The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

News - Chapter 21

You nearly spat out your water... In fact, you ended up coughing a little bit as you set your glass down at your bedside table - and even then, you had to keep a hand on it just in case.

"You're what?" you blinked, using another hand to grab a fistful of the blanket on your side... It was a rhetorical question, but she answered nonetheless.

"I'm pregnant," she squeaked. Her near-perfect eyebrows furrowed as she took another long sip of water, trying to calm herself down so that she wouldn't cry anymore.

Who would have thought... Meg? The innocent little ballerina who couldn't do so much as watch the couples around her kiss got pregnant somehow? It came as such a shock that could feel yourself waking up without having to pinch your own arm.

"Meg... When did this happen?"

Her heart dropped. She balanced the half-empty glass on her lap, staring at it as she tried to recall the correct date.

"It, erhm... it happened a month or two ago, I believe," she gulped, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to recall exactly when happened... However, once she realized that she may have been overthinking it, she shook her head and looked up at you, gulping down tears out of fear that she'd cry all over again. "But that doesn't change anything."

You placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. You thought of any possibility of what could make her feel any better, and only then did the possibility that she could have been overreacting crossed your mind.

"What makes you certain that you're pregnant?" you asked, your eyebrows furrowing a little. "You could have slept with a man without..."

"You don't understand, [Y/N]!" she sniffled, covering her mouth as she tucked her knees up to her chest. "I've gotten sick every morning, I haven't bled in forever, and I'm in so much pain I can't even dance!"

You paused for a moment.

"Meg... Why don't you get some rest for the night?" you asked, your eyebrows furrowing just a little as you stood up. "I'll walk you to your room, and once we're certain that you'll be alright, we can talk in the morning."

Again, Meg didn't protest the idea - after all, she was quite exhausted, too... Getting some rest sounded appealing. While your conversation would be cut a little short, it was just fine with the both of you. After all, speaking with non-delirious minds would be much better than falling asleep halfway through a quite important conversation.

Sure enough, the both of you went together and got Meg tucked in for bed. Thankfully, because the moon hung so low in the sky, there were much less people loitering throughout the halls. The only people who seemed to be out and about were couples, all of which were too preoccupied with locking lips with one another that none of them saw you. That was most definitely a good thing. It was unpredictable as to who would to gossip about the petite ballerina accompanying you - after all, she was one of the most envied ballerinas in your entire cast. Anyone would be willing to spill any secrets (which, in turn, would get her yelled at by her mother... which is why she dreaded going in the first place, as she wasn't supposed to be out and about so late).

It was on your way back that you faced the most trouble.

You ran back into Matthew, whose concentrated look seemed to have returned right back to his face.

"[Y/N]," he said. His voice was quite firm - enough to make you flinch when he grabbed onto your arm - and it came as a surprise, as you didn't get a glimpse of him as you were escorting Meg back to her room.

"Oh! Erhm - yes?" you said, blinking a couple of times as you let out a long sigh. "My apologies... I was just heading to bed."

Matthew would normally be one to apologize for catching you at such a bad time, but telling from the look in his eye, he had something much more important to say. You began to wonder how many people you were close to had some serious news to spill... why, was Matthew pregnant, too? That thought made you smile a little. You briefly imagined Matthew with an enormous belly, complaining about prices and getting emotional over the little things. These thoughts just proved how delirious you were.