Page 23 of Faking With The Frenemy

“Oh no,” she said, chuckling nervously. “I’m in Paris. But I will come as soon as possible. What city are you in?”

What the hell is going on? “I’m in New York right now,” I said. “I was supposed to leave tomorrow, but I guess I can stay here a few extra days. What’s wrong, Alessia? You sound weird.”

“I know, I know,” she replied. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll tell you everything when we see each other. Please text me your address to this number?”

“Sure,” I said. “Not a problem. Take it easy, Alessia.”

“You too, Michael.” She paused and added, “It was really nice talking to you again.” She was off the line before I could reply, and I wished the call had gone on longer.

I had mixed feelings about Alessia’s call from out of the blue. She sounded like something was urgently wrong, and I was curious to find out. I still cared enough to be worried about whatever it was.

On the flip side, it looked like she had only called me out of necessity. The little sliver of hope I had preserved over the months vanished as the call ended. She meant it when she said she wanted nothing deep, or so it appeared.

I got back in bed and sent her the address of the hotel. I decided: if Alessia had no interest in me, then I was done pining after her and losing sleep.

Regardless of the request, I would find out what she needed and help her this one time to the best of my ability. Then, I would cut her off from my life completely. I slept fitfully, a battle raging in my mind over the drastic step I had taken.

11

Alessia

The car ride back to Jenna’s seemed to last an eternity. All I wanted to do was head to my apartment and curl up in bed for several days. Jenna was having none of that, though, insisting it was unwise for me to be alone at the moment.

It started raining again shortly after we left the hospital. Jenna had the wisdom to remain silent the whole drive; the only sound was the wipers on the windshield. We got into the house, and she led me directly into the kitchen, where she put on a kettle to boil water for tea. My mind was in a million different places at the same time.

I could not hold on to a single thought for a long while, as different scenarios and outcomes flitted through my head. Topmost was Jenna’s suggestion. How could she expect me to inform Michael of this? There was the obvious issue of not having a means to reach him. I had all but told him to get out - to his face. He had respected that and had never reached out in all that time.

I also did not know if I wanted to keep the child yet. Unfortunately, a three-month-old pregnancy was more difficult to deal with than that of only a few weeks. If I went through with it, what would I tell my father and brother? This was the one thing they had tried to prevent the most in the world. Their little girl soiled before marriage.

I could give the child up for adoption. That would save a world of complications. I shook my head in frustration. While I had not factored a child into my life for the foreseeable future, I couldn’t bring a child into this world to live as an orphan while I went through life in tranquility. That thought would haunt me for the rest of my life.

If I decided to keep the child, it would have to be in secret. I did not see a future where my family would accept a child birthed out of wedlock. Knowing them, they would go after whoever was responsible and would not stop till they exacted their pound of flesh. While Michael looked capable of handling himself, I could not put it past my brother and father to look for ways to hurt him in retribution.

I went full circle back to Jenna’s stand. I had to tell Michael about the child. He had as much right to the child as I did. Whatever decision I made regarding the baby, he needed to know. I did not know how he would react, and I did not know his thoughts regarding a family. He could be unbothered for all I knew, and I hated to admit to myself that it would hurt me beyond measure if he did not care.

There was no easy way out of my quagmire, and I developed a headache processing all the unwinnable scenarios. Jenna dropped a steaming cup of tea with a slice of lemon on the counter before me. She squeezed my shoulder gently before taking a seat beside me. I looked at her, and she smiled kindly. I was grateful to have her in my life. I could not imagine going through this without her.

“Thank you so much, Jenna,” I said, smiling weakly. “You’ve been such a blessing.”

She waved it away, taking a sip from her cup. “It’s nothing less than what you would have done for me in a similar situation.” She reached out to hold my hand. “Now, drink up. I added a little honey to help you sleep. You need to rest now. I could add a shot of tequila, but pregnant women should not drink alcohol.”

I groaned loudly and covered my face. “Do you have to remind me?”

She smiled. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself,” she said. “Although, please drink up while it’s hot.” The tea tasted lovely, and the calm it brought was instant. Jenna led me up the stairs when I finished and tucked me into bed like a child. My head barely touched the pillow before I drifted into a deep sleep.

I woke up feeling energized. I made a mental note to ask Jenna for the recipe for the special tea she had brewed for me. I could still hear rain falling outside as I made my way out of bed and downstairs to thank Jenna for her help.

As I approached the bottom of the steps, I could make out several voices speaking in hushed tones. The voices came from the sitting room, and I did not need to be psychic to know the people speaking.

I stepped into the room, and the conversation died as my friends turned to look at me. Their expressions ranged from pity to sorrow. I imagined Jenna had called them all to break the news while I slept soundlessly upstairs. I took an empty seat beside Louise, who put a hand on my lap, squeezing it gently.

“Hello, ladies,” I said, patting Louise’s hand softly. “I guess you’ve all heard that I am expecting. Yay.”

Silence descended on the room like a dark cloak; it was almost palpable. I looked from face to face; Jenna was the only person to make eye contact. I took a deep breath, but before I could speak, Jenna did. “Oh, come on, it’s not like someone died, right? It’s a pregnancy. This could be a good thing, people. The last thing Alessia needs is all of us pouting here, feeling bad for her. Come on.”

Jenna’s little speech seemed to jolt them a bit, and I was grateful to her for taking control. She was right, as usual. Pregnancy did not have to be a bad thing, and I planned to make the most out of it.

“What will you do now?” Kelly asked, her feet tucked under her legs.

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