The Craft: Rebirth

5. Iris

"Honey, can you come downstairs for a quick second?"

Iris pretended to not hear her dad's call to her from the bottom of the house. She didn't feel like talking and she knew he would just try to weed out of her what was going on between her and her mother.

He'd made little attempts throughout her first couple of hours being there to get information from her but she wasn't relenting. In her mind, it was none of his business and he should respect that.

As she continued scrolling through her Instagram feed, a text message appeared at the top of her screen.

Dad: Can you please come downstairs, please? We have something to tell you.

She groaned in frustration. She clambered out of bed, quickly slipping on her shoes. Taking her time to walk down the stairs, she saw both her dad and Jeanine sitting on the couch. They both looked scared which in turn caused Iris to worry about what they had to tell her. "Sit down sweetie." Her father motioned towards the opposite loveseat.

She did just that and two minutes of uncomfortable silence followed. "Who died?" She calmly asked, attempting to break the tension. They both looked at her, alarmed. "Oh God no it isn't anything like that!" He told her quickly. Iris was slightly relaxed but was still wary.

Finally, her father held her stepmom's hand in his. "We're pregnant." He let out, a smile spread across his face. Iris's mouth dropped, her eyes immediately going over to Jeanine's stomach.

When she saw the not too present yet baby bump, it took everything in her not to say something. After everything happening with her mother, she now had this to deal with? It's not that she isn't happy for her dad. He always wanted another baby.

As if she wasn't enough.

Iris realized she had been silent for a few seconds and quickly thought of something to say. "That's great!" She plastered on a fake smile and got up to hug the both of them. They welcomed her facade with open arms. "Wow! You and your mother took this well. Wasn't expecting it from either of you if I'm being honest." Her dad told her, squeezing her. Iris wondered if her mother's reaction has been as fake as hers.

"Thank you so much, Iris. I hope you know that this doesn't change anything between us. I still want to be a good stepmom to you." Jeanine told her, releasing from her embrace. Iris gave her a nervous chuckle in response. 'Okay, I need to get the hell out of here.' She thought to herself. She came up with a quick plan. "Um Dad, do you mind if I take the car into town? I'm craving some ice cream."

Her father hesitated only for a second before digging into his pockets and hanging her his keys. "Be safe. And bring me back some rocky road!"

✨✨✨

A half-hour later, Iris sat on the hood of the car in the parking lot of a Marble Slab Creamery. Her ice cream remains sat beside her as she looked out onto the busy town. She acquired a few stares, most unwelcome.

She thought about calling her mother, feeling bad about how she left things. 'No... that'd be stupid.' She thought to herself. Deep down she still felt that her mother wasn't being completely truthful with her. But she knew it had to be for a reason. She and her mother tried their best to be honest with one another and it usually worked.

She just hoped her mother wasn't planning on leaving her with her father for the entire summer.

She lets out a frustrated sigh and climbs down from the hood. As her feet touch the ground, it's as if she's been hit by a truck. The ice cream cup falls from her hand to the ground as she puts her hands against the door of the car to steady herself. She reaches a hand up to her temple, her head pounding and her body suddenly weak.