
"Dad, please calm down." His fists were clenched as he approached us.
"Let go of her," he said. Finn did as he was told. He put his hands up.
My dad went up to him and went close to his face.
"Explain yourself!" He shouted.
"Dad! Calm down!" I said to him.
"Tessa, you're not involved!" He said not even looking at me.
"Uhm, yes I am! It's my child!" I shouted back this time.
"Just be quiet!" He said even louder.
"You think you can just knock her up? And then not have the decency to use a fucking condom!?" He pushed him against the door.
"I'm sorry, it was a mistake," Finn said calmly.
"You're damn right! Why don't you just kick rocks and get the fuck out of my house!" He shouted.
"I love her." He said quickly.
"What?" My dad said angrily.
"I love her. I love Tessa..." he said again calmly.
My dad looked at me now and then back at Finn.
"Are you just saying that because now you have a child together?" He asked.
"No, I swear."
"Dad, it's true. When we got in the car he said it to me even before we got to LA," I said backing Finn up.
He let go of Finn's shirt and backed away.
"If you hurt her in any way, shape, or form, you will not see another day. You will not be able to talk to her, see her, or even contact her. Do you understand?" He said.
"Yes, sir," Finn said.
"Good." Then my dad left in a puff.
I went over to Finn. I'm so sorry about that. I didn't know he was gonna react like that. I knew he was gonna be mad but I'm sorry he got so physical," I said trying to excuse his behavior.
"It's okay, I kinda deserved that," he said.
"No you didn't, Finn."
"I love you so much..." he said looking me in the eyes.
"I love you so much, too." I did the same and then he kissed me quick.
My mom came down and said, "Finn, I'm so sorry. He isn't usually-," he interrupted her.
"No, really, it's fine. I was prepared for that," he said.
"Are you sure? I feel really bad," she said to him.
"Yeah, I'm positive. It's okay."
She smiled lightly and then went to the kitchen to make breakfast.
"Are you hungry? You can join us if you'd like," she said grabbing a pan for eggs and pancakes.
"How will Zac feel about that?" He asked cautiously.
"He'll just have to deal with it," she said.
"Okay, I'll stay."
I smiled at him and then just wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him. He rubbed my back gently and then we went over to the couch to sit down and rest till breakfast.
"Finn!!!" Nelle came running into the living room and hugged Finn.
"Hey, kiddo! What's up?" He asked her as he hugged her back.
"Nothin', what are you doin' here?" She asked him.
"I'm gonna join you guys for breakfast!" He said happily.
"Really?!"
"Yes! Is that okay?" He asked.
"Mhm! Only if you sit next to me!" She said innocently.
"Alright, will do." She smiled and then she ran over to my mom.
"You don't need to sit by her, by the way," I giggled.
"I want to," he smiled at me.
"You're so sweet," I said to him.
Then the rest of the kids came down and finally my dad did, too.
"Guys! Breakfast is ready!" My mom called from the kitchen. We all shuffled into the kitchen and took our seats. I sat on one side of Finn and Nelle sat on the other side of him.
We all ate and just talked and had a nice time. My dad just sat there and ate. He didn't say anything or look at anyone. He just stared at his plate. I understood his upset. I was his first born and his first baby girl. I'm sure he didn't want to see me have a baby or think about how the baby got there. I felt bad but there wasn't much that I could do.
"Thanks for breakfast," Finn smiled at my mom.
"You're welcome," she smiled back. My dad bumped his fist down on the table. My mom looked at him disappointedly. He got up and put his plate in the dishwasher then went upstairs.
"What was that about?" Melanie asked looking back towards the stairs.
"Don't worry about it, it's okay," my mom said.
"It will be," I said.