Chapter 5
Lacey
Morning sickness is a bitch for me, and one thing I have realised is that I dislike being sick. Not that I ever liked being sick, but it never bothered me as much before. This sickness comes in waves and is followed by a horrible headache.
Take this morning, for example. I woke up feeling OK; that was until I sat up in bed and the waves started. That’s why I am currently hugging my toilet bowl. I made it down to the floor thirty minutes ago, but now I can’t get back up.
Living alone has its perks sometimes, but right now, being sick just reminds me how lonely I am, making me wish for someone to help me and take care of me when I can't.
Over the past few weeks, Cole has been coming around every day, making sure I'm okay. It's been nice having my best friend around me again. But when he leaves, I'm reminded once more that I only truly have myself.
And now... little Peanut.
My phone starts ringing. Luckily, I brought it with me.
I slide it over to where I am before hitting the answer button. “Hello?”
“Lacey, where are you? It sounds like you’re in a fishbowl.” Hayleigh’s voice echoes over the speaker.
Oh shit, I completely forgot they were coming round today.
They arrived home yesterday after their three-week holiday.
I feel like a terrible friend because I’m going to cancel, but I'm not ready to face telling them what I’ve done yet.
It’s bad enough I lied about why I wouldn’t be going with them, well, more like omitting the truth.
All they know is that I had pushed myself too hard lately and I hadn’t been looking after myself.
“I’m in my bathroom. I don’t think I’ll make it to lunch today. I don’t feel so good.”
“Oh, okay. Well, look after yourself.” She clicks off the phone, and I groan as another wave of nausea comes over me.
Way to go, Lacey, as well as a tart, now you’re a liar.
Crawling back into bed, I lay there with the covers off, relishing the cold on my skin. I left a window open last night, and the breeze drifts in, gently caressing my cheeks. I close my eyes and try to push the niggling guilty feeling away as I let sleep take over.
**********
I’m running through some tall grass, chasing a giggling toddler as she runs away from me, her blonde hair, just like mine, trailing off behind her and getting caught in the wind.
She shouts, “Dada!”
Cole jumps up out of the grass as he scoops her up in his arms and swings her about.
BANG, BANG.
I stand, watching them together, knowing this image isn’t quite right, but I don’t want it to end.
BANG, BANG.
I’m happy where I am.
BANG, BANG.
I jolt upright as I realise the banging is my front door and not a part of my dream. I slowly drag my aching limbs out of bed and brace myself, but there are no more waves of sickness. Yay! The banging continues, the voices of two people bickering outside carrying through the door.
“Just a sec!” I shout. I walk through my living room and notice it’s past lunch; my stomach growls. Either that, or little Peanut here is part werewolf. I snort at my stupid joke.
Reaching the door, I open it to find that the two people are still bickering. Hayleigh and Emmy notice me, and both of them pull me into a three-way hug.
“I didn’t believe that you were sick. I thought you were avoiding us, but now I can tell you’re sick.
You look like shit.” Hayleigh wrinkles her nose at me.
Paranoid, I lift my arm and sniff, and she laughs at me.
Smacking my arm playfully, she says, “I’m joking!
Now move aside because we’re back from our holiday and we have to fill you in and make sure you’re okay. ”
Emmy looks at me with a strange expression as I let them go by. “Are you okay?” she mouths, and right then, I know for a fact that Cas has spilt the beans.
“Let me guess, Cas?” I say, giving her a pointed look. Her cheeks blaze, but I wave her off. “I should have known better. That man can’t hold a fart in, let alone a secret.” We laugh it off and sit down on my sofa.
Hayleigh looks between Emmy and me. “Okay, what am I missing?” She brings out some tinned cocktails and places them in front of us.
I sigh, knowing I need to get this off my chest, regardless of whether they judge me for it or not.
“Do you remember a while back when we went out in Brimcrest?” They both nod but stay silent. “I met someone that night…” I don’t get to finish what I’m trying to say because Hayleigh jumps in.
“Eek, you’re in a relationship? Oh my god, this is amazing news!” She then stops what she’s saying as she looks around and whispers, “Oh shit, is he in there?” She points to my bedroom and fans herself.
Emmy puts her hand on her arm. “Calm down, Hayls, let Lacey finish her story.” Hayleigh nods and rolls her hand for me to continue.
I take a deep breath. “No, I’m not in a relationship, but I am pregnant because of that night.” I squeeze my eyes shut, not daring to open them, but then I feel two sets of arms surround me, and because of my stupid hormones, I burst into tears.
“Oh, sweetie, don’t cry, it’s going to be okay. Are you going to keep it?” Hayleigh asks me, zero judgment in her voice.
I sniffle back the tears. “Yes, I’m keeping her. Not that I know if the baby is a she yet; it’s just a dream I had. I feel like little Peanut is a girl.” I put a hand on my stomach and lovingly stroke it.
“We’re proud of you, Lacey.” Hayleigh has tears in her eyes, as does Emmy. I have never been more thankful to have these women as my friends than in this moment.
I wipe at my tears. “Okay, enough about me! I need to know about the honeymoon and holiday!”
I spent the next few hours listening to all about the honeymoon and the holiday the rest of the guys took, which involved a funny story about Archie and a pink flamingo. Hayleigh seems a bit cagey with what she got up to, but maybe that’s just me.
Hayleigh insists on ordering food in, and I’m not about to complain. She finishes up the order on her phone and grabs her mojito in a can before gasping.
“Holy shit! I know who he is!”
We both stare at her like she’s lost the plot, but she flaps her hands excitedly as she says, “Baby Daddy! I remember him saying his name was Ted, or was it Fred? Anyway, Ted/Fred told me he worked as a lifeguard in Brimcrest!”
My stomach starts doing somersaults – I’m sure it's from nerves or excitement.
“All we have to do is go over to Brimcrest and find where he works, Bob’s your uncle and all of that!” She smiles from ear to ear, and I find myself nodding along.
“Yeah, okay. Let’s do this.” But even as I say the words, there is something in the back of my mind telling me this may not be the best idea.
Emmy notices my apprehension. “Lacey, we don’t have to do this. It is entirely your choice. You can always wait till later on.”
I shake my head. “No, the right thing to do is to tell him he's going to be a father, and then he can decide whether or not he wants that.” I sound calm and confident, but inside I don’t feel that way.
Hayleigh claps her hands, “Okay, well, we need a plan. We can’t just rock up to the guy's place of work and be like ‘Oh, hey, guess what? Your man juice made a baby.’ That wouldn’t be great.”
I burst out laughing. “Way to put it, Hayleigh.”
“You know what I mean. Food is almost here, and after that, we’re taking a little drive over to Brimcrest, okay?” I nod along to her, because what else can I do?
**********
Brimcrest isn’t that far from our town of Roselake.
Where we’re all bright houses and clean beaches, Brimcrest is more tacky arcades and beaches littered with a constant stream of rubbish.
The only time we go over to Brimcrest is to visit our favourite burger bar.
It’s a place Cole and I have been visiting since we were kids, and they do the best strawberry milkshakes by far.
Emmy drives us along, humming a tune on the radio, and Hayleigh is deep-diving into her phone. I take my phone out and open it up, noticing I have a notification from Cole.
Cole
Did you know that today, little Peanut is actually the size of a passionfruit?
I smile at that little piece of information.
Me
Actually, no, I had no idea. What else do you know? As a matter of fact, how do you know that?
Cole
I’ve been doing some reading, and right now Peanut’s major organs have formed. I’ll speak to you later, a new job has come in!
“Earth to Lacey, did you hear what I said?” Hayleigh snaps her fingers in front of me.
I shake my head. “Sorry, no, I wasn’t listening to you. What did you say?”
Hayleigh barks out a laugh. “Charming! I was telling you that we’re almost at the Splash Centre. That’s the only place I can think of a lifeguard working, seeing as they don’t have them on the beaches.” She shrugs, twisting back to face the front of the car.
As Emmy pulls into the car park, my stomach starts somersaulting, and I can’t think straight. So many things could go wrong with this, and I haven’t even talked it through with Cole. Not that I have to, but a part of me feels like I should have at least asked his opinion on this.
Walking into the splash centre, the stench of chlorine hits me. The air is stuffy, and it’s packed with people. I turn to my friends and say, “Maybe this isn’t the best idea.”
“We don’t have to talk to him today. Let’s just go and scope out the pool from the café area.” Emmy links her arm through mine as we walk towards the café.
Finding a seat near the window, I look down and immediately notice him.
He’s sat in the lifeguard chair, looking utterly bored.
He’s blonder than I remember, tall too, but not as tall as Cole.
I remember more as that comes back to me; he has blue eyes, but they’re a pale blue, not the deep, sea-blue of Cole's.
For crying out loud, Lacey, get a grip and focus!
“Is that him?” Emmy almost gives me a heart attack as she whispers in my ear.
“Jesus, Emmy. You scared the shit out of me. Yes, that’s him.”
She gives a slight nod of approval before commenting, “Hmm, he’s kind of cute.”
Well, the ‘kind of cute’ is now climbing down from his seat as the shift changes. I look at Hayleigh, and she points to the door that connects the pool area with the café. I look back down towards the pool and see Ted-Fred walking up the stairs to the door. I stand up as he walks through it.
Well, it’s now or never. No going back now.
I do what any normal, non-awkward person does: I stand right in his way and say, “Hey.” I try to smile, but I’m afraid it comes out more like a grimace.
Ted-Fred blanches. “Hi. Do I know you? You look familiar.” He screws his face up like he’s trying to place me before clicking his fingers.
“Wait! I know where I know you from now, you work at that little burger place on the way out of town!” He starts smiling at me, and internally, I want to roll my eyes.
Instead, I try to be as polite as I can. “Uh, no, actually, I don’t work there. We met a few months back at that bar not far from here.” He looks at me, clueless, so I continue, “We were both pretty drunk. My name's Lacey. Is this ringing any bells for you?” I can feel my patience wearing thin.
“Oh, Lacey? Huh.” Again with the clicking of fingers. “Hot aquarium chick! That’s you?”
Wow, what a charmer this guy is.
I smile. “The very same. So I have something to talk to you about. Can we go somewhere quieter?”
“Sorry, no can do, and I also don’t do repeats, so if you’re looking to jump on my pole again…” He shrugs, and I think I may have just vomited in my mouth.
“Without wanting to sound rude and inconsiderate, I don’t remember your pole at all. What I do know is that in about six months you’re going to be a father, so…”
He doubles over laughing as if what I just told him is the funniest joke on the planet, not the life-altering news it was for me. I look back at Emmy and Hayleigh. Emmy has a concerned look on her face, and Hayleigh looks like she’s approximately 3.2 seconds away from punching this guy in his dick.
“Listen, Ted or Fred, I don’t know your name, but I’m not in the mood for your games. I am pregnant, and you are the father. Now, it’s entirely up to you whether or not you want to be in this baby’s life, but I am keeping the baby.”
He looks around and laughs again. “Is this a wind-up?” When he looks at my face and sees I’m not laughing, he crosses his arms, his cheeks turning an angry red. “Listen to me, Lacey. I fuck a lot of women, and I always bag up There’s no way you can know for sure I’m the father!”
I reel back. “Just because you have slept with more people than you care to count, doesn’t mean I have. You’re the only guy I’ve been with in well over two years, so trust me when I say, I’m pregnant and you’re the father!” I’ve given up being nice; now I’m shouting.
His eyes darken, and he grabs my elbow before shoving me off to the side of the room. His face twists in a cruel sneer as he gets ready to lay into me. His grip is tight, and I grimace just as an arm flies around his and yanks it back.
“Listen here, you little limp dick spunk nugget. You put one more fucking finger on our girl here, and you won’t be participating in any more bedroom Olympics. Do I make myself clear?” Hayleigh doesn’t miss a beat, and I swear he shrinks a little.
He nods once. “Understood.” Then he looks at me. “That isn’t my kid, and even if it were, I’m not fucking interested. Got it?” There’s a finality in his words, and part of me is relieved, but the other part, the part that always wanted a big family, well, she dies a little.
He walks away, and I place a hand on my stomach protectively, “We don’t need him, Peanut.”
“Damn straight you don’t need him.” Hayleigh links through my arm.
“It’s true, Lacey. You have both of us and six big brothers back home that are going to make fantastic uncles.” Emmy smiles as she links my other arm, and although I’m still petrified, I know I’m not alone in all of this.