19 Years Younger (Mature Content) [Complete]

Chapter 16 - Lance

I hadn't spoken to Martha in over three weeks. Not a single word had been uttered. I had seen her almost every day but we had never spoken. There were no flirtatious smiles or subtle glances or quick half waves. No, there was silence. I didn't even know how far along in her pregnancy she was and, I'm not going to lie, that hurt. I knew I was going to have no part in this child's life and I had decided that!

God I'm an idiot! I thought to myself, God! What would dad do? Claim the child and win the girl! Jesus, how do my parents always get their happy ending?

I hadn't realised the bell had sounded until Nadia tapped me on the shoulder wordlessly, before running off giggling. I slowly packed my stuff into my bag until everyone had left. Martha sat at her table on the computer, pretending not to know I was there. I slowly walked over.

"Look Martha, about last time..."

"Save it, Lance!" She snapped, "I put everything - my career, my reputation, hell, my freedom - on the line. Just for you. You just had to be the typical bloke and walk away from any responsibility that we had put on ourselves."

"Martha can we talk about this?" I asked, "I want to be a part of..."

"Don't give me that I wanna be a part of our baby's life bullshit. 1 - there is no our, there is just me and my baby. 2 - you don't want-slash-handle the responsibility. 3 - I don't want you in my baby's life and 4 - I'm going out tonight!" She almost shouted.

"Out?" I questioned.

"Yeah! Out! It's when two people who like each other go out and have fun, which is more than we ever did!" She spat, "my baby and I don't need you in our lives, so just watch from the sideline!"

She shoved past me out the room, "Martha..."

"It's Miss Narraway to you!" She hissed before storming away.

****

The rest of my day was a blur as I couldn't care less about it. My thoughts were with Martha and the, dare I say it, jealousy of how quickly she had moved on. I couldn't believe how quickly we have started and ended what we had. I trudged home in silence and soundlessly entered the house. I tiptoed up to my room, not wanting to deal with my parents questions about my day, only to find my dad sitting on the chair at my desk.

"So who's the woman?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" I stammered.

"Lance you forget that your mother and I were once in your shoes, so I know the signs of a woman in your life!" My father replied, "How much older is she?"

I sighed, "It doesn't matter now anyway!"

I turned away from him and held open the door as a sign of wanting him to leave. I stood there like an idiot and could feel my dad's eyes watching me before he burst out laughing.

"When did you find out?" He asked half disapprovingly and half laughing.

"Find out what?" I asked obliviously.

"That your girlfriend is pregnant?" He replied.

"How the hell..."

"Lance it's time you knew the truth about your mother and me," my father interrupted, "we were not always as we are now."

"What do you mean?" I asked, closing the door.

"Your siblings didn't find out until they were sixteen but we always knew you would be the exception...didn't we Alex," my dad shouted.

My door was opened and in walked my mother. She sat next to my father in my arm chair. I moved from the door to take a seat on my bed. My brain whirled as I thought what could be so bad that my parents wouldn't tell us until we were sixteen.

"Lance! After we tell, you we want the truth from you too," my mother bargain.

"Ok," I murmured.

My parents told me their while story from their first meeting up to now. They informed me of my mother prostitution and my father's drug addictions and how each got in the way of their lives. How my father performed surgery on my mother as she slowly bled to death on the floor of his flat. They lost contact and met again under coincidental circumstances. My father revealed how he abandoned my mum and a unborn Ella. I got the answers for the scar on Ella's neck. When the story has drawn to a close, I sat there speechless. Part of me was mad that they hadn't told me sooner and the other half was...relief....I wasn't the only one to mess up.

I swallowed, "Why tell me early?"

My mother sighed, "Because we knew as soon as you had fainted that there was a woman involved and we figured that our screw up may bring you answers."

"Did you really leave for five years?" I asked.

"It was probably closer to six," my father answered. He rolled up his sleeve and I could still see the scar tissue over his veins, "that's what I spent most of those years doing!"

I sighed, "She's twenty-four," I breathed, "Her name is Martha Narraway. She's my English teacher." I looked up to see their faces but their expressions hadn't changed, "Three weeks ago she told me she was pregnant and I freaked out. I ran. I tried talking to her again today but she's moved on apparently..."

I trailed off. I felt stupid. Even as I was forming the words I knew how much I had screwed up. I was just a man-whore. My parents continued to just look at me with no particular expression. They weren't disappointed or angry, if anything they were sympathetic.

"Lance, do you love this woman?" My mother asked me finally.

I slowly looked up at her. I genuinely didn't know how I felt about her. Yes, she was different and carrying my child, but could my feelings of care and lust be feelings of love. My mother still stared at me waiting for an answer.

"I don't know," I replied honestly.

"How do you feel around her?" She pressed.

I shifted uncomfortably, "I...err...don't know..."

"Lust isn't it?" My father laughed.

I snapped my head up to look at him, "How..."

"I was your age too once," he laughed.

I smiled, "Yeah I know."

My mother reached out to take my hand, "Lance my opinion would be that you do love this woman - or at least care for her - so go after her and prove it."

"But how!" I pleaded, "Mum you're a woman! What did dad do to make it up to you?"

She smiled weakly at me, "He was himself. I know it sounds cliche but I knew who I had fallen in love with and what I was getting myself into. Woman normally do so she will either love you for who you are or not at all I'm afraid."

"So you think I should try?" I asked.

"Lance, she is having your baby and our grandchild! Of course you should try!" My father replied firmly. He rolled up his sleeve again, "I wasted six years of my life! Don't waste six years of yours!"

I nodded slowly, "You're right!" I murmured.

My parents smiled at me and went to walk out the door, "And Lance if you need to talk, I'm always around," my father said.

"Thanks dad!" I replied.

About five minutes after they had left the room my phone started ringing. It was Luke. I ignored it the first time as I was trying to think but by the third time I couldn't. I slowly picked up my phone and pressed it to my ear.

"Luke now isn't..."

"What happened to Aurora?" He interrupted.

I sat bolt up right, "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Luke warned, "What happened to her."

"I think you should talk to her," I replied slowly.

"I tried but she broke down crying," He shot back. I could hear his breathing down the phone, "What happened to her?"

I sighed, "I'm coming over."