Bad friend

CHAPTER FOUR

I wasn't sure how long we had stood there staring at each other, but when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and the panic that washed through Vera's brown eyes, I quickly closed the door behind me.

I took a deep breath, "Are you...?"

"Mhmm." Vera nods.

I point at her belly, "Is that...?"

"Mhmm." Vera nods again.

I run a hand through my hair and I blink, "When what-you-how?"

"I think we all know how a baby is made, Hay." Vera chuckles as she grabs her floral robe from the arm chair basking in the afternoon light and slips it over her shoulders. She slowly takes a seat on the edge of the king bed and I join her.

"And Sam is the father?" I question as I glance down

at her belly which looked larger when she was sitting down. So this is why she was wearing all those baggy clothes. Dear god, how f*****g dense can I be? It was right in front of me.

Her lips purse as she slowly nods her head, "Yup."

"Well...that's great!" I grin as I grab onto Vera's hand and squeeze then supportively at the pleasant news. "Sam must be happy, he's told me how much he's wanted to be a father and-"

"It's not great, Hay." Vera interrupts me suddenly and the smile, "Sam doesn't even know I'm pregnant."

I frown in confusion at her, "What do you mean he doesn't know? Didn't you tell him the second you found out?"

"Nope." Vera sighs as she pulls her hands from mine and covers her face, "f**k, when I found out, I wasn't even sure if I was going to keep her. You know how some people aren't meant to be parents? That's me. I never wanted to be a mother."

I I replay a part of her words in my head, making sure I heard that correctly. Her?

"Vera...how many weeks are you?" I ask slowly, confused as to how she already knows the gender of her baby.

"I'll be 28 weeks on Tuesday." Vera explains as I instantly jump to my feet in shock.

"28 weeks!" I exclaim as Vera gently grabs a hold of my hand while furiously shushing me. I was also in shock to see how small she was. Her stomach was still flat back in Spring Break. I retake my seat next to her with a sheepish smile, "s**t, sorry. It's just...you're 28 weeks in and haven't told anyone yet? Not even your parents?"

"f**k no. The only ties I still have with them is through a trust fund. Last time I saw them was when they finally decided to get a divorce and I so desperately needed to be there to comfort my poor mother." Vera explains sarcastically and rolls her eyes at the previous situation, "Yet another reason why I never wanted to have a baby. I'll be just like my joke of a mother."

"Shut the f**k up, V." I say harshly as I hold her hands in mine and turn my body to hers, "You will not be a joke of a mother. Noah and I are basically children and I think you've done a pretty good job raising us."

"True, but it's not the same. This is a whole damn human being that will depend on me entirely." Vera explains as she places a hand to her belly and glances down at it, "Plus there is one other person that knows and that's Sam's mother."

My eyes widen, "Oh fuck."

"Oh f**k indeed. It was my reaction exactly when she found an old positive pregnancy test in their 13th f*****g guest bathroom or whatever. I guess the maids forgot to clean it for a couple months." Vera shakes her hands in their air at the craziness of it all and rolls her eyes, "She kicked me out of their house the day before I flew here. That b***h never liked me anyway."

"Did you even say anything to Sam before you left?" I question, already feeling like I had just been sucker-punched to the stomach.

"I couldn't. I wasn't going to take Sam from his family. They would leave him with nothing if he left for me." Vera explains and I was reminded of a similiar situation I was currently in myself.

"He must be going crazy right now." I scoff as I picture him in my head. He was always such a prim and proper kind of dude and not gonna lie, picturing him going bat-s**t crazy is making me laugh. "What were you going to do after you delivered?"

"I don't know. Give it up for adoption I guess. She'd have a much better life with someone else. Anyone else." Vera sighs and throws herself onto her back and stares up at the roof.

"Sam should have a say, V. It's his child too."

"I don't give a f**k about Sam. He's not the one carrying a human in his womb for a whole nine months." Vera spits venomously before she does a double take and swallows. "Sorry, Hay. Hormones are a b***h right now and you're completely right. I need to tell the others too."

"Were you just expecting to leave before you give birth and then come back like nothing happened?" I scoffed while staring down at her with a smirk. She starck with a sheepish grin.

"Kinda." She shrugs and a tilt my head back to chuckle. She then jumps slightly, "She just kicked. Here, feel."

Gently I place my palm to the smooth golden skin of Vera's stomach as we both stay quiet for a while. Then feel the small pressure of a little foot press against my e hand and I gasp.

"Oh my god I felt it!" I giggle in surprise as I keep my i hand flat against her, "Hey there little Vera."

She kicks again and both Vera and I erupt in dramatic gasps once more. We really were the perfect pair of dramatic b***h her

"That's right! It's your Aunty Hayden." I say as I lean closer to her belly, "I'll tell you a secret. When you come out into this world and meet us, you're going to look just like you're beautiful mommy." Vera scoffs and rolls her eyes just as I feel another little kick, "That's right! You're going to be so pretty!"

"Ok, if she's anything like me she's already got a bloated ego, you don't need to add to it." Vera chuckles as she sits up and places her hands to her knees, "Help me up?"

"Of course." I stand, grab her hands and help her to her feet. When she was standing in front of me, I wrap my arms around her as she does the same, "If you decide to keep it, and I'm not saying you should or shouldn't, I just want you to know that you would be an incredible mother."

"Thank you, Hayden." Vera whispers into my ear before I stand back, still smiling as I look at her gorgeous face. "Also, why did you barge into the room like a woman on a mission?"

My eyes "Oh s**t, I needed to pee."

"I'll meet you downstairs, Hay." Vera explains as I quickly turn and rush towards the bathroom. I close the door behind me and quickly get to business before my bladder exploded.

After finishing everything I needed to in the bathroom, I grab a large t-shirt from my room and make way way to the ground floor of the beach house where Id here chatter and laughter.

Everyone was in the lounge. One of Levi's wildlife documentaries were on the tv which he was throughly involved in. Penn and my mother were gushing over Vera's belly and I knew my mother was already planning the baby shower in her head.

"Hayden, have you felt the baby? Come feel it." My mother beckons me over as soon as she spots me. I grin and stop behind the sofa suite.

"I already did." I reply as I place a hand on top of Levi's curly head who sat below me. His curls were too soft not to touch.

"Noah thought I was hiding bread under my robe and was ready to fight me for it." Vera scoffs as I glance at Noah who sat on the edge of the sofa, stuffing his face with chips.

"In my defence, it genuinely looked like the loaf of bread Andrea brought home from the market.would fight to the death for that bread." Noah puts his hands up as we all laugh at him. "Ok, maybe not death but like hospital-visit level."

My eyes glance at Chase who was sitting on the arm chair across the living room and I shiver under his gaze. s**t, stop looking at me like that Everett. I glance away and drop my hand from Levi's hair.

"I guess I better cook a little more since you're eating for two now Vera." David chuckles as he begins to move towards the kitchen. David was rich enough to afford personal cooks but he says he enjoys look. Plus it always taste delicious so there's absolutely complaining.

"Yup and I think she has the appetite of her uncle and aunty." Vera scoffs as Noah and I lock gazes simultaneously with large grins. We air high-five like the idiots we were while cheering, like it was something to be proud of.

I kick the little pebble beneath taking my anger out on it instead of the person on the other end of the phone who I so desperately wanted to reach through the screen and strangle.

"I swear I put the Becker showing in the yellow binder and Mueller showcase in the purple." I explain for the umpteenth time since I picked up the call. I groan under my breath and run my hand through my hair in frustration.

"Well, now I can't find either those. How the fuck

am I suppose to know what the reserve is for all the pieces of both artists?" My boss, Anika Marchland of Marchland Galleries explains through the phone and lets out and exasperated sigh.

I roll my eyes, thankful that she couldn't see me. Only if she had actually read what I had spent hours writing and filing into those damn color co-ordinated binders then maybe she would have an idea.

"I left them on your desk. Have you asked Dexter if he's seen them?" I question as I grab onto my chin, deeply wondering who actually ran the whole gallery between Anika and I. I was her personal assistant, she was the gallery owner and host.

I had gotten a job through my art professor last year and at the start it was pretty good. But then Anika started to depend on me more and more. I was in charge when she spontaneously left on what she deemed "self-care trips" to the Bahamas.

I only stayed because it's been a dream of mine to own an art gallery and it payed extremely well. It was just hard balancing work that I was severely unqualified for and my studies.

"No I haven't Dexter!" I cringe and hold my phone from my ear at the very unpleasant shriek from my boss, "Where the f**k are those binders?"

Poor Dexter, he's only been there for a week and I'm pretty sure his internship is coming to an end. I was once an intern at the very famous and successful gallery and I was apparently the only one who could handle Anika and her bullshit.

I swear she enjoys it when I pull her up on s**t she's

done wrong. She's only two years older than I am yet I always feel like the more mature one. "Of course he knows where they are." Anika sighs as she returns to the phone call, "I'm firing him, Hayden.

I've f*****g had enough."

"Nik, remember that we wait until they quit. The last thing an intern needs is getting fired after the first two weeks." I remind her as I fold my arms and glance over the ocean. The sun was setting and it was a gorgeous sight that was calming me only slightly during this tense phone call.

"He ate my sandwich."

"That was his sandwich, Nik. You just claimed it as yours." I explain and roll my eyes, "Look, everything for those two showcases are in those binders. Just follow what I've written down and the night should go smooth

"What would I do without you Hayden?" She mumbles into the speaker and I laugh a little too hard. Eh, I don't care.

"Burn your family's business to the ground?" I question lightly as she hums in agreement, "Please call me if anything in those binders don't make sense. We don't need another Alcott situation."

"So I sold a four-hundred and fifty thousand dollar piece for four-hundred dollars. One time Hayden, it was one time. Anika relays into the phone like it was nothing, "And in my defence that damn comma looked like a period."

"Be nice to Dexter, Anika." I remind her into phone and I hear her groan, "Call me after the showing."

"Of course I will." She replies, "Bye Hayden."

"Bye." I say and quickly hang up before she drags me into her usual thirty minute rants about literally nothing. Just as I hung up, the french doors connecting the porch and the living room open and Chase steps out with his phone pressed to his air.

"Well if the Michaelsons want a a curling staircase we'll give them a f*****g curling staircase." se grumbles into the phone and I press my back to the white wooden railing while I watch him in silence, "I looked at the plans and there's more than enough space to make it happen."

His frowning eyes move from focusing on the porch floor to me and I notice them soften slightly. God damn.

I glance away instantly, turn and rest my elbows on the railing while staring off at the ocean.

"f**k, I'll do the paperwork from here if you don't want to." Chase growls into the phone and not gonna lie, it was super attractive. "Sort it out, Harry."

And with that, I watch out of the corner of my eye as he pockets his phone and runs a hand through his hear in frustration.

"Work problems?" I smirk as I turn my head to glance at him to see him moving towards me. No wrong way Everett. Go back inside. Abort mission.

Chase comes to a stop beside me and rests his elbows on the railings in a similiar manner to mine, "Yup. You too?"

"Anika lost the binders for a couple important showings." I scoff as I glance back out at the setting sun dipping below the ocean's horizon, "She's also about to decapitate our newest intern so..."

"I can't believe you still work for her." Chase snorts and I can't help but laugh too. "Even after the amount of pressure she puts you under, you still stay."

"As psychotic as it sounds, I love the pressure." I admit as Chase turns to face me. I averted my gaze, too afraid to meet his. Instead I keep my eyes on the horizon, "It distracts me from school, from the nightmares, from life, from everyth—"

"You still get nightmares?" Chase interrupts me and I

swallow.

"Did I say nightmares? Whoops, obviously I meant night....hares. Yup, nighthares are the complete opposite of nightmares so nothing to worry about." I grin awkwardly, now finally meeting Chase's hard, cold and calculating gaze.

Chase folds his arms, "I told you to tell me if you were getting nightmares agai-"

"Thanks for the concern big guy but I don't have to

tell you shit." I scoff and instantly regret it the second the words leave my lips. Why why why why? "I have to deal with it on my own and so far so good."

"But you don't have to deal with it on your own, Jones." Chase takes a step towards me and I take a step back. Please don't do this Everett. I can't go through this again.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do. You don't get to do that anymore." I narrow my eyes on him as I fold my arms, "How I deal with my trauma and bullshit is on my terms. You deal with your shadows, I'll deal with mine."

"f**k that Jones. You and I both know what you want and it's not this." Chase scoffs at me and the situation I had put us in. He was right, every argument we have about this, he is always right. And that's what scares me. "You never gave me a reason."

I exclaim, "I don't f*****g have to!"

"Yes you do!" Chase growls back and now we were both shouting at each other. Great. It's truly impressive how our conversations always seem to go from 0 to a hundred real f*****g quick. "It's not f*****g fair, Jones. Any of it."

"You're the one who wanted a break to go talk to your new girlfriend. Where's she huh? Broke her heart already?" I question, ashamed and extremely embarrassed that I was letting my jealousy and anger getting the better of me. "Of course you did and then you moved onto the next one."

Chase swallows, hard. "Why? You jealous Jones?"

"Oh f**k you Everett!" I shout just as the doors open

and Noah comes sliding out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Noah slides between us, his

white Nike crew socks were no match for the slick

wood of the porch, "What the hell is going on out here?

The neighbours can f*****g hear you guys."

"Everett's being an asshole like usual." I say as I glare up at him. I watch as Chase clenches his jaw incredibly e sharp while glaring back at me.

"I'm not f*****g doing this again." Chase shakes his head before turning and storming down the porch steps and onto the sand. Noah and I watch him in silence before he disappears behind the trees of our neighbours garden.

"Sooooo..." Noah starts awkwardly while slipping his hands into the pockets of his board shirts, "Is Elastigirl really that thick or is she just constantly using her powers. Ha. Am I right?"

no way, another one?

yes f*****g way.

i'm just too pumped right now that i couldn't wait. hopefully i'll be pumped when i wake up because it is "I'm not f*****g doing this again." Chase shakes his head before turning and storming down the porch steps and onto the sand. Noah and I watch him in silence before he disappears behind the trees of our neighbours garden.

"Sooooo..." Noah starts awkwardly while slipping his hands into the pockets of his board shirts, "Is Elastigirl really that thick or is she just constantly using her powers. Ha. Am I right?"

no way, another one?

yes f*****g way.

i'm just too pumped right now that i couldn't wait.

hopefully i'll be pumped when i wake up because it is currently one in the morning here and ya girl needs

sleep.

so goodnight from nz!

please leave your thoughts! vent to me about how frustrating hayden is being. i know she's dumb but can we really say that we've all had clear heads going into, through, or straight after a break up?