Accidentally Married

Chapter 15: "Oh my god, I'm not pregnant!"

"Mum, dad, Mr. and Mrs. Jones," Levi said. Levi and had decided to tell our parents after a dinner that we'd made. Well, he cooked and I watched. We'd sat them down in my living room and were standing in front of them. "We have something to tell you guys. We're dating."

"That's great," mum said.

"There's something else too," I interrupted her. They looked between me and Levi and I saw four pairs of eyes go straight to my tummy. I covered my tummy with my hands, trying to hide it. "Oh my god, I'm not pregnant!" My parents sighed a breath of relief. "We're actually married." Our dads looked at us, then at each other and started laughing.

"The first of April is still four months away," Mr. Turner said.

"We're not joking. Here's the certificate," Levi handed them the piece of paper I'd taken out of my sock drawer earlier. As his dad passed it along to my parents, Levi and I told them the whole story, from the dare, to the courthouse, to waking up the next day and finding the pictures on our phones. When we finished talking, Mr. Turner said, "If you guys want a divorce, we'll help pay for it."

Levi looked at me and I nodded. "We, er, don't actually want one. Not anymore anyway." We'd spent a couple of days not talking to each other so we could think about whether we wanted a divorce or not without being swayed by each other's answers. When I called him a few days later and asked for his answer, he said no and so did I. We couldn't see ourselves dating anybody else for the foreseeable future and if we broke up, we could always get it done then. It's not like the fact that we were married was coming into the way of our daily lives. Levi and I both agreed that sometimes it was a good thing. For example, trying to get out of dates with your mother's friend's son.

"Have you guys thought carefully about this? Because, as Robert said, if this is about money, we will help," dad said.

"Yes, dad. You've all known us since we were kids," I looked at all the adults. "If we didn't think we could make this work for us, we would have come to you guys ages ago. We've already saved up money and left it separate in case we ever need it one day. We did this by ourselves and we'll be the ones to get ourselves out of it."

Mr. Turner looked at me and then at Levi. "Since you guys seem to have thought about everything, I can't think of anything else to say except, welcome to the family." He got up and gave me a hug. Catherine got up too and whispered to both of us, "There's also the fact that you're both 18 and legal adults so he can't really say anything."

"Welcome to the family, Levi," dad said, shaking Levi's hand. "Debbie and I would like to have a chat with you. If that's okay with you guys?" he asked the last part to his parents.

"That's fine. We're going to head home now. We left Josh and Liv alone at home and who knows if we even have a house left." Catherine said and Mr. Turner nodded, laughing. "We'll see you at home?" Levi nodded. Mum saw them out, then motioned for Levi and I to follow her to the kitchen. Dad walked behind us. She turned the kettle on and asked if we wanted tea. We said no. She made two cups for her and dad. Levi and I sat down on one side of the counter, whilst my parents sat down on the opposite side.

"Married, huh?" mum said. She hadn't said anything the whole time my in-laws (oh, that sounds so weird) were here. Levi and I nodded. "I don't know if your parents were really happy," mum continued, "Or if they're going to do what we're doing now and have a word with you guys later, but I can talk for myself, I am pissed off. And disappointed. I expected better from both of you." She was a calm sort of angry - the scary kind that nobody wants to be on the receiving end of. "Fallon, I know for a fact that you had your life planned out. No husband until after a secure job and house. What happened to that?"

"Sometimes life is unexpected," I said, shrugging. I wished I could take back what I said when I saw the anger in her eyes.

"Do not show me any kind of attitude, young lady," she hit the table, making Levi and I both jump. "I am so angry with you. I might've said yes if you asked me to marry him, but the fact that you did it on a dare, got drunk and then lied to me the very next day about what you'd done, makes me so... I'm lost for words." She sighed, and dad rubbed her back with one hand, calming her down. Mum closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her index and thumb. "If you want to ruin your life like this, don't do it under my roof. You can go live with your husband." She looked at Levi.

"What?!" I almost shouted.

"Don't say that Debbie. You're not thinking with a clear head. You're going to regret it when she's gone," dad said.

"I'm not. She's gotten married and she's been hiding it for three months, thinking she would be able to forget about it and go about with her life as normal. And I don't know why you're so calm about this."

"I'm calm because they're both adults. We've known Levi since he was a baby and Fallon is our daughter. If I didn't trust them, I would be a lot angrier right now. You've got to trust them."

"If they've lied about this, who knows what else they're lying about. Maybe Fallon actually is pregnant."

"Mum, I swear I'm not pregnant," I said as the tears started falling. "Please don't kick me out. This is my home. You're my mum. I can't live somewhere else. Where am I gonna go?"

"Your husband's house," she said calmly.

"Mrs. Jones, please. Let her stay here. Fallon and I didn't do this to hurt you guys. We didn't think it through, but we've thought about it since. If things don't work out for us, we'll go our separate ways. I know she loves you and she wouldn't do this with the intention of hurting you guys," Levi pleaded on my behalf. The tears wouldn't stop.

"I'll give Fallon some time to pack," she said and left the kitchen. I watched her go up the stairs and heard a door close.

"Dad, please. Tell her not to throw me out," I cried. Dad came around and gave me a hug.

"I'm so sorry but you know nothing's going to make her change her mind. Tell you what stay with Levi. Just for tonight," he added as he saw my face. "I'll talk some sense into your mother and you can come back tomorrow." He wiped my tears away. "Levi, look after her. What you guys did wasn't right but I heard you guys talk earlier, and I can tell you've really thought things through. Go with Levi tonight and I promise I'll come and get you tomorrow. Okay?" I nodded. He asked Levi for his dad's number so he could see if I could stay the night with them. After explaining the current situation, he said it was okay. "I'm going to go check on your mum now. Will you be okay if I leave?" he asked. I lied and nodded.

I felt heavy as I forced myself to go to my room. I pulled the same duffel bag I'd used for the trip the previous week, and started to pack for more than an overnight stay. I know that my dad said he would come and get me the next day, but knowing my mum, it wasn't going to happen. I packed stuff I would really need for just a week and if I wasn't allowed home by then, I would pack up the rest of my stuff.

As I was folding a jumper, the dam broke, and the tears came. Levi hugged me as I sobbed into his shirt. "It'll be okay, I promise," he whispered and kissed my forehead. "Come on, sit down." He sat me down and passed me my water bottle from my desk. Whilst I took small sips, he finished packing for me. He went out of the room and came back with my toothbrush. "Anything else?" he gently asked. I shook my head. Levi zipped up my bag and picked it up. He held my hand in his other hand and led me out.

My parents were still in their room as Levi drove away. I started sobbing again as my house disappeared from view. Levi held my hand again and didn't let go of it until we reached his place. He led me inside and took me straight to his room so I wouldn't have to face his family just yet. "I'll be back in a minute," he said. I nodded and lay down on his bed. I stared at the ceiling, tears still streaming down my face.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my pocket. A message from Lucas read, can i come over to yours? A fresh wave of sobs came over me and I ended up crying myself to sleep.