Our Father

Chapter 26

Grace sat on the bathroom floor, her head in the toilet as she emptied her stomach again.
"Are you alright? I told you I'm not a good cook" he joked, placing a glass of water on the floor next to her.
"I'm fine. Thanks" she gave a weak smile "I should get going the kids are probably wondering where I am"
"No rush if you need more time" He assured her.
"I think I'm okay now" she gave a small smile before she got up from the floor with her glass of water heading back into the bedroom.

Grace sat on her bathroom floor, her back resting against the tub as she waited for the timer to ring.
She never thought she would be back here, waiting for the results of her pregnancy test. She thought after 5 positives it would be easy to be waiting again but her heart felt as if it was going to drop into her stomach. Finally it rang out and Grace switched it off quickly, taking the test in her hand she moved back to the tub. She took a deep but shakey breath before she flipped the test over. The single line stared back at her.
"I'm not pregnant. Christ I'm not pregnant" she let out a sigh of relief before she moved to throw the test in the trash of her bathroom.

Poppy sat on the school field her back resting against the trunk of the tree as the breeze drifted through her hair.
"Hey pops" Mason smiled as he joined her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders.
"Hey Mase" she smiled, her head resting on his shoulder.
"What's up with you?" He asked sensing something was wrong.
"We need to talk" she told him cryptically, making him tense up.
"Okay" he nodded.

Alex and Sam sat in the school cafeteria eating their lunch in silence.
"Okay, what's bugging you?" Sam sighed.
"Mom went on a date with a guy the other night and last night she didn't come home-"
"So your mom's getting some action what's the issue?"
"She screwed dad the day before she screwed this other guy"
"Oh"
"Yeah. I just don't want mom to get hurt or dad or this other guy. And seeing mom and dad on the dining room table-"
"They fucked on the kitchen table!" Sam lit up with enjoyment at the gossip.
"God yes. It was disgusting" Alex winced.
"Did you hear the table squeaking" Sam joked, rocking their table back and forth with a wicked smile.
"Stop. Your disgusting" Alex ordered but smiled anyway.

Silas entered the house, filled with laughter and the smell of dinner.
"Hey" he called out.
"Hey dad" Alex smiled at him.
"What's for dinner?" He smiled, his hand running across Grace's shoulders as he took his seat next to her.
"We're having casserole" Miles told him.
"Sounds delicious" he smiled.
"So dad what's going on with you and Ashley?" Oliver asked.
"Well I'm working on buying a place in town and I've quit my job-"
"I'm sure Ashley liked that" Grace scoffed.
"She doesn't know. And when I tell her we're also moving into town I'm sure she'll throw a fit" he told them.
"Well it's good your making it work with you and Ashley dad. I'm proud of you" Miles told him.
"Wow. Thanks son" Silas smiled in surprise.
"Miles, don't" Alex warned.
"Oh dad have you met Christopher yet?" Miles asked, placing the casserole dish onto the table.
"Miles, don't" Grace warned.
"No I haven't why?" He asked.
"He grew up with mom" Miles told him "Oh, and of course they're sleeping together" he announced as he sat at the head of the table.
"What? Gracie, is it true?" Silas asked turning to her.
"Why does it matter dad? She's moving on with someone who cares about her" Miles shot back.
"Shut up" Silas ordered him "Gracie? Is it true?" Silas asked her.
"It's none of your business. You said so yourself that I need to stop caring about everyone else and do something for myself, or does that only apply when you want to screw me?" She challenged.
"Gracie, you know it's not like that" he argued.
"Alex shouldn't have told Miles about seeing us the other day anyway" Grace muttered.
"That's the least of your worries" Miles challenged.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Grace asked.
"Who's pregnancy test is this?" Miles asked, placing the stick in front of him. Grace closed her eyes and sighed.
"Gracie?" Silas whispered.
"It's mine" Poppy muttered.
"Poppy you don't have to cover for me. It's mine and it's negative so it doesn't matter" Grace told them with a shrug.
"You thought you were pregnant and you didn't tell me" Silas complained.
"This was one positive" Miles told them. There was a moment of silence whilst everyone put the pieces together. Everyone's eyes darted between Grace, Poppy and Silas.
"Poppy are you pregnant?" Grace asked, watching as realization crossed her face. Poppy bolted from the table, running to her room with everyone following behind her, her bedroom door slamming behind her before she locked it. Grace leaned her head against the door, thinking for a moment before she turned to the others.
"We need to talk, all of us. No more secrets, I've had enough of not knowing or knowing too much, this ends now" she told them sternly. Grace turned back to the door, knocking lightly "Pops please come out. We're all going to talk"
"Please don't be mad" came a shakey voice from the other side of the door.
"I'm not mad Poppy just shocked. Please come out. We're going to talk through everything, no arguments" Grace assured her. Poppy unlocked the door and opened it slightly, wiping her tears away "Come on everyone downstairs now" Grace ordered gently.
Grace and Silas stood facing their children as they all sat on the couch looking up at their parents.
"Poppy? How did this happen?" Grace asked slowly.
"I think we all know how it happened" Silas shot.
"Don't judge me! Your banging mom like she's a dirty mistress-"
"Both of you enough!" Grace ordered "Silas shut up and let Poppy explain" Grace ordered.
"It was mine and Masons first time. It was quick and he said he would pull out but he didn't. And I didn't even..."
"Oh Poppy. Sweetie" Grace frowned.
"We love each other and he's excited about the baby, even if the sex wasn't good" she frowned.
"You want to keep it!?" Silas scoffed.
"Silas it's not up to you!" Grace shouted at him "And until you divorce Ashley I don't want you to touch me again because Chris is an amazing guy who I deserve to be with!" Grace shouted.
"Chris" Silas scoffed.
"Silas enough with the bullshit already. Poppy is 18 if she wants to keep the baby then it's her choice to make, not yours. And Chris is good for me, he likes me and we could have something if only you could keep it in your pants long enough for me to think straight" she shot back angrily.
"It takes two Gracie"
"Then I will learn resilience" she bit.
"And I'll help" Alex smiled at her mother, Grace's eyes softening as she met her children's eyes.
"Mason wants to help raise the baby and we're going to talk to his parents about it" Poppy told them "I'm going to do this dad whether you want me to or not" Poppy told him sternly. The ringing of Silas's phone cut through their tense family moment.
"Best answer before Ashley gets angry" Grace shot.
"Hey Ashley" Silas answered the call, leaving the room. They all listened as the door slammed shut behind him on his way out.
"I think that's all he has to say about this" Grace shrugged, offering a small smile to her children.