There are moments in life when time has been soaring by you and a metaphorical foot has well and truly been on the accelerator for quite some time. That is until something comes along which has that foot instantly slamming down on the brake, the inertia rattling you to your core before you crash into the chilling depths of an imaginative pool of water. You're drowning now, trapped under a heavy burden and clouded by the body of water which has engulfed you. You're fighting to escape it all but you're driven to be erratic, struggling to function properly and gain some air as you keep getting pulled down.

I had well and truly had my foot on the accelerator as I went through life recklessly, asking for something new or different to come around to change things up. Now I had come to an abrupt stop thanks to my sister's latest announcement and was well and truly drowning in my own thoughts as I attempted to understand what was going on. Each time I think I can pull myself out of my sea of thoughts I was being pulled back down by yet another wave. I could only imagine how Lexi had felt or still was feeling.

My mind can't seem to comprehend that my nineteen year old little sister, the one who followed me around like a shadow when she started school and who used to come to my bed at night crying when she missed our mum, is sitting in front of me and telling me that she might be pregnant.

"You what?" I manage to say, "What... how... when?" I mumble, the words uncontrollably spilling out of my mouth.

There I was, naive me, only a minute ago thinking that she was probably just having a quarter life crisis; she was probably feeling lost about something or maybe she was just having guy trouble again. I saw that she was clearly distressed but Lexi tended to freak out about a fair few things when it actually came around to being an adult.

"I've only really thought so for a couple of days. Maybe two weeks ago I realised that my period was late but I had some assessments coming up so I assumed it was just late from the stress. It wasn't the first time that had happened. But then those assessments had well and truly passed and my period still hadn't come. I knew something was wrong then. So I went to the pharmacy and bought some pregnancy tests." she explains to me, the tears slowly beginning to well in the corners of her eyes.

"Elle, I took eight pregnancy tests. They all came back positive," she reveals, cementing the reality of the situation in my mind, "What am I gonna do, Elle?" she practically cries.

I try to replace my current state of mind, which was in utter disarray with my responsible and logical older sister state of mind, and somehow just manage to do so, pulling myself together for a few short moments for the sake of my sister.

"Lexi, it'll all be okay," I reassure her, taking her into my arms to envelope her in a hug I felt that she had well and truly earned, even if she was technically partially responsible for the situation she had landed herself in, "First, we'll go the doctor and confirm the situation. If you really are pregnant then you still have plenty of options. But we'll talk about that more only if we need to."

"Okay." she says as I feel the tears drop from her eyes onto my shoulder.

"Elle, how could I have been so stupid?" she asks me, pulling back from me to look me in the eyes and gauge my reaction. Those wide blue eyes, glossed over with the tears which were now freely falling down her cheeks, were staring at me just as I remembered they had when she was only a child crying to me about how someone had been mean to her or over some silly toy.

"Lexi, now is not the time to play the blaming game," I tell her, lying to us both as I already plot to place the blame on who I'm fairly confident deserves it, "We just have to deal with the situation one step at a time and not let you freak yourself out. We'll figure it all out. Just take a deep breath."

With my words she noticeably attempts to stop the cries from coming out of her mouth and takes a long intake of air, and an even longer outtake of breath to follow. As she does so, I hear a door open from the hallway and seconds later Jess is walking into the room. She notices the predicament she had just walked herself into with the shock and confusion instantly appearing across her face.

"Uh guys... is everything okay?" she asks from the doorway, having stopped in her middle of a step as she noticed her surroundings.

I quickly lift myself up from my spot with Lexi no longer holding on to me and seemingly recollecting herself, rushing to make my way over to where Jess stands.

"Things aren't really the best right now but I need to ask you a really big favour Jess." I tell her.

Her brows furrow as she looks from myself to my sister seated on the couch before she says to me, "Okay, what did you need me to do?"

I take my bottom lip between my teeth with nervousness in regards to what I'm about to ask her. "Jess, I need to you to just stay with Lexi for a bit and keep her calm. There's somewhere I need to go."

She nods her head and tells me "okay" with confusion clearly written over her face before I go back to where my sister is waiting for me.

"Lexi, don't go anywhere. I'll be right back." I tell her, giving her one last tight embrace.

Once I'm satisfied with the length of the hug I pick myself up and in a flash I have collected all of my things and am about to head out the door. I can hear Lexi calling out for, shouting as she asks me where I am going but I don't let her stop me. I know what I'm about to do isn't the right thing, not what a proper caring and logical older sister would do, but I don't let that stop as I allow the flames of anger within me to complete engulf me with irrationality.

They say you're not meant to drive when you're upset or angry but I don't let that stop me either, quickly searching for and finding the address I need from my messages before I am on my way to my intended destination.

Thankfully it is still quite early, and the weekend, so the traffic isn't too bad for my trip. The way my mind is currently overwhelmed and my emotions are on overdrive at this moment most likely helps to distract me from the trip and time as well.

It doesn't feel like too long before I have arrived at my destination, according to my GPS and the best of recollection. Once I've parked my car and make my way to the building I intended to visit  I swiftly make my way into the lobby and to the concierge waiting by the elevator doors.

"Good morning Miss. May I be of any help?"

"I need to go to level seven. I'm here to see Mr. Theodore Harrington." I say, attempting to calm myself and control my tone so that my anger was not to seep through and deter him.

"And may I ask who I am to tell him is awaiting him?" 

"Ms. Adams." I tell him, intentionally leaving out my first name in the hope that Theodore is deceived into thinking I am my sister and lets me up.

The concierge presses some buttons and speaks through some phone or intercom system, returning his attention to me moments later. "Ms. Adams, I'll let you through now." he tells me as he moves aside to guide me through to the elevator doors he has opened upon approval.

I thank him and make my way in to the elevator, watching yet not taking in anything as the doors close in front of me and the elevator slowly begins its ascent. My mind has now delved down the path of complete and frightening silence, surprisingly not thinking about what I'm about to do or say. It just remains on pause as I stare lifelessly at the doors in front of me and watch the numbers grow higher and higher as they indicate that I'm getting closer to my desired location.

I finally notice the vibrations coming from my pocket as the last few numbers shine above the door before the doors will open. I ignore it, not wanting anything to distract me before I am about to pounce into an unpredictable situation.

Finally I hear the ding sound I have been awaiting ahead of the elevator doors as they finally open before me to the familiar hallway where I now certainly know which door I'll be going to.

I loudly hit my fist against the door so as to be sure to gain the attention of the apartment's inhabitant and take a step back to await him. I can hear the footsteps against the mahogany hardwood floors that I could recall as they move closer to the door. I take in one last long breath as the sound of the footsteps finally reach the door and I notice the door handle moving downwards.

The door opens inwards, eerily slowly, and before I know it I am met with the sight of Theodore Harrington standing before me, white short sleeve top on and grey sweatpants hanging low on his hips with the disarray of his hair indicating that he hadn't been awake long.

"Ella, this is a surprise. What are you—" he begins before I promptly cut him off with the hard force of my palm as it hits his cheek, making a deathly sound upon impact.

"What the hell, Ella?!" he exclaims, instantly moving to touch his cheek with his own hand as if to check that what had just happened was actually real.

I push my shoulder against his as I walk past him without being welcomed in and into the apartment so as to ensure he can't close the door on me and stop himself from hearing the words I had come all this way to say. I can feel my phone still vibrating as someone continues to to try reaching me but I ignore it, turning back to look at him and find him still standing at the doorway holding the door open and touching his face with shock clearly written across his face.

"What the hell was that for?!" he loudly asks me, letting his grip come off the door to let it slam behind him and make his way to me.

"You know what that was for and you most certainly earned it." I tell him, moving so close to him that I can feel the cool touch of his breath and the smell of peppermint as his breathing rapidly increases before me.

"Oh yeah, and what is that?" he enquires, practically taunting me with those words.

"You got my sister pregnant, you self-centred, narcissistic tool!" I yell, pushing at  his chest with all my force as I lash out.

He actually has the nerve to look surprised or confused for a moment when he hears this, letting me continue to push against him without the slightest bit of fighting back.

"Ella, what are you talking about?" he asks me, continuing on with his charade as the vibrations of my phone continue on in my back pocket.

"You know, for a moment there, you had me fooled. First, you use your stupid charms and looks and you have me completely beguiled. Like a fucking puppet. Then I find out that you're dating my sister and I try to ignore you but somehow you just keep creeping your way back into my life and my thoughts like a parasite. So I just keep trying and trying to forget you until finally you seem to show a glimpse of this side of you that makes me wonder if I was being too harsh on you. I wonder if maybe we should just try to be friends or--"

"Ella—"

"I actually considered giving in to you and all the charming lies that come out of your mouth. You nearly had me there for a second like I'm sure you've had countless other girls in your life. Like you had my sister fooled."

"Ella, would you please just—"

Not being able to put up with the feeling of the endless vibrations going on and on any longer, and most certainly not wanting to listen to Theo try to redeem himself, I take the phone out of my pocket and answer it without stopping to look at who was calling.

"What?" I shout into the phone, successfully putting a stop to Theo's words for the moment.

"Elle, I think I know where you are right now and if I'm right then I need you to stop before you do something stupid." the voice I recognise as Lexi tells me through the phone.

"Lexi, he's just getting what he deserves," I promptly assure her, my rage not going to go away with a few of her simply pleads.

"That's the thing Elle, he doesn't deserve it. He didn't do anything wrong," she attempts to convince me as the man himself stands before me with the bewilderment still dripping from his features. His eyebrows remain furrowed together and cheek blatantly tinged with a shade of pink from my act of aggression earlier.

"How does he not deserve it, Lex? He got my nineteen year old baby sister pregnant," I rebut.

"Elle, Theo is not the father!" she shouts through the phone to me at the same time that Theo says "No I didn't Ella", making me abruptly come to a halt.

"What?" I ask her, in dire need for her to repeat herself or explain herself before I deal with the potential consequences of the situation I may have just gotten myself into.

"We never slept together," both Lexi and Theo reveal to me as my assumptions become a reality and the feeling of regret instantly floods through me.

"Wait, what?" is all that I can manage to get out as I see the relief finally come over Theo's face now that I have heard his side of the situation.

"I slept with someone else Elle." she explains, putting my assumptions into words. "The baby is Mason's."

I let out an involuntarily oh and take my now raw bottom lip between my teeth once again, gnawing at it with regret.

"Lex, I'm gonna go now." I say to her before I slowly lower it down and press the hang up button, all while Theo stands before me with his eyebrows raised awaiting a response.

Oh fuck, what have I just done?

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So I think saying that Ella stuffed up is a bit of an understatement right now lol. Ella's not really one to swear but I think this predicament definitely calls for it. Do you think she did the right or wrong thing considering what she thought was the situation? 

I'm just gonna say that these latest chapters have definitely been quite entertaining to write. Would've have been better if I didn't have a group creative writing task to do this week that truly was killing me life and sent straight from hell but anyways. Now for the aftermath of Ella's actions. 

Let me know how you think Theo's going to react. Will hopefully have the next chapter up very soon.  

Vote/comment/share

TheFictionDreamer

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