BF(F?): A Josh Richards Fanfiction *completed*

33

I didn't remember the ride home. I woke up in my bed, and I could feel the tears that had dried on my face. As I sat up, the memories of the day came flooding back to me. 
"Mom!" I called out, panic filling my voice as my chest grew tight. "Mom!" 

She came running, sitting on the edge of the bed when she got there and pulling me into her. "Honey, breathe. Breathe, my love. It's gonna be okay. Take a deep breath," she said, trying to comfort me. 
"Mom, I can't be a single teen mom," I sobbed. 
"Hey, we're going to take care of that. I'm supposed to call Patti so that they can come over here as soon as you woke up, okay?" she assured me. 

I must have been shaking because Mom gripped me a little tighter. "It's going to be okay. Whatever happens, I will still be here to support you."
"I'm scared, Mom," I whispered. "Even with your support, I still don't know if I can be a single teen mom."
She wordlessly grabbed my hand, leading me down the stairs. Patti was pacing, and Josh sat on the couch, avoiding eye contact. 

"Alright, I suppose that we have something that we should talk about," Patti said, breaking the silence as she sat down on the couch next to Josh. 
"Well, you're here, so you already know everything," I said quietly, looking at my hands as I picked at my cuticles. 
Patti sighed. "I know, sweetheart, and I know that this is very fresh, and it hasn't been easy for you to deal with."
"It hasn't been easy for me either, Mom," Josh interjected. "Things were going so well for me, and this throws a wrench in all of my plans." 

I opened my mouth to argue, but Patti beat me to it. "Joshua Kenneth Richards, if you're adult enough to lay down and make the baby, then you're adult enough to stand up and take care of it."
"No one is saying that you guys have to get married and raise this child as husband and wife," my mom added. "We just need to talk about everything that's going on. Everyone's emotions need to be out in the open." 

"Alright," Josh began, "what am I supposed to tell my girlfriend?" 
"The one that cheated on you the day before this baby was conceived? Tell her that she cheated, so you didn't," I spat back. 
"That is enough!" my mom yelled. "You two are going to stop this bickering right now. You have been best friends for your entire life, and one little tussle is not going to change that. I understand that what Haley said hurt you, Josh, but I know that it hurt her to say. We're not leaving this living room until you are back to being friends at the very least." 

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I just, I got hurt so quickly with Jaden, and I was really, really scared to get hurt again. Like Mom said, you are my best friend, and I can't imagine losing you."
"You don't trust me. You don't want me involved with this child's life if you can't even trust me," Josh replied. 
I wiped a tear from my eye. "I'm not sure that I want to keep this baby. We're too messed up to raise a child." 
"No," Josh quickly stated. "You are not too messed up to raise a child. You are smart. You are kind. You are amazing. You face adversity with grace and poise, and when you love, you do so fiercely. A child would be lucky to inherit your traits. If I had to choose a mother for my child, I would choose you."

I got up, sitting down next to him on the couch. "That is the sweetest thing that anyone has ever said to me."
"I meant it when I said that I've loved you this entire time," he whispered to me, taking my hand. 
"But I can't do this on my own."
He shook his head. "You absolutely don't have to. I will be here for you whether we're a couple or not." 

"See? Was that so hard?" Patti asked. 
I chuckled, wiping more tears from my face. "I think that I was just scared." 
"Can we talk about another thing while we're here?" Josh asked. "Maybe this isn't a conversation that we should be having with our moms in the room, but if being with me is something that you might still be interested in, we can take it as quickly or slowly as you would like to."

I kissed him for the first time since that day two months ago, and everything felt right again. "If you're in this parenting thing, then I am too. We're gonna need some help from our amazing parents, but if making us have this conversation has been any indication, they've got our backs," I added, looking over at Patti and my mom. 
Patti nodded. "Granny Richards sound fun to you?" 

Patti and my mom left the living room, giving us some space to talk. "What are you going to tell Nessa?" I asked, picking at my cuticles again. 
"I got back with her because I didn't want to focus on losing you," he explained, also avoiding eye contact. 
"I know that I just kissed you, but we won't be doing anything else until you've talked to Nessa. I won't let Jaden be right and call me a skank again."
"Okay," he agreed. "That's fair. I don't know what you're thinking about us in a relationship, but I don't think that we should tell anyone about the baby. At least not yet. We need to have a grip on it before we let anyone else in, right?" he asked. 

I nodded. "You're very right. God, I was really scared when I called you earlier.  We just haven't talked." 
"I told you how much I love you, silly goose. We're in this together, remember?" 
I was still terrified, but I was a little calmer with my best friend by my side.