The Youthful Times
~
April 7th, 2019
Southampton, New York
Thirteenth Week Pregnant

Vera's P.O.V.

12:20 pm.

       I huffed as I stepped out of my father's office. The meeting had commenced around nine o'clock this morning and completed three hours later. I was exhausted from waking up prior to my usual time. The nauseous state had drained me to the core.

Would I stop working to my full potential though? No, never.

I peeped down at my phone as it began to ring. I accepted the call when I saw the caller ID revealed Lilly's name.

"Hey, where are you? You weren't in your room this morning." Lilly's voice filled my ears. I made my way to my bedroom before responding, "Had a meeting with my father. Just finished."

She hummed before hanging up. My eyebrows lightly pushed together before I felt an arm around my shoulder. I gasped and nearly hit the arm's owner until my eyes met Lilly's; I groaned. "What the hell, Lilly," I muttered as I tried to grasp my breath.

"My bad, Grandma. I didn't think me wrapping my arm around you would get you this out of breath." Lilly says as she tries to stifle her chuckle. I squinted my eyes at her before rolling them.

I sighed as we started walking back to the wing where our bedrooms resided. I yawned before Lilly gasped. "What? What's wrong?" I asked as I noticed Lilly's widened-eyes expression.

Her eyes were trained below. I glanced down where her eyes were set at and I found my belly. "It's noticeable now." Lilly murmured as I heeded the belly noticeably enlarged now.

One of my hand cupped my abdomen as my eyes began to moisten. "She's growing," I rustled before I saw one teardrop land on my stomach.

Lilly nodded as she sniffles.

Unfortunately, the gentle moment was cut short as my mind began to fill with thoughts of the media noticing my pregnant paunch. My breath hitched and Lilly seemed to notice. She pulled me into her embrace before whispering, "It's okay. We'll figure it out."

She constantly knew what I was thinking.

~
April 7th, 2019
Brooklyn, New York
Thirteenth Week Pregnant

Vera's P.O.V.

9:29 pm.

       Aleksander groaned as he leaned his against the seat. "Where are we going?"

I roll my eyes. "It's a surprise, idiot. I explained that the third time about half an hour ago." I clarified. "Trust me, it's going to be worth it," Lilly added as she looked at Xavier and Aleksander.

Aleksander huffs before crossing his arms. "My mom would've been freaking out if I didn't tell her I was sleeping over the last minute." He mumbled more to himself.

I hummed before checking my phone. I received a text from Norah that she and Luca would meet us at our destination before we sat into the sprinter. I checked the time and it was a bit half-past nine. I wanted to do something sort of a last-minute fun before Norah and Luca go back to Washington, D.C.

Also, I still needed to figure out how I would drop the bomb onto them about the unexpected surprise that is apart of my life now.

I glimpsed down at my belly which seemed like it was just a normal bloated stomach. I subtly cupped my belly and rubbed my thumb softly against it. I felt as if I was drowning. My chest felt heavy as my eyes sting from the tears building up. If truth be told, I was terrified of parenting alone. I couldn't risk anyone finding out who the father was. I couldn't even risk if the father found out.

I don't want to raise the baby knowing they would ask eventually of their father's wellbeing. I knew it was wrong to hide it from the people that deserved to know, but I wasn't ready. I'm now twenty-two years old. I went to the abortion clinic and I could've gone with the procedure, but something within me didn't have the guts to do so. Something within me wanted to keep the little version of me.

I wiped my eye before any tears were able to drop. Soon enough, I felt the car halt to a stop. "Finally! My ass is probably flat now." Aleksander continued to complain. I rolled my eyes before Xavier shoved his shoulder with a hint of amusement in his eyes. They began to bicker and a smile formed on my lips. I was glad that Xavier was able to find his home with us. I wish that for everyone now.

The door rolled open and everyone jumped out immediately. I smiled as I observed Aleksander and Xavier's reaction to where we were.

"You're kidding me, Vera," Aleksander murmur as he read the big sign above us.

New York's National Amusement Park

"Why are we here when it's closed?" Xavier mumbles as his eyes observe the darkened amusement park. I grinned before saying, "Wait for it."

The amusement park remained the same; consumed in complete darkness. I furrow my eyebrows as my eyes found the boys' dumbfound pout. "Give it a minute," I muttered before sighing.

My eyes kept glancing between my watch and the amusement park. I scoffed and turned to Lilly. "This is a bit funny," Lilly whispered while wearing a grin.

Suddenly, the amusement park lit up. The boys were in awe. "So I rented the place out. . ."

"You're kidding? This is cool as sh—" Xavier shoved Aleksander's shoulder before he finished his sentence.

"What's with the shoving?" Lilly asks as her arm was now wrapped around Xavier's shoulder.

"I'm supposed to keep his mouth out the gutter," Xavier explained before rolling his eyes. "Today's the first day and he has cursed countless times."

I chuckle before I heard another's car engine rev up behind me. I turn around seeing a Rolls-Royce car before us. The boys seemed they were curious to see who was inside of the car. The driver stepped out before opening the door for the passengers to exit. Luca and Norah appeared from one side and her younger sister stepped out from the other side.

"Hey, guys!" Norah waves towards us. I walked up to her and hugged her.

I brought Alia closer to Aleksander and Xavier who seemed they just saw a ghost. "Are you guys okay?" I asked them. I glanced at Alia who wore a soft smirk.

"Yeah. Still in shock that you rented the park out, you know?" Aleksander answered as he fixed his posture. I pinch the bridge of my nose before patting Alia's shoulder. "This is Alia. Norah's half-sister. Be nice to her and include her with you two, okay?"

They both nod. I noticed Xavier's cheeks were pink. He always blushed when he was around new people.

I lightly squeezed her shoulder before walking back to Norah, Lilly, and Luca. They were talking amongst themselves. Once I approached them, Luca wrapped his arm around my shoulder and shot me a grin. "How's it going?" He asks as I leaned my head on his shoulder, sighing. "I'm okay, just a bit tired."

He nodded. "Understandable."

Lilly took a sip from her beer bottle and I furrowed my eyebrows. "You brought some?" I ask with a grin appearing on my lips. She chuckled before taking another swig. "Of course. I'll need a little booster."

Norah chuckled before taking Lilly's bottle from her possession. Lilly protested as Norah took a large gulp before passing it to Luca who refused. She tried passing it to me, but I shook my head. "I really shouldn't," I say, attempting to mask my apprehensive emotion.

Norah's mouth fell agape. "Vera Bernacelli refusing to take a swig? That's huge news ." Norah exclaims. I chuckle before adding, "I'm just not feeling it,"

Her eyebrows shot up. "Not even a sip?"

I shook my head. She shrugged before Lilly snatched back her bottle and took the last sip. She glanced back at Norah. "What? I wasn't going to stand there while you waste time convincing her." Lilly explained casually before winking my way when they gave me eye-contact.

I let out a sigh as my eyes glanced towards the boys and Alia. They seemed that they were getting quite acquainted with which blossomed satisfaction within me.

"Are we going in or we're just going to admire it from afar?" Aleksander asks sarcastically as they began to walk over to us; I agreed. "Let's go."

"You're the most impatient person I've ever met," Lilly grumbles as she darted towards Aleksander; He shrugs. "I'm a teenager; sue me." He responds as we began walking inside the amusement park, past the unlocked gates.

I greeted the security guard who gracefully welcomes us in.

"We should definitely ride that rollercoaster. You know the one where you stand!" Norah proposed as she grabbed my hand and began jogging deeper into the park.

I chuckled and nodded. "I love rollercoasters," I say as she let's go of my hand as she turns around, walking backward with a smile worn by her lips.

"I'm so excited. I haven't been to an amusement park since high school." Norah added mindlessly as her eyes were taking in our surroundings.

"Bumper cars!" Alia exclaimed passionately as she pointed towards them. "Can we go there first?" She requested, her puppy eyes very well convincing all of us.

"I'm about to crush all of you at this," Luca says proudly as we all headed towards the bumper cars.

Once we reached, one of the employees working at the amusement park welcomed us before letting us know the safety rules as we adjusted ourselves in the cars. A couple of us had to pair up since there weren't enough bumper cars. The employees informed us that three bumper cars were not working and that's why they were parked at the end.

Luca, Norah, Aleksander, Lilly, and I decided we wanted to go solo which left Alia and Xavier to partner up.

"You losers are going down!" Aleksander roared.

I scoffed in reply.

"Not before I get you first, kid!" Lilly retorted. "Xavier and I are about to kick your asses!" Alia laughs.

"Language!" Norah yelled. Alia rolled her eyes before showing off her middle finger to her sister. Xavier tried to contain his laughter as Norah gasps. "That's it! You're going down!" Norah exclaims before our cars began to shuffle towards each other.

Someone crashed into me from my right side before I heard them trying to get my attention. "Psst, do you want to work together?" Aleksander asks.

I nodded as I backed away. He smirks before he crashes into Luca who barked out laughter. I reversed until I hit the wall and I aim my car where Aleksander was. I began to charge at him before crashing into him at full force. He groaned before his face masked a horrified expression. "You traitor!"

I giggled. "Everyone for themselves, loser!" I roared before reversing and accidentally crashing into Lilly. I squinted my eyes at her playfully before I was jerked back. Alia chuckled as Xavier wore a toothy grin.

Soon enough, the bumper cars came to an end. Our journey stopped at one of the consumption stands. We took a few minutes to devour our snacks and hydrate ourselves with water. I took a sip of my water as we neared the roller coaster we were mentioning earlier.

"Are you sure that you're well enough to ride this?" Xavier whispered into my ear. Lilly was next to me as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders as I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm barely into my second trimester, so I'll be fine. I stopped feeling nauseous lately, anyway." I answered. "I want to ride all these roller coasters before I can't anymore," I murmured back, quietly enough so the others wouldn't hear me.

Xavier nodded as he shot me a small smile and then departed to walk with Aleksander and Alia. Lilly squeezed my shoulder and kissed the side of my head.

The rest of the night was filled with screams of joy as we all rode the roller coasters. We traveled around the whole amusement park, riding the carousel at one point, then changing into our swimsuits to ride the water rides. I might have puked in my mouth once after the first roller coaster, but after I ate a little bit, I felt better. There wasn't any ride we had left untouched. We even rode the rides that were specifically made for children.

At one point, I imagined my own riding the rides which had me stumble upon a moment of appearing fragile.

All of us were operating on adrenaline throughout the whole night. It was nice to hang out with people I could call family. I believe we all needed a distraction from reality every once in a while.

I wasn't sure what time it was, but we all decided to watch the sunrise on the Ferris Wheel. Surprisingly, the cart was big enough for the seven of us. Luca and Norah were cuddled up as the boys and Alia were whispering; bonding. I leaned my head on Lilly's shoulder as she squeezed my shoulder. My eyes began to flutter as we were at the top of the wheel, watching the view at dusk.

• • •

i thought about this and i thought it would be cute to rent out an amusement park at night. and yes, the main guy will be entering the story again shortly!! i'm so excited so stay tuned for that.

i don't have much news other than ezio coming back into the light. i legit can't wait. i will update in a week! hopefully i remember :)

don't forget to check out my other story posted, Mariah's Stories!

love you guys and thank you for the support once again!!!!

Don't forget to Vote, Comment, and Share!

- alli