Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

Hazel POV

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute." I hung up the phone, and shut down my laptop. I was in the process of updating my Facebook status, but something in Mik's tone told me that this was a bit more important. I started to look for my car keys, which I was always losing (I had a big room and little keys), and called Cain to see if he needed a ride. His car was in the shop for repairs, and he was strangely faithful to that old thing. I personally couldn't see why he wouldn't let me give him some money to at least make a deposit on a new car, but he was stubborn about it.

But anyway, Cain said he was close enough to walk, and so I drove over to Meggie's house, where Mik told me to meet her. It was something important, I'd been told. I let myself in (the door wasn't locked) and found that I was the last one to arrive. Everyone was sitting around, having shallow conversations that didn't quite hide the nervous feeling in the room. I sat down on the arm of the sofa.

"Hazel, you'd better make yourself comfortable. This might be kind of hard to take in." Mik's voice was softer than usual, and I didn't realise until that moment that she was staring at the wall and not us. At her advice, I found a seat, not next to Cain, but more comfortable. "I'm really not sure what to tell you." Mik continued, once I was seated. "I've been trying to think of a nice, lighthearted thing to say for 3 days. Some way to make this less uncomfortable." She paused, and swallowed hard, in that way that it was visible.

"Could you just spit it out? It's killing me!" I blurted out. Meggie shot me a look and I stopped talking. Mik laughed nervously.

"What would I do without Hazel?" I heard her mutter to herself, and then she looked up at us. "I'm pregnant."

"You're what?!" Meggie got it out before I could. Mik turned just a little bit pink and opened her mouth, like she was about to speak, but nothing came out. "Mik, what were you thinking? The two of you! What about being careful? What about-"

"Hold up, she's not done." Mervyn cut her off, not rudely, but a bit sharp. He nodded to Mik. "Go on."

Once again, Mik laughed nervously. "I'm scared now." she chuckled. The joking wiped clean off her face. "I've decided to take legal action against my father."

"Uh, what?" I asked her, at the same time as Mervyn asked her if she was sure. "I'm not sure I follow?"

"Well... Let's say that I'm not sure if the kids should call him Grandpa or Daddy."

It took a second for that to sink in to my mind. It seemed to happen for all of us that way, because after a pause, Cain blurted out a swear word and Meggie fainted. For a minute, the focus was off the scary situation that Mikelah was in while we tried to wake Mags up.

"Are you okay now?" Mervyn was the first to speak to her when her eyes opened. Meggie shook her head weakly and blinked.

"I'm fine." She pushed some hair out of her face. "Could I get some water please?"

Mik ran off to the kitchen, while Meggie sat up. "Sorry. It was just... surprising."

I had to laugh. "Meggie...Firstly, surprising is apparently an understatement." I told her. "And secondly, you did not just apologize for fainting."

Mikelah came back with the water, and Meggie sipped as we spoke.

"So, you're going to file charges with the police?" Cain asked. His tone was as if he was discussing the weather, but his face told a different story.

"You sure you can handle it?" Mervyn asked her. "You know you'll have to testify."

Mik winced, and then nodded. "I can handle it, I'm sure. I'll manage." She said confidently. "...I'll manage." she repeated. This second time, it was nowhere near as convincing.