Baby on Board

26

All I'm saying is this- I do not trust my father to take care of Martha and bring her back in one piece. 

"Charlotte, we're only doing the Three Peaks Challenge," Martha casually tells me, even though I already know what their trip involved. "Climbing the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales is not going to result in me dead, dying, or disowned."

"I wouldn't be so sure about the last one," I grumbled. Folding my arms across my chest, I stare at the three Bergen bags that littered the grass, the contents of which were strewn around them, and suddenly feel queasier than before. "Oh, dear God, why are there three bags? Who else is going with you?"

Before anyone had the chance to answer, I posed my own theory. "Lucas?"

Neither my father nor Martha answered, which for me, was confirmation enough. Just as I thought my father had reached peak stupidity in taking Martha on the trip, he was dragging Lucas along, too? 

It was barbaric. Utterly stupid. Dad was moronic. 

"Lucas?" I screamed into the deepest, darkest pits of the house when I stormed back into the kitchen. When he didn't respond, I shouted again, making Sophie and Emma look at me as if I were cracking up. Sighing, I point out to the garden where our father was. "That dipshit is taking Lucas with him on the trip. You know, Lucas, our brother who had a lung transplant not even a year ago!"

My sisters looked non-plussed. "Why am I the only one who cares?!"

Oh, no. This was it. The moment my breakdown was coming. I could feel my eyes burning and my throat constricting as my emotions performed a hostile takeover. Sitting on a chair at the table, I placed my feet on the chair opposite and threw my head back, trying to breathe evenly in an attempt to calm myself down. Isaac had taught me that if I count out numbers out of order that my anxiety would lessen quicker but right now, I didn't even bother trying. 

Maybe I need to lie down. That could help. No, that wouldn't do. I needed to get out of here away from all the stressors. Jumping onto my feet- well, not exactly jumping because having Nugget in my uterus made quick movements impossible- I grabbed my car keys and handbag and rushed for the door. 

The drive into the nearest village only took five minutes but in that time, I'd received seven calls and fifteen text messages from various people. It wasn't until I had parked the car that I looked to see who the callers and senders were, noticing Isaac's name on the screen as the most recent caller. 

I knew he would be worried about me. Obviously, someone had called him and told him of my runner and I knew better than to ignore him for too long. Turning the ignition off, I pressed the call option against Isaac's name and waited for the call to go through. 

"I know you're probably worried about me-"

"Worried?" Isaac's confusion was clear in his tone of voice. I could feel a shift in the silence on Isaac's end and when he next spoke, I knew that if he wasn't worried before, he was now. "What's happened? What's going on? I'm on my way to your parent's house and wanted to give you the heads up. Lottie, are you ok?"

Gulping, I nod to myself, even though I know Isaac can't see me. "I needed to get out of the house. No one there took my concerns seriously, so I fled. I'm in the village about to spend an inordinate amount of money in that baby boutique."

"Is that so? Let me turn the car around and I'll meet you there. Give me three minutes," he said before hanging up on the call. 

In reality, Isaac only needed two minutes. I saw him jogging up the street and got out of the car to meet him, dramatically throwing myself into his arms and wailing about my emotional morning. He was sympathetic and said all the right things but I knew underneath, he found it just as funny as my family had. Nevertheless, he took my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as he guided me to the baby boutique.